Bunbury is set to host a historic AFL match next season, with North Melbourne finalizing a deal to host matches against West Coast and Freomantle in WA.

A landmark deal will see the Kangaroos play two home games a year in WA, including one in the state’s southwest, over the next three seasons.

The State Government, AFL and Victorian club are close to signing a deal for the Roos to sell out two home games, providing financial assistance to the club and match aid to West Coast and Fremantle .

North Melbourne, coached by Alastair Clarkson, will travel to WA midway through next season, stay there for two weeks and play two matches.

They will ‘host’ West Coast and Fremantle, with one match being played at Optus Stadium, the other in South West WA at Bunbury’s Hands Oval.

The West Australian has been told plans are in place to increase the venue’s capacity to around 15,000 people after just over 4,000 people attended the South West Football League grand final in This year.

It is also understood that the AFL visited the site twice and Foxtel also made a site visit.

Key to the deal is that it is linked to WA tourism, promoting direct flights from Melbourne to Busselton, with Kangaroos fans likely to make the journey west.

The West Australian understands West Coast are expected to feature in the Bunbury match, with the Dockers taking part in the Optus Stadium match.

The Bunbury clash will mark the first time an AFL home-and-away match has been played outside of Perth’s inner suburbs. Optus Stadium, Subiaco Oval and WACA Ground are the only three venues to have hosted premiership points matches in the state.

Preliminary planning is underway for the addition of temporary seating around the north end of Hands Oval, but the north end could be left on grass.

The match at Optus will see North earn around $1.2 million, with the state government’s contribution for the South West match expected to help the club surpass the $2 million mark.

The deal will be for three seasons, sealing six games and more than $6 million for North.

This will give the Eagles and Dockers an extra match in their home state and result in a week less travel, after the two WA clubs made an extra return trip over the past two years due to the introduction of the Gather Round to South Australia.

Fremantle chief executive Simon Garlick has fought for fairness in matches in recent months, with help from Eagles boss Don Pyke.

This is the most significant development for WA teams in relation to this match since the Dockers entered the AFL.

Bunbury’s Hands Oval has just put the finishing touches on a $17.5 million redevelopment to build a brand new stand on top of what was previously the outdated headquarters of the South West Football League.

Completion of the coaches’ boxes and a media center is expected in about a month.

The venue has previously hosted two pre-season matches, both at home to the Dockers, against Carlton in 2009 and against the Western Bulldogs in 2011.

The 2009 clash against the Blues attracted a record crowd of 10,000. He also twice hosted the Western Australia one-day team.

Optus Stadium general manager Mike McKenna previously said the venue would host an additional match, although he was not directly involved in the negotiations.

“We would love to host it,” McKenna said.

“North Melbourne have a great fan base here in WA, every time they play the home team they play a big crowd.

“If they were playing a local team here, we’d give them a good time.”

Although the WA government did not confirm the reports on Tuesday, a spokesperson told The West: “Our government’s events strategy is clearly working, with $286 million generated for our economy through major events, regional and mass in 2023-24.

“We are always looking for events that will drive visitation, support our local economy and showcase Western Australia,” they said.

It is understood the Kangaroos would reduce their number of games at Bellerive Oval in Hobart as part of the deal. The Roos have played four matches at the venue in each of the last three seasons, but will likely reduce their presence in the region before the Tasmanian team joins the AFL in 2028.

North Melbourne have won three of their last five games in WA, including beating the Eagles by nine points on their last visit in June and scoring a point against Fremantle in the Dockers’ home opener last year.