Click here to view the 2011 NAB Cup fixture.
The AFL has pitted the three big Victorian clubs in pool two, the blockbuster group of the opening round.
Scheduled for Saturday 12 February, the Blues will play Richmond and then sit out the middle match before playing the Pies in the final match of the pool at Etihad Stadium.??
They will do battle in a series of 40-minute, lightning premiership-style night games.
In all, 18 clubs, including Greater Western Sydney, will take part in the first round of next year's NAB Cup.
The clubs have been divided into six pools of three, with members of each pool gathering at one venue to play games consisting of two 20-minute halves.
The teams that top their pools will automatically gain a place in the second round, while the two best-performing runners-up will also progress as wildcards.
All second-round matches, along with the semi-final and grand final, will be full-length games.
The NAB Cup grand final will take place on Friday, March 11. It will be telecast by Channel 7.
ROUND ONE POOLS AND THEIR LOCATIONS
- Adelaide, Port Adelaide and Melbourne at AAMI Stadium, February 11 (Friday night)
- Collingwood, Carlton and Richmond at Etihad Stadium, February 12 (Saturday night)
- West Coast, Fremantle and Hawthorn at Patersons Stadium (Subiaco Oval), February 13 (Sunday afternoon)
- Essendon, the Brisbane Lions and St Kilda at Etihad Stadium, February 18 (Friday night)
- Greater Western Sydney, Sydney Swans and Gold Coast at Blacktown Olympic Park, February 19 (Saturday night)
- Geelong, North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs at Skilled Stadium, February 20 (Sunday afternoon)
