St Kilda will again stage a game in honour of club legend Danny Frawley as Victorian rivals also consider putting on a match in support of mental health.
The Saints will hold 'Spud's Game' for a sixth-straight year, likely to be at Marvel Stadium against another Victorian team after the AFL confirms the currently floating fixture from round 16 to 24.
St Kilda's round-22 match against Carlton looms as an option, with the teams also facing off in last year's Spud's Game.
The marquee fixture started in 2021, two years after Frawley tragically died following his battle with mental health.
It comes in a week during which Carlton's Elijah Hollands suffered a mental health episode during the Blues' match against Collingwood last Thursday night and was subsequently hospitalised.
Star players, such as Geelong's Bailey Smith and Western Bulldogs' Rory Lobb, have this week called for a league-wide mental-health round to be introduced.
Responding to a report suggesting the AFL would not bring in a mental-health round, Smith on Wednesday wrote on Instagram: "We can reward mediocrity and introduce wildcard round though (two thumbs up and clown emoji)".
Melbourne chief executive Paul Guerra on Tuesday confirmed the Demons were keen to be involved in a mental-themed game next season.
Essendon legend Kevin Sheedy, who has famously been behind pushes for other marquee games, has raised Carlton or the Bombers as potential opponents for Melbourne in a match.
But St Kilda only have plans to further grow Spud's Game and are hoping to make it a permanent MCG blockbuster and ensure it's the AFL's premier marquee match in support of mental health.
Their clash with the Blues last year took place in front of 65,680 - the biggest crowd yet for a Spud's Game.
But St Kilda's one MCG home game for this year was back in Opening Round when they lost to Collingwood, meaning the 2026 match will be at Marvel Stadium.
The Black Dog Institute, one of Australia's most respected mental health organisations, has partnered with the Danny Frawley Centre and only strengthened the cause.
The centre opened in 2022 at St Kilda's Moorabbin base, aiming to create a place of belonging that supports the mental health of the community.
Frawley, who played 240 games for St Kilda between 1984 and 1995, championed mental health causes even as he struggled with his own issues in the years before his death.
Former teammates and media colleagues of Frawley have often been heavily involved in Spud's Game.
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