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Essendon will welcome back their banned stars with a blockbuster clash against Hawthorn in round one of the 2017 AFL season.The Bombers and Hawks will face off on a Saturday night at the MCG in one of three primetime games at the home of football in the opening round.Traditional heavyweights Carlton and Richmond will kick off the season at the MCG on Thursday March 23, while Collingwood will host reigning premiers the Western Bulldogs on the Friday night.It will be the first opportunity for the likes of Jobe Watson, Dyson Heppell, Cale Hooker and Michael Hurley to line up for Essendon after being handed 12-month suspensions by the Court of Arbitration for Sport over doping offences.Its going to be a massive crowd and an important night for our football club, Bombers chief executive Xavier Campbell told the Essendon website.This really is another step in our comeback as a football club and an important milestone for our players and fans as we look to move on from the issues of the past.The Bombers have 10 banned players who will press their case for selection in round one, while another six - including Port Adelaides Paddy Ryder and Angus Monfries - have joined other teams.Hawthorn will line up for the first time without star veterans Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis, who have been traded to West Coast and Melbourne respectively.Star recruit Jaeger OMeara is likely to play for the Hawks in his first AFL game since late-2014, alongside former Sydney onballer Tom Mitchell.The Swans will host Port Adelaide at the SCG on Saturday afternoon, West Coast travel to Etihad Stadium to take on North Melbourne and Brisbanes Chris Fagan will make his coaching debut against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium.Adelaide will take on preliminary finalists Greater Western Sydney in a Sunday afternoon clash at Adelaide Oval, while St Kilda face Melbourne at Etihad Stadium and Fremantle host Geelong.The AFL will release the full 2017 fixture on Thursday.THE AFLS 2017 ROUND ONE FIXTURETHURSDAY MARCH 23Carlton v Richmond, MCGFRIDAY MARCH 24Collingwood v Western Bulldogs, MCGSATURDAY MARCH 25Sydney Swans v Port Adelaide, SCGNorth Melbourne v West Coast, Etihad StadiumGold Coast v Brisbane Lions, Metricon StadiumEssendon v Hawthorn, MCGSUNDAY MARCH 26Adelaide v Greater Western Sydney, Adelaide OvalSt Kilda v Melbourne, Etihad StadiumFremantle v Geelong, Domain Stadium . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187.Conor McGregor has posted a cryptic tweet suggesting he will retire sooner than expected. The UFC featherweight champion is scheduled to compete on July 9 in a rematch against Nate Diaz but it appears he already has one eye on the Octagon exit door.He posted: I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch yas later. I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch yas later. Conor McGregor The Irishman is still just 27-years-old and preparing to headline the milestone UFC 200 event against Diaz in Las Vegas, after tasting defeat to the American last month.Diaz, in response to McGregors tweet, posted: I gguess my work here is done.ddddddddddddIm retiring too.McGregor debuted in the UFC three years ago, winning seven fights in a row and knocking out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to claim the featherweight title.He then opted to move up two weight classes to meet Diaz at welterweight but suffered a submission defeat which he aims to avenge in July. What now? How will McGregor & Rousey react to defeat? Also See: McGregor & Rousey: What now? McGregor granted Diaz rematch McGregor urged to drop to 155 McGregor-Edgar huge for NYC ' ' '
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