Pies, Tigers will reopen AFL season: McGuire

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire says a blockbuster clash between the Pies and Richmond will reopen the AFL season.

Speaking on Footy Classified on Wednesday night, McGuire said the league was pushing for a June 11 start.

"What Fox Footy and Seven want to have is the biggest game they can possibly have. It was scheduled for round two anyway, so I think they're going to go with Collingwood-Richmond," he said.

McGuire referenced the fact that a Queen's Birthday clash between Collingwood and Melbourne had previously been discussed as an option to resume the season, though it had been widely accepted that June 8 would have been too early.

For the last five years, the Big Freeze, raising funds to fight MND, has featured before the match. But with Channel Seven hoping to broadcast a one-hour Big Freeze special on the Queen's Birthday public holiday that will still feature the dunking of AFL personalities in a giant ice bath, McGuire said broadcasters could turn their focus to opening the season with the biggest match possible.

The Pies-Tigers clash has been flagged as a "re-opener" inside AFL HQ, but it had yet to be confirmed as league executives continued to negotiate with individual states late on Wednesday night.