GRAND finalists Hawthorn and the Sydney Swans will do battle twice during the 2013 premiership season.

The first contest has been scheduled for round seven at the MCG, while the teams will meet again at ANZ Stadium in round 23.

As has been the case in recent years, the last round of home and away matches will involve a floating fixture, with the games to be locked into slots midway through the season, once the probable finalists are known.

The increase in the Swans' profile, thanks to their stunning Grand Final victory over the Hawks, has been recognised with the AFL scheduling two Friday night games at the SCG next season.

The Swans will host Friday night games at the SCG against Geelong in round four and Carlton in round 14.

Next year's fixture, which will be released at the end of October, also features four Thursday games.

The first will be the Carlton-Richmond contest at the MCG in round one.

The second and third will take place on ANZAC Day, with Essendon and Collingwood kicking things off with their traditional afternoon game at the MCG before St Kilda hosts the Swans at Westpac Stadium in the New Zealand city of Wellington.

It will be the first match for premiership points to be held outside Australia.

The final Thursday game will be a night clash between West Coast and Essendon at Patersons Stadium in round 14.

However, the odds of next year's Grand Final being played under lights have lengthened again after AFL boss Andrew Demetriou played down the likelihood of a change.

The success of the recent twilight preliminary final involving Hawthorn and Adelaide appeared to have swayed Demetriou towards supporting a later starting time for the decider.

But when he spoke at a press conference on Tuesday, he said: "We're contracted to play day Grand Finals for the next four years.

"I can't imagine anything will change on that front."

Still, Demetriou remains excited about the potential for more twilight finals matches.

"The twilight preliminary final seemed to be a huge success," Demetriou said.

"It was a great game and a nice night and we got to see a different mix of supporters going that night, particularly children, because they seemed to have finished a lot of their activities in time for the 5.15pm start.

"That got people thinking, including myself, about the what-ifs of a Grand Final in the twilight.

"We then had a Grand Final in the daytime and we fell in love with the day Grand Final again.

"It was a great game, so I don't imagine much is going to change."