Geelong will play its final game of the AFL home and away season on Saturday August 23.
The Cats are vying for a top four spot and will meet Richmond at the MCG with the game starting at 4.15pm.
Gold Coast will have a short five-day break to prepare for the crucial clash with Essendon that could decide whether the expansion club reaches the AFL finals for the first time.
The league on Wednesday confirmed the schedule of matches for round 24, with the Suns and Bombers to do battle in the last game of the home-and-away season.
Their fixture – which had to be rescheduled from opening round because of Tropical Cyclone Alfred – will take place at People First Stadium on Wednesday August 27.
Round 24 opens six days earlier on August 21, when Essendon takes on old rivals Carlton in a dead rubber.
The Friday night offers a rare double-header, with flag hopefuls Collingwood taking on Melbourne, and Port Adelaide hosting Gold Coast in coach Ken Hinkley’s final game in charge.
Top-four contenders Geelong and Adelaide are both in action on Saturday, but the Sunday fixture looms as the highlight of round 24.
It starts with GWS hosting St Kilda at Engie Stadium, before the Western Bulldogs meet Fremantle at Marvel Stadium and Brisbane take on Hawthorn at the Gabba.
The Suns-Bombers clash is then set to determine the exact finishing positions of the top eight.
“While it’s unconventional, we’re looking forward to rounding out what has already been a historic home-and-away season for the club here at People First Stadium on a Wednesday night,” Gold Coast chief executive Mark Evans said.
The Suns, who sit sixth with a 13-6 record, are aiming to play finals for the first time since joining the AFL in 2011.
Their game in hand gives them an advantage over other teams currently locked in a tight battle for finals spots.
Just two wins separate first-placed Adelaide from GWS in eighth, with the Bulldogs one win further back with a strong percentage.
Only nine teams are realistically still in the finals hunt with three rounds left to play.
Of the 10 fixtures across the last week of the home-and-away season, eight will have a bearing on the finals make-up
