Bulldogs, Swans are AFL fixture winners

Grand final combatants Sydney and the Western Bulldogs shape as the big winners in the 2017 AFL fixture.

The league’s stated desire to reward success has seen a move away from gifting sought-after time slots like Friday night to traditional powerbrokers Collingwood, Carlton and Richmond.

The Bulldogs will take the big stage of Friday night seven times next year after their drought-breaking premiership win, while the Swans have a league-high eight appearances in prime-time.

Richmond were Friday night mainstays last year with six games, but the Tigers won’t feature on that night once in 2017, although they do get to open the season in the now-standard Thursday-night clash against Carlton.

The Magpies only have two Friday night matches and the Blues just one in a sign of the growing shift towards rewarding recent success.

The AFL executive in charge of putting the fixture together, Travis Auld, believes clubs are on board with the new direction.

“When you talk about clubs who lose Friday nights … I think they understand,” Auld said.

“If you finish 12th, 13th, 14th they understand what comes with that and certainly the broadcasters understand that.

“There’s a fair bit of unity and cohesion (with the AFL and clubs) with what the fixture is going to look like before it comes out.”

Despite their onfield struggles, Carlton and Richmond will still kick off the season.

“I’m not prone to making close-ended statements but I reckon that’s a good fixture,” AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said.

“They haven’t been travelling particularly well, so I think if we were going to make a change we probably would have (already).

“So I don’t see that changing.”

The 2017 draw also includes a historic match in China and the first game to be played for premiership points at a Victorian regional venue, in Ballarat, other than Geelong since 1952.

Gold Coast will likely be the AFL’s most-travelled club next year.

The Suns will be the nominal home team when they take on Port Adelaide at Jiangwan Sports Centre in China in round eight.

The Suns and the Power get the following weekend off, with the other 16 clubs to claim their bye in rounds 11-13.

Gold Coast are also the away team in matches against Melbourne in Alice Springs in round 10 and against the Western Bulldogs in Cairns in round 18.

The Bulldogs will unfurl their AFL premiership flag at Etihad Stadium before the grand final rematch against Sydney at Etihad Stadium in round two.

The Swans’ swag of eight Friday night games includes the annual Marn Grook clash against Hawthorn at the SCG.

The Swans will be playing eight home and away games in Victoria – the most since 1996.

GWS also get three games on Friday night, including a prime-time home clash against the Bulldogs in Canberra in round six.

The Western Bulldogs will host Port Adelaide in round 22 at Eureka Stadium in Ballarat – the first time in 65 years that a Victorian regional venue other than Geelong will have hosted AFL action.

The contentious bye round before the finals has been retained for a second year.

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