Club-by-club analysis of the 2014 AFL fixture.
ADELAIDE
Good: Local rivals Port Adelaide are the only top-six team they play twice. They also play St Kilda and Greater Western Sydney twice from the bottom six and their middle-six doubles are Collingwood and North Melbourne. Their one Friday night home game is against premiers Hawthorn in round 17.
Bad: They have a tough start, with Geelong away, then the first Showdown at Adelaide Oval and hosting Sydney.
Verdict: An even draw for the Crows, who undoubtedly have benefitted in the new weighting system by finishing amid the middle six teams.
BRISBANE
Good: They have 12 games in Queensland and will play St Kilda in the New Zealand Anzac Day match.
Bad: The Lions play top-four teams Fremantle and Geelong twice and the only bottom-six team they play twice are local rivals Gold Coast. They start the season against Hawthorn in Launceston and end it with Geelong at Simonds Stadium.
Verdict: Not a kind draw for Brisbane, who have a tough start and a run home that features Collingwood and Fremantle before the Cats.
CARLTON
Good: They only play two top-six teams twice – Geelong and Port. No travel until round 10 and there’s just one trip to Perth. The Blues also will have six Friday night games, four of them as the home team.
Bad: Carlton will want to make the most of their kind early-season draw, because five of their last 12 games are on the road.
Verdict: This could have been brutal for Carlton after they originally finished ninth and eventually wound up in the top six for the new weighting system. But it’s a most reasonable draw for the Blues.
COLLINGWOOD
Good: As always, their formidable drawing power helps and they’ll play 14 games at the MCG. Hawthorn are the only top-four team they play twice.
Bad: They’ll have a testing start to the season, with Fremantle, Sydney and Geelong in the first three rounds. If they’re in the black after round seven, the `Pies are well-set.
Verdict: Collingwood are on the money when they call this a well-balanced draw. Seven of their last 10 games at the MCG should help.
ESSENDON
Good: There’s only one trip to Perth and their first three matches are in Melbourne. The last four games are also either at Etihad Stadium or the MCG.
Bad: Four of the teams that Essendon play twice were finalists this season – mainly an outcome of their big-drawing rivalries with Collingwood, Carlton and Richmond. Their season starts with North, Hawthorn, Carlton and then Fremantle away.
Verdict: Not a dream fixture, but there’s also no hint that the AFL wants to keep punishing them, either.
FREMANTLE
Good: There’s plenty of Friday night action early, with three of the prime timeslots in the opening six rounds. They open the season with a Friday blockbuster against Collingwood at Etihad Stadium and play fellow grand finalists Hawthorn at the MCG in round three.
Bad: Call it the price of success – they have to play the premiers, Geelong and Port Adelaide twice under the weighting system.
Verdict: A testing draw, but fair enough given their rise to power under coach Ross Lyon. The Dockers are good enough to make the most of it.
GEELONG
Good: They have seven games at Fortress Geelong, plus blockbuster home games at the MCG against Richmond and Hawthorn. Their last five games are in Victoria.
Bad: They play no bottom-six team twice, but they have three doubles against fellow top-six teams – Hawthorn, Fremantle and Carlton. Several six-day breaks will test them.
Verdict: Like Fremantle, it’s far from an easy schedule. But Simonds Stadium features strongly and the Cats remain one of the league’s power teams.
GOLD COAST
Good: The Suns have 13 games in Queensland, including the “away” match in Cairns against the Bulldogs. They play three bottom-six teams and Brisbane twice. Hawthorn are the only top-six team they face twice.
Bad: A lack of prime-time slots, with no Thursday or Friday night games.
Verdict: A tougher draw, but certainly not beyond a team that showed definite improvement this season.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY
Good: Given much-needed support to try to boost their meagre crowds with home games against Sydney, Richmond, Essendon, Carlton, Collingwood and Geelong.
Bad: Despite being wooden spooners, must face this year’s finalists Sydney and Richmond twice.
Verdict: They face lowly St Kilda, Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs in the first four rounds and some big-drawing opponents at home. But improving their own standard will be more important than who they play in lifting their standing on and off-field.
HAWTHORN
Good: The premiers will get plenty of early time in the spotlight with huge games against Essendon, grand final opponents Fremantle, fierce rivals Geelong, Richmond and Sydney, who poached Hawk star Lance Franklin, all in the first eight rounds, although only the Dockers clash is a Hawk home game.
Bad: As befitting their standing, they’ve copped a very tough draw, facing Fremantle, Geelong, Sydney and Collingwood twice.
Verdict: It couldn’t be much tougher for the Hawks, with the standing of the teams they face twice compounded by plenty of six day breaks.
MELBOURNE
Good: Play just one of this year’s finalists, Port Adelaide, twice. Again get to host the coveted Queen’s Birthday clash with Collingwood despite struggling to win matches or attract big crowds this year.
Bad: Both games against the Power are interstate, including a “home” game in Alice Springs. No Friday night games.
Verdict: They can’t afford to waste a chance to build early momentum under Paul Roos, as they meet fellow strugglers St Kilda, West Coast in Melbourne, and the Giants in the first three rounds.
NORTH MELBOURNE
Good: Five Friday night games, and play just one of this year’s finalists twice.
Bad: Eight games outside of Melbourne, including two in Perth, and back-to-back six-day breaks in rounds four to six, including two interstate trips.
Verdict: Should be delighted on and off-field and no excuses if they miss finals.
PORT ADELAIDE
Good: Will host the first AFL game at Adelaide Oval, the round two Showdown. Will also be part of the first game in Alice Springs, against Melbourne.
Bad: The penalty for this year’s success is they’ll have a much tougher time repeating it, as they play grand finalists Fremantle, and other top-eight sides Carlton and Sydney twice.
Verdict: If they make the finals they’ll have well and truly earned it on the back of a tough run home.
RICHMOND
Good: The silver lining to their elimination final fade-out against Carlton is that they’ll meet just one of this year’s finalists twice. All of their home games are in Melbourne, after their Cairns venture of the past three years.
Bad: Face a tough patch mid-year against North Melbourne, Fremantle and Sydney, with two six-day breaks in between. Travel interstate in two of the last three rounds.
Verdict: Nothing to complain about, with some early home blockbusters against Carlton, Collingwood and Hawthorn to fill the coffers and plenty of winnable games.
ST KILDA
Good: The highest-ranked team they play twice is Carlton. Host a feature Friday night game against Collingwood in indigenous round 11. Return to Wellington to play Brisbane on Anzac Day.
Bad: Four of their last seven games are interstate and they also face the tough trip to Geelong in round 13.
Verdict: Based on this year’s ladder, it’s not too tough a draw, but some of the sides they play twice – Adelaide, West Coast and Gold Coast – are likely improvers next season, so it shapes as another tough campaign for a rebuilding side.
SYDNEY
Good: Host big ANZ Stadium matches against Collingwood, Hawthorn and Richmond, with the Hawks clash to have added significance given their recruitment of Lance Franklin. Get their annual benefit of playing fledgling Greater Western Sydney twice.
Bad: Apart from the Giants, the sides they play twice were all either finalists this year, or in the case of Essendon, would have been if not for the supplements saga.
Verdict: Should be able to pull big crowds to their ANZ Stadium games and football-wise, their draw’s no harder than you’d expect for a team with their strong recent record.
WEST COAST
Good: Play Gold Coast, St Kilda and Melbourne twice, so will have a great chance to climb the ladder. Three very winnable games to start the year, against the Bulldogs and Saints at home and Melbourne at the MCG.
Bad: Must visit Geelong in round four and face Hawthorn in Launceston in round 12.
Verdict: Have the chance to gain momentum early and with a generally favourable draw, could be in for a big climb, given their squad is much better than last season’s results suggested.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
Good: Meet Melbourne and expansion clubs Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney twice and none of this year’s finalists. Last four games are all at Etihad Stadium.
Bad: Must play Geelong in Geelong, Hawthorn in Launceston and a home game in Cairns against Gold Coast. No Friday night games.
Verdict: Not much to excite the marketers, but mostly kind football-wise. There’s a tough patch from rounds 11 to 19 though, including clashes with both of this year’s grand finalists, three interstate trips, a game in Geelong and clashes with Collingwood and Essendon.
