GDFNL fixture difficulty revealed for 2024 season
Corio has been handed the toughest fixture for the 2024 GDFNL season on the back of a tough season that saw the Devils finish third-last on the ladder. Find out where each club ranks here.
Corio has been handed the toughest fixture for the 2024 GDFNL season on the back of a tough season that saw the Devils finish third-last on the ladder.
The Devils won five games for the 2023 season, beating Anakie twice, and Geelong West, Belmont and North Geelong once each.
Corio’s run of matches includes two matches against four of the top five sides last year, has received a rating of 314 on the difficulty index.
The rating system takes into account opposition’s final finishing spots (after finals results) and total wins and draws in 2023, as well as the quality of opponents for home and away games.
The Devils will have to face premiers Inverleigh, grand finalists Thomson, top two side Bell Post Hill, and East Geelong twice in 2024, as well as tough matches against mid-tabled sides Geelong West and Werribee Centrals.
Anakie, who broke its losing streak last season with a win over North Geelong, received the second-hardest schedule in 2024 with 306 ranking points on the difficulty index.
Like Corio, the Roos will play four top-five sides twice, missing out on double up games against Thomson, but will get two games against North Geelong and Belmont.
Despite winning the premiership in 2023, Inverleigh has received the fourth-easiest fixture in the GDFNL.
The Hawks will face Thomson twice for grand final rematches, as well as two games against Bell Post Hill and East Geelong.
Out of the bottom four sides (Anakie, North Geelong, Corio and Belmont), Inverleigh will play three of the battling teams twice, missing out on a return game against the Magpies.
Werribee Centrals received the easiest fixture of the league, receiving a rating of just 258 points which falls ahead of Belmont (263), Bannockburn (264), Inverleigh (265) and Bell Post Hill (268).
The Centurions will play finalists Bannockburn and Thomson twice, and have received return matches against Anakie, North Geelong, Belmont and Geelong West in a welcomed opportunity to move further up the ladder.
Interestingly, the top five hardest fixtures for 2024 all fall to teams that missed out on finals last year, with East Geelong (sixth-hardest schedule) holding the hardest fixture of any top five side from last season.
This follows on from the GFNL announcing its schedule, with St Albans receiving the most brutal fixture in the competition despite a second-last finish in 2023.
Fixture difficulty index
Corio – 314
Anakie – 306
Winchelsea – 294
Geelong West – 285
North Geelong – 284
East Geelong – 278
Thomson – 272
Bell Post Hill – 268
Inverleigh – 265
Bannockburn – 264
Belmont – 263
Werribee Centrals – 258
Originally published as GDFNL fixture difficulty revealed for 2024 season
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