AFL 2017 fixture difficulty ladder: St Kilda cop tough run but North Melbourne given easiest draw

ST KILDA’S expected rise has hit an early hurdle, with the Saints lumped with one of the toughest AFL draws. WHERE DOES YOUR CLUB SIT ON THE DIFFICULTY LADDER?

ST KILDA’S expected rise from mid-table battler to finalist has hit an early hurdle, with the Saints lumped with one of the toughest AFL draws.

Twelve months after being handed a dream fixture, St Kilda was on Thursday presented by the league with a 2017 minefield.

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The Saints, who will next season push for their first finals berth since 2011, were one of the biggest winners of the trade period after acquiring Koby Stevens and Jack Steele and defender Nathan Brown as a free agent, while Jake Carlisle will return from a 12-month ASADA ban.

But Champion Data has classified St Kilda’s draw as the third-toughest, based on each team’s scoring differential this year.

While Hawthorn, GWS and the Western Bulldogs were also hit with schedules riddled with obstacles, North Melbourne, Richmond, Carlton and Adelaide were handed good runs.

St Kilda has been handed a tough draw for 2017 after getting a dream run this season. Picture: Colleen Petch

The Kangaroos’ slide down the ladder in 2016 was met with sympathy by the AFL’s fixturing software that spat out 198 matches across 23 rounds at 17 different venues across Australia and — for the first time — China.

Brad Scott’s men will go from tackling the toughest draw this season to the easiest the next.

While they face four finalists in the first four weeks, the Roos cop only one top 6 side from last season twice (Bulldogs) and play 13 games at Etihad Stadium.

North only has four six-day breaks, down from eight last season, and is the home side in the historic Good Friday clash against the Dogs in Round 4.

Richmond only plays one top eight side twice — Greater Western Sydney — in a football-friendly fixture. But in a potential blow to the bottom line, the Tigers were stripped of all Friday night games and will play 12 matches not broadcast on free-to-air TV.

“Naturally we are disappointed not to get one Friday night game next season. We are a big club with the third-biggest membership in the League and our games always rate well in that timeslot,” Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale said.

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Carlton doesn’t face a top eight side until Round 6 and despite some “commercial challenges”, gets 10 games at the MCG — six of them as the home team.

Adelaide might have missed out on Bryce Gibbs, but any frustration the Crows had after the trade period was on Thursday washed away by a fixture lighting a path to the top four.

Despite only just missing out on the double chance in 2016, Adelaide has been given the sixth-easiest draw.

The Crows confront only three finalists in the opening 10 rounds, cop only two top-eight sides (Hawthorn and Geelong) twice and get five Friday night games — four at Adelaide Oval.

“We are absolutely rapt,” Adelaide chief executive Andrew Fagan said.

“The league has a history of rewarding clubs that play an attacking and entertaining style of football, as well as those that have a large and passionate supporter base and consistently delivering excellent television ratings.”

Adelaide has been handed a favourable fixture. Picture: Tom Huntley

Hawthorn wasn’t let off the hook, given eight six-day breaks — the equal-most of any club along with Geelong, Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs.

But it’s St Kilda’s pot-holed fixture its fans hope can be overcome in pursuit of a return to September.

A return to prime time exposure and four Friday night games and three Saturday night games comes with a flip side.

The Saints get Sydney and West Coast twice, but there’s no double-up games against any of the bottom-five sides of 2016.

They also travel interstate to Perth and Adelaide twice each and have back-to-back late-season road trips in Round 18 (Sydney) and Round 19 (Port Adelaide).

HOW YOUR CLUB FARED

RANK	CLUB	DIFFICULTY	TEAMS TO PLAY TWICE
1	Hawthorn	+1204	Adelaide, Collingwood, Geelong, Gold Coast, Sydney Swans
2	GWS	+1025	Geelong, Richmond, Sydney Swans, West Coast, Western Bulldogs
3	St Kilda	+951	Melbourne, West Coast, North Melbourne, Richmond, Sydney Swans
4	Western Bulldogs	+719	Brisbane Lions, GWS, North Melbourne, Sydney Swans, West Coast
5	Fremantle	+465	Geelong, West Coast, North Melbourne, Richmond, Essendon
6	Geelong	+425	Hawthorn, Adelaide, Collingwood, GWS, Fremantle
7	Collingwood	+253	Essendon, Geelong, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Port Adelaide
8	Melbourne	+246	Adelaide, North Melbourne, St Kilda, Collingwood, Carlton
9	Sydney Swans	+49	Carlton, GWS, Hawthorn, St Kilda, Western Bulldogs
10	West Coast	-55	Western Bulldogs, GWS, St Kilda, Port Adelaide, Fremantle
11	Brisbane Lions	-390	Gold Coast, Essendon, Richmond, Western Bulldogs, Port Adelaide
12	Gold Coast	-470	Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Hawthorn, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide
13	Adelaide	-523	Port Adelaide, Hawthorn, Essendon, Melbourne, Geelong
14	Essendon	-538	Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Adelaide, Collingwood, Fremantle
15	Port Adelaide	-610	Adelaide, Brisbane Lions, West Coast, Gold Coast, Collingwood
16	Carlton	-741	Richmond, Melbourne, Essendon, Gold Coast, Sydney Swans
17	Richmond	-986	GWS, St Kilda, Carlton, Fremantle, Brisbane Lions
18	North Melbourne	-1024	Western Bulldogs, St Kilda, Melbourne, Fremantle, Gold Coast

Source: CHAMPION DATA

Points are calculated using the difference in each team’s FOR and AGAINST totals at the end of last season’s home-and-away rounds. For example, Sydney at +752 is rated the hardest to play against. Brisbane Lions at -1102 is the easiest.