AFL 2019 fixture: The pros and cons of your club’s fixture
WHICH clubs have benefitted most from the 2019 fixture and who’s copped a tough draw? We analyse every club’s draw, name the pros and cons and the games you simply can’t miss. EVERY CLUB’S FIXTURE ANALYSED
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THE AFL has revealed the full fixture for the 2019 season.
How did your club fare? Experts Sam Edmund, Chris Cavanagh and Gilbert Gardiner have analysed every club’s draw and named the pros and cons.
View your club’s analysis below.
EVERY MATCH: ENTIRE 2019 HOME-AND-AWAY SCHEDULE
DOUBLE UP GAMES: WHO’S GOT THE TOUGHEST DRAW?
BLOCKBUSTERS: THE 11 GAMES YOU CAN’T MISS
ADELAIDE
The big win: Collingwood, Richmond, Hawthorn, Geelong and Essendon are all coming to town.
The major concern: Only one MCG game, the fewest since 2011, has upset the fan base.
Prime time factor: Pretty well represented with three Friday nights and two Thursday nights.
Get your tickets: The Cats on a Thursday night in Round 3 is big.
Club says: “I would anticipate the sold out sign going up at Adelaide Oval quite a few times next year.” — CEO Andrew Fagan.
BRISBANE LIONS
The big win: Three free-to-air TV games has pleased the club.
The major concern: Having to play in Ballarat isn’t ideal and didn’t get a Friday night game.
Prime time factor: Got Pies and Dayne Beams at the Gabba on a Thursday night in Round 5. Huge.
Get your tickets: The Lions will sell the Collingwood clash like it’s a Grand Final and so they should.
Club says: “We had asked the AFL for more Saturday home games in 2019 as we believe they are easier for our fans to attend.” — CEO Greg Swann said.
GARY BUCKENARA: EVERY CLUB’S LIST ANALYSED
CARLTON
The big win: Relishing a traditional arvo and family-friendly footy draw in which they host big rivals Richmond and Collingwood at the MCG.
The major concern: Stripped of Friday night footy hurts, but comes as no surprise.
Prime time factor: Retained the Thursday night season opener against Richmond.
Get your tickets: Should get more than 80k to the ‘G for Round 1.
Club says: “I’m pleased we’ve received a balance of Saturday and Sunday afternoon matches. They’re traditional footy timeslots ... so it’s a positive result for the club and our members and supporters.” — CEO Cain Liddle
COLLINGWOOD
The big win: Fourteen matches at the ‘G, including four straight to start the season.
The major concern: Given what Champion Data judge to be the most difficult draw.
Prime time factor: Jackpot. Seven Friday night games and two Thursday night games. Cha-ching.
Get your tickets: Round 2, Friday night, MCG, Richmond. Wowza.
Club says: “We’re delighted to be hosting the Queen’s Birthday match for the first time since 1999 and we’ll continue to work with Melbourne in our joint and committed support of Neale Daniher’s Fight MND campaign.” — CEO Mark Anderson
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ESSENDON
The big win: Sponsors last seen doing cartwheels. String of prime time games mixed with four themed blockbusters.
The major concern: Challenging start, with four six-day breaks in the first six rounds.
Prime time factor: Enormous. A combined seven Thursday and Friday night games.
Get your tickets: Anzac Day.
Club says: “We are pleased with our commercially strong fixture and our members and supporters will welcome the number of blockbuster games we proudly feature in throughout the first half of our season.” — CEO Xavier Campbell
FREMANTLE
The big win: Less Sunday games at home and more Saturday night games at home, as per their wish.
The major concern: Three long-haul away games in Tasmania, Queensland and Canberra will be a challenge.
Prime time factor: Zero.
Get your tickets: Lachie Neale and the Lions come to town in Round 10.
Club says: “We are also confident all our members and supporters will be excited by the prospect of blockbuster clashes at Optus Stadium against big-drawing Victorian clubs in Richmond, Essendon, Geelong and Carlton.” — CEO Steve Rosich
GEELONG
The big win: No excuses about not getting off to a good start, with 10 of the first 12 games in Victoria, including five at the Cattery.
The major concern: The Cats own a poor post-bye record, their last win after a break coming way back in 2011. It doesn’t get any easier, with a tricky assignment against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval in Round 14.
Prime time factor: Friday night blockbusters against Collingwood (Round 1) and Richmond (Round 12) will attract bumper crowds, while the Cats play host to Adelaide in Round 15.
Get your tickets: Get two bites of the cherry playing Hawthorn in Round 5 and 18, averaged 66,000+ crowd last year including a monster 73,189 in Round 2.
GOLD COAST
The big win: Wins have been few and far between for this lot, but the first four games — St Kilda (away), Fremantle (home), Western Bulldogs (away) and Carlton (home) somewhat winnable — on paper.
The major concern: Honestly? Every game. Not least the last month, with Essendon, Collingwood and Hawthorn eyeing percentage gains.
Prime time factor: Host the Q-Clash in Round 6, expect Touk Miller to renew hostilities with Dayne Zorko.
Get your tickets: Seriously? Might even be able to book a few rows at some Metricon Games this season.
Club says: “The 2019 fixture has a much better travel load than our 2018 fixture given the interruptions the Commonwealth Games did generate. This year we are fortunate to have no double travels and only one trip to Western Australia” — acting CEO Andrew Thomas
GWS GIANTS
The big win: Even spread across the board but should be able to stack wins either side of the bye to set up the season.
The major concern: Ouch! First month could make or break the Giants, with Essendon (home), West Coast (away), Richmond (home) and Geelong (away) the testing material.
Prime time factor: Just the one Friday night game, and one Thursday night, but truckloads of family-friendly twilight slots.
Get your tickets: Battles of the Bridge (Rounds 6 and 20) and Friday night blockbuster against Hawthorn (Round 21) in Canberra not to be missed.
Club says: “In addition to the Bombers and Tigers, to have fellow big Victorian clubs Collingwood, Carlton and the Western Bulldogs come to town, along with Brisbane and the Gold Coast, results in us having a nicely balanced eight-game fixture in Sydney” — CEO David Matthews
HAWTHORN
The big win: The Hawks will play 13 games in Melbourne and travel interstate five times (excluding games in Launceston) for games in Adelaide, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane and Perth.
The major concern: Bookend the season with tricky away games (Adelaide Round 1 and West Coast Round 23), with a tough slog in May against premiership contenders Melbourne, GWS and Richmond.
Prime time factor: Bumper MCG blockbusters, with big match-ups against the Cats on Easter Monday, Collingwood and reigning Premiers West Coast.
Get your tickets: Just the one Friday night home game for the Hawks but it is a beauty against Collingwood at the ‘G.
Club says: “We understand the fixture process is a challenging one for the league, however it is disappointing we did not receive any of the priority fixture requests we submitted to the AFL and that we have again been fixtured a home game at Marvel Stadium” — CEO Justin Reeves
MELBOURNE
The big win: Will host 12 matches at the MCG, including nine home games.
The major concern: Hardly a knock given iron grip on Queen’s Birthday blockbuster, but the bottom line will take a hit this season with Collingwood given hosting rights.
Prime time factor: Highly-anticipated Anzac Day eve blockbuster could see former Gold Coast Suns co-captains Steven May and Tom Lynch lock horns, while the Round 14 game against Jesse Hogan’s Fremantle Dockers will give the Demon army something to jeer about.
Get your tickets: Home games against traditional rivals Essendon, Hawthorn, Richmond and Collingwood sure to keep the turnstiles spinning.
Club says: “The fixture will deliver up to eight, big blockbuster games against rival clubs including Collingwood, Richmond and Essendon while television broadcast coverage has increased with Fox Sports covering all Melbourne Football Club games and Channel 7 covering 13 of our games next season free air” — CEO Gary Pert
NORTH MELBOURNE
The big win: Friday night and free-to-air exposure a big plus, as could be three of the four games at the Hobart fortress against premiership hopefuls Sydney, GWS and Melbourne, with the Kangaroos having 14 of 18 games at Blundstone Arena.
The major concern: Third hardest draw according to Champion Data, with double-ups against Geelong, Hawthorn, Essendon, Port Adelaide and improvers Brisbane.
Prime time factor: The founders of Friday night footy have been rewarded with four blockbuster timeslots, including three home games against big clubs in Essendon, Richmond and Hawthorn.
Get your tickets: Good Friday at Marvel Stadium against Essendon looks every bit a sell out in the making.
Club says: “You can already see there’ll be a real level of hype and anticipation heading into many of our home games at Marvel Stadium, as well as the Good Friday encounter with Essendon, there’ll be strong demand for tickets against Richmond and Hawthorn, both on Friday nights” — CEO Carl Dilena
PORT ADELAIDE
The big win: No five-day breaks for the season and just one six-day break in the opening nine rounds.
The major concern: Not an easy run home, with Richmond, Greater Western Sydney, Essendon, Sydney, North Melbourne and Fremantle in the final six rounds.
Prime time factor: On par with this year, having three Friday nights. But no Thursday nights forthcoming.
Get your tickets: Anyone fancy a trip to China in Round 11? Port’s games in Shanghai the past two years haven’t exactly been classics, but the club does have a 100 per cent winning record there.
Club says: “To play three consecutive Friday night blockbuster games, including the historic Good Friday night game against West Coast in Perth, is a great opportunity to shine a light on our club.’’ — CEO Keith Thomas
RICHMOND
The big win: Thirteen matches at the MCG and just five interstate games once again.
The major concern: A four-day break after a Round 5 clash with Sydney heading into an Anzac eve fixture with Melbourne in Round 6.
Prime time factor: Three Thursday night games including the traditional season-opener against Carlton and a further three Friday nights.
Get your tickets: Round 2 clash against 2018 preliminary final opponent Collingwood will be huge. The three meetings between the sides this year drew an average crowd of 85,099.
Club says: “Once again, it is an exciting start to the season against traditional rivals Carlton and Collingwood.’’ — CEO Brendon Gale
ST KILDA
The big win: The easiest fixture in the land, with double-up matches against Gold Coast, Carlton and Fremantle.
The major concern: No prime time slots on Thursday and Friday nights and one Saturday night game before Round 17, not good news for the money coffers at Moorabbin.
Prime time factor: Zilch, after playing in four Friday night stinkers this year.
Get your tickets: Saints fans who suffered through a four-win 2018 could do worse than to get along to Round 1, where a seemingly easy kill awaits against Gold Coast.
Club says: “We take responsibility for our poor performance this year and the impact this has had on fixture slots.” — CEO Matt Finnis
SYDNEY
The big win: A run of four games at the SCG in five rounds between Rounds 10 and 15.
The major concern: Few easy kills in the double-up fixtures against Melbourne, Greater Western Sydney, Essendon, Geelong and Carlton.
Prime time factor: Big winners, with five Friday nights and one Thursday night.
Get your tickets: The Battle of the Bridge returns in Round 6, the Swans sure to be seeking redemption after a 49-point elimination final loss to Greater Western Sydney this year.
Club says: “The club has secured a really exciting 2019 fixture that has a little something for everyone.” — Incoming CEO Tom Harley
WEST COAST
The big win: Three of four games in Perth from Rounds 2-5, including a bumper Good Friday night clash with Port Adelaide.
The major concern: Not much to worry about when you’re reigning premiers.
Prime time factor: Had one Thursday and one Friday night last year but have been boosted to one Thursday night and three Friday nights in 2019.
Get your tickets: Expect Perth Stadium to be rocking when Good Friday football heads west, the Eagles hosting Port Adelaide.
Club says: “We knew we’d get a pretty tough draw and that’s how it’s worked out but we’re comfortable with what we’ve been given. We’ve got seven home night fixtures which give us the flexibility with our members and supporters to get to games.” — CEO Trevor Nisbett
WESTERN BULLDOGS
The big win: Just one interstate trip in the opening 10 rounds, coming against Fremantle at Perth Stadium in Round 6.
The major concern: One of the unlucky eight teams to receive a five-day break, playing Collingwood on Friday night in Round 4 after facing Gold Coast the previous Sunday.
Prime time factor: Punted from the spotlight after a poor 2018, receiving just one Friday night game against Collingwood in Round 4.
Get your tickets: If you’re willing to brave the likely winter chill, hit the road to Ballarat for the Round 8 clash with Brisbane, one of two games the Dogs will play at Eureka Stadium again this year.
Club says: “Our major disappointment is again missing out on being involved in a Good Friday game after the great success of the inaugural event in 2017, when we successfully partnered with North Melbourne.’’ — CEO Ameet Bains
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