The AFL’s fixture leaves plenty to be desired as Gold Coast gifts a win to Fremantle and Blues get four Friday night clashes

THE AFL has its fixture down to a fine art, which makes handing Carlton four Friday night games next year so bewildering. And it’s not the only huge blunder.

THE AFL has its fixture release down to such a fine art that it is normally a stretch to confect some outrage.

A weighted formula means the toughest draw goes to the top-six teams and the best teams deservedly get the marquee Friday night slots.

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How do you get upset when most teams get what they deserve?

Which is why several key elements of this year’s fixture were so jarring when released on Tuesday.

No matter how you spin it, the AFL can’t justify gifting Carlton four Friday night games next year.

Especially when they already have a Thursday night season-opener against Richmond as well.

SEE THE FULL 2018 AFL FIXTURE PDF HERE

Carlton might have a good sprinkling of exciting kids, but this is a team which finished 16th this year, which was 18th for scoring, which for all its potential plays a sedate, defence-first risk-free game plan.

Jack Silvagni will have the chance to shine in four Friday night games next season.

North Melbourne, Brisbane, Fremantle and Gold Coast all got no Friday night games, and GWS, Hawthorn, Melbourne and West Coast got one each.

So when eight teams including Hawthorn get a combined four Friday nights, its impossible to justify the Blues getting four by themselves.

In 2015 Carlton’s Friday night losing margins were 69 points, 75 points, 77 points, 60 points, 30 points and 138 points.

This year it played a bunch of kids and lost by 90 points to Port Adelaide in its only Friday night game, having lost by 43 points to the Tigers in the Thursday night season-opener.

The league will hope to sell next year’s games on Charlie Curnow’s improvement and tight low-scoring contests, but a fixture shouldn’t be built on hope.

It’s just plain wrong.

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The other problematic fixturing quirk centres on Gold Coast’s diabolical 10-match stretch.

The league helped create Metricon Stadium on the basis it would be used for the Commonwealth Games, so it has known this year has been coming for a long time.

But it is still a surprise to see the league allowing the Suns to sell a home game to Fremantle at the new West Australian stadium.

It will play home games at the Gabba, in China and Cairns, as well as the Round 3 fixture against Fremantle.

But how could the AFL effectively gift Fremantle four premiership points by handing it an extra Perth game across the other side of the country from the Suns’ home base?

It might be a desperate solution to a one-off issue, but Gold Coast has turned a 50-50 game into a probably-can’t-win clash.

Gold Coast was 1-9 at the old Subiaco stadium and at the very least could have sold another game to Cairns or Townsville or Mackay.

Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew faces a horror start to his new job. Picture: Jerad Williams

What price do you put on four premiership points?

If you are so desperate to sell a home game, at least move it to a neutral venue or one where you are some chance to still win.

Think how feral that atmosphere will be in Round 3 as Fremantle plays only its second game in the new stadium — with the Suns as the home team.

Especially given the Suns are already playing a home game in China, where they lost by 72 points to Port Adelaide last year.

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It might pay the bills, but what would free agent Tom Lynch and new coach Stuart Dew think of that draw?

They both have a winner’s mentality.

And yet their side is so cash-strapped it will take the money, all the while realising it puts them on a hiding to nothing in Perth.

So while the AFL will surely break new records with its new Perth stadium — and the capacity that goes with it — the question marks abound.

Let’s hope Carlton transforms itself over the summer and Lynch doesn’t decide to depart Gold Coast during their 10-week whistlestop tour around Australia.