The 2018 Fixture Thread

[Wiseblood 24,636]

Nobody really knows how easy or hard a draw will be until the season is well underway.

Some teams surprise, others fall down the ladder a little.  People are saying the Pies have an easy draw, but that doesn't take into account so many other factors like form, injuries and the like.

If we are to make finals we'll do it off the back of good, consistent footy, regardless of the draw.

[Macca 16,173]

The fixture is not all that tough from a playing point of view but from a financial point of view we could have done with 2 home fixtures against teams like the Hawks,  Blues or Dons. 

But, we've got 3 blockbuster fixtures in the first half of the season and it should be remembered that we pick up 800k from each of the NT games. 

The lack of exposure for our sponsors with regards to free-to-air prime-time games is a concern and of the 104 slots available in those prime-time free-to-air games,  we received a total of 4.

We are on free-to-air a dozen times though which seems more than what has happened in the recent past. 

From a playing point of view only having 4 six day breaks is a great result ... both Sydney & GWS are hard to beat at their home grounds but we only play both those teams at the MCG.  And we don't visit Tassie either - another tough place to find a win.  Our toughest away games are against the Crows,  Port & Eagles but we won 2 of those away encounters in the recently completed season (Crows & Eagles)

In summary we've got a lot of very winnable games and from a financial viewpoint,  the club pockets some very decent coin in the first half of the year ... which means we can set ourselves up for a fruitful 2nd half of the season.  Home games in the 2nd half of the season against the Saints,  Bulldogs & Swans could end up being quite rewarding.

The attitude from the playing group and coaching department should be anyplace, anywhere, anytime

[Big Carl 333]

I understand why we sell 2 home games in the NT but at what point do 4 premiership points become more important?

Every win is critical to finishing as high as possible to maximise the chances of playing in the Grand Final.

[The Chazz 4,077]

10 minutes ago, DubDee said:

Ahhh the veil of negativity!   the whinging supporters are stopping the players from winning again

you're hilarious Chazz

When you have it reported that some 400 "supporters" email the club CEO to whinge about a list management decision.  When you have a group of "supporters" attend the B&F and vocally throw their support behind a player being offered up for trade, one that was clearly moved on because of his standards.  When you have "supporters" that pick and chose the games they go to because they are too precious about the time of day that's being played.

I'm not saying we are the reason we're not winning, but it's certainly playing some role in blocking the cultural shift that PJ and Goody are trying to achieve.

[monoccular 16,016]

3 hours ago, rjay said:

You obviously believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy 'steve'...

Give it a break.

How did Carlton earn it?

 

And the Saints. Of course Essendon did by being so strong after being caught cheating ?

2 hours ago, Petraccattack said:

Only three 6 day breaks, thank christ.

We will make the top 4. Lock it in.

No idea why we play West coast in Perth again though....   so much for a fair fixture.

You are surely old enough to know that fair and AFL scheduling are mutually exclusive. 

2 hours ago, McQueen said:

I watch and support the club at any stage of a round. Whilst one Friday night game is paltry compared to other undeserved clubs, it’s hardly worth getting your knickers in a twist over.

 

We are, again, absolutely screwed by the AFL re revenue and sponsorship opportunities by lack of prime time exposure. 

Sure every game needs to be won but we also are denied millions of dollars in lost opportunity. 

2 hours ago, picket fence said:

You reap what you sow and we have been shizen for a long time. We deserve this draw.

Defining year next year for a lot of people at the club and unless we finish in top 8, The unemployment queue will get bigger, starting with the coach! IMV

Except, picket, Carlton and Saints are gifted far more than they sew. 

2 hours ago, Zoiikgarden said:

Just hope the boys have a winning mindset - whenever, wherever, without fading in quarters and keep firing until Round 23!!

All fired up!!

Surely you mean the final siren on GF day. 

[DaveyDee 421]

2 minutes ago, The Chazz said:

When you have it reported that some 400 "supporters" email the club CEO to whinge about a list management decision.  When you have a group of "supporters" attend the B&F and vocally throw their support behind a player being offered up for trade, one that was clearly moved on because of his standards.  When you have "supporters" that pick and chose the games they go to because they are too precious about the time of day that's being played.

I'm not saying we are the reason we're not winning, but it's certainly playing some role in blocking the cultural shift that PJ and Goody are trying to achieve.

Good luck with this point of view on the internet and social media. 

 

[Big Carl 333]

2 hours ago, picket fence said:

You reap what you sow and we have been shizen for a long time. We deserve this draw.

Defining year next year for a lot of people at the club and unless we finish in top 8, The unemployment queue will get bigger, starting with the coach! IMV

Agree. Hard decisions have been made so nowhere to hide if we don't make finals.

[ucanchoose 1,803]

7 minutes ago, DaveyDee said:

Good luck with this point of view on the internet and social media. 

 

Chazz is 100% correct in my view

[Macca 16,173]

24 minutes ago, Big Carl said:

I understand why we sell 2 home games in the NT but at what point do 4 premiership points become more important?

Every win is critical to finishing as high as possible to maximise the chances of playing in the Grand Final.

Good teams win anywhere BC ... we've got 15 games in Melb/Vic which is 3 more than any of the teams outside of Victoria get in their home states.  And compared to a lot of other major sports,  the amount of games that the majority of our supporters can actually attend is quite high.

Don't forget that the members receive 2 games as compensation for the NT exercise.  It's my belief that the NT games are here to stay and PJ may well be able to broker an even better financial deal from the arrangement. 

One could argue that we're traveling interstate on our own terms (albeit for a percentage of those interstate games)

 

 

 

 

.

Edited October 31, 2017 by Macca

[Diamond_Jim 11,679]

One needs to look at the draw form both a playing aspect and a financial one. I prefer to look it at as a "money matter."

It is obvious that we are significantly disadvantaged once again from a financial aspect. No matter how much we succeed or complain we will not win in a compromised draw environment. Collingwood don't travel because they are so good in agreeing to play Vic based clubs etc etc is the constant mantra. This will not change.

The only way to change is have the clubs attack the integrity of the draw itself. There is a small groundswell for a simplified draw ie. play all 17 teams once and then start again until you reach 22 or whatever the season number might be.

Friday night games are nominated by the TV station say 6-10 weeks in advance depending upon viewer interest.

In such a world we might just stand a chance of getting off the bottom rungs of the financial ladder.

[praha 10,267]

33 minutes ago, small but forward said:

The draw does us no favours.

Negatives:

-  One Friday night game, in Adelaide

- Playing 11 games against teams that have had more rest than us (7 games + 1 day, 3 games + 2 days and 1 game +6 days). Adelaide in Traeger park with 2 extra days rest will be tough. To balance that up, we only play 4 games where we’ve had additional rest over our opponents (3x +1 day, 1x +3 days)

- Last 6 rounds include 5 against teams in this yrs top 8. Three of those road trips, and two of those three against teams with home team having extra rest (Geelong +2 days, WCE +1 day)

- A lot of Sunday 3:20pm games (6). Not good for crowds, it’s an effing school night AFL. We’ve got 4 traditional Saturday/Sunday early afternoon games (2 home, 2 away). Timing of games not terrific for people wanting to take smaller kids along. Might pair back the membership level given I’m not going to get to a lot of these games.

Positives:

- Only 3 road trips in the 13 rounds before the bye

- Playing 8 teams that finished 10^th or lower,  in the 12 rounds before the bye

- If we make the finals, we’ll have earnt it.

 

Our draw this year was tougher and we won 12 games. What pisses me off about this fixture is lack of prime time. 

Calculating matches against top 8 sides from the year before is pointless because anyone can bounce up and down. Teams that played Hawthorn twice in 2016 originally would have seen it as a negative but by round 6 it was a positive. Richmond was the opposite. Teams were happy to play Richmond twice in 2017 until they realised they were pretty good.

[In Harmes Way 7,477]

1 minute ago, praha said:

Our draw this year was tougher and we won 12 games. What pisses me off about this fixture is lack of prime time. 

Calculating matches against top 8 sides from the year before is pointless because anyone can bounce up and down. Teams that played Hawthorn twice in 2016 originally would have seen it as a negative but by round 6 it was a positive. Richmond was the opposite. Teams were happy to play Richmond twice in 2017 until they realised they were pretty good.

Completely agree on all scores, praha. I was only looking at it from the point of view that good sides like Adelaide are likely to be good again, do we have a run against those teams (as we do, running into finals); and despite fewer 6 day breaks; comparatively are we getting less rest than our opponents (we are). Teams we play next year may or may not buck the trend, the draw says to me we must be in a strong ladder position come the bye as we've got more travel and (expected) tougher opposition. Same could have been said this year, though, and we won some games I thought we'd lose.  

We're definitely good enough.

[Demon trucker 1,731]

14 minutes ago, Big Carl said:

Agree. Hard decisions have been made so nowhere to hide if we don't make finals.

I would agree with you and picket if that apply s to ever team, Carlton have been worse then as over the last three years but get 4 Friday night game and a Thursday, it has nothing to do with deserve, Carlton Richmond and collingwood will always get more prime time game then as

[praha 10,267]

I wonder if crowds play a factor. Had we played our two NT games away or at the MCG, our home average goes beyond 40k, and our total average goes above 45k or whatever it was. 

I totally get the financial benefit but I have to question the long term affects of this deal. From a fixturing standpoint it's a nightmare because the AFL treats it as a home game, even though it really is an away game. We get fewer games at the MCG, never get a home game against Essendon, and potentially miss out on Friday night games year after year because our attendances take a hit, and you have the physical strain on a playing group that is obviously affected by playing in those conditions.

I really can't wait until this deal is done with, UNLESS we can start playing consistently good football there and winning games either side of those matches. Our fixture is that little bit more gruelling because we're subjecting oueselves to playing in conditions that local NT teams don't even play in.

[What 18,810]

Four friday night matches for St. Failure

Wow.

[Roger Mellie 3,483]

1 hour ago, small but forward said:

Ah great - a puzzle.

My guess - Catholics?

Carol singers

Edited October 31, 2017 by Roger Mellie
Damn that's two words

[Diamond_Jim 11,679]

5 minutes ago, praha said:

I wonder if crowds play a factor. Had we played our two NT games away or at the MCG, our home average goes beyond 40k, and our total average goes above 45k or whatever it was. 

I totally get the financial benefit but I have to question the long term affects of this deal. From a fixturing standpoint it's a nightmare because the AFL treats it as a home game, even though it really is an away game. We get fewer games at the MCG, never get a home game against Essendon, and potentially miss out on Friday night games year after year because our attendances take a hit, and you have the physical strain on a playing group that is obviously affected by playing in those conditions.

I really can't wait until this deal is done with, UNLESS we can start playing consistently good football there and winning games either side of those matches. Our fixture is that little bit more gruelling because we're subjecting oueselves to playing in conditions that local NT teams don't even play in.

Do you recall that we used to sell our home game to Brisbane. One of the reasons that it stopped was because other clubs complained that it gave Brisbane another home game and another easy win.

There is a name for what we are doing and it isn't pretty

[picket fence 15,059]

56 minutes ago, small but forward said:

The draw does us no favours.

Negatives:

-  One Friday night game, in Adelaide

- Playing 11 games against teams that have had more rest than us (7 games + 1 day, 3 games + 2 days and 1 game +6 days). Adelaide in Traeger park with 2 extra days rest will be tough. To balance that up, we only play 4 games where we’ve had additional rest over our opponents (3x +1 day, 1x +3 days)

- Last 6 rounds include 5 against teams in this yrs top 8. Three of those road trips, and two of those three against teams with home team having extra rest (Geelong +2 days, WCE +1 day)

- A lot of Sunday 3:20pm games (6). Not good for crowds, it’s an effing school night AFL. We’ve got 4 traditional Saturday/Sunday early afternoon games (2 home, 2 away). Timing of games not terrific for people wanting to take smaller kids along. Might pair back the membership level given I’m not going to get to a lot of these games.

Positives:

- Only 3 road trips in the 13 rounds before the bye

- Playing 8 teams that finished 10^th or lower,  in the 12 rounds before the bye

- If we make the finals, we’ll have earnt it.

 

And if we don't, time for Bloodletting!

[M_9 1,612]

1 minute ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Do you recall that we used to sell our home game to Brisbane. One of the reasons that it stopped was because other clubs complained that it gave Brisbane another home game and another easy win.

There is a name for what we are doing and it isn't pretty

Does it start with 'c' and end in 's'?

All these puzzles are doin' my head in.

[Roger Mellie 3,483]

The AFL Website Fixture commentary says the clubs with the worst fixture in order are:

1. Gold Coast 

2. Melbourne

3. Sydney

It gives me license to continue whinging as I like to think our improvement over recent years, our watchability and well the whole darn vibe should translate to a improved deal on the fixture, not the same old graveyard shifts and only 3 games where we can make a decent amount of cash - while teams like Carlton, Essendon, Freo and Saints are rewarded. 

[DubDee 20,363]

50 minutes ago, The Chazz said:

When you have it reported that some 400 "supporters" email the club CEO to whinge about a list management decision.  When you have a group of "supporters" attend the B&F and vocally throw their support behind a player being offered up for trade, one that was clearly moved on because of his standards.  When you have "supporters" that pick and chose the games they go to because they are too precious about the time of day that's being played.

I'm not saying we are the reason we're not winning, but it's certainly playing some role in blocking the cultural shift that PJ and Goody are trying to achieve.

thanks for the reasoned response

we support the club, one of our favourite players gets put up for trade, you voice your opinion and show support for that player, whats wrong with that?

the majority of MFC fans are strong and unwavering in their support (you'd have to be to still be around).

I think if supporters want to discuss the fixture and point out the negatives that is reasonable.

[ArtificialWisdom 3,844]

Season went down the crapper after 3 consecutive 6 day breaks. So given we have no consecutive 6 days and no consecutive interstate trips I think it's a pretty good on field fixture, there are very few teams we fear now and our first half year will offer is a chance at being in top 4 contention. It's up to the club to take that chance or we might be fighting to even make it all over again. I could see us anywhere between 8-2 and 4-6 after the first 10 weeks. God help us if its the later...

 

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,381]

1 hour ago, Wiseblood said:

Nobody really knows how easy or hard a draw will be until the season is well underway.

Some teams surprise, others fall down the ladder a little.  People are saying the Pies have an easy draw, but that doesn't take into account so many other factors like form, injuries and the like.

If we are to make finals we'll do it off the back of good, consistent footy, regardless of the draw.

Or, to put it another way. If the draw makes a difference whether we make the 8 or not, then we don't deserve to be there anyway.

[whatwhat say what 18,793]

first up, it's a fixture, not a draw

i have no issues with who we play, but some of the choices around timings are utterly bizarre

from a financial pov, i think it's pretty crippling, and really, cos it's a fixture and not a draw, that's all that matters; we'll be up against it this year to turn a positive unless our side is very, very good and we make finals

we simply must win more than 13 games to make finals, and quite honestly i think 12 will be a stretch as i'm writing off those two games against footscray after the nt trips

[titan_uranus 22,220]

It’s the usual “MFC fixture”. Generaly provides good opportunities on field but horrendous off field.

Only one Friday night game and it’s away. No Saturday night games (home or away) in Melbourne. 6 Sunday 3.20pm games (rubbish timeslot that the big clubs routinely get to avoid).  

2 hours ago, praha said:

Our final game of the year and inability to make finals again has cost us.

I generally agree. However, it’s harder to accept when Carlton, who won 6 games for the year with a percentage of 78% playing some pretty boring football and finishing 16th, gets four Friday night games. 

And when St Kilda, who finished two spots below us on the ladder with one fewer win and 10% less, and whose average home crowd was 3,500 less than us (despite us having the two NT home crowds dragging our figure down) and whose average overall attendance was 4,000 less than us (despite them having four Friday night games compared to our one) get three Friday night games plus Good Friday.

I believe in clubs earning their fixtures but I’m not convinced that, if we’d made the finals, we’d have received a better fixture.

1 hour ago, small but forward said:

The draw does us no favours.

Negatives:

-  One Friday night game, in Adelaide

- Playing 11 games against teams that have had more rest than us (7 games + 1 day, 3 games + 2 days and 1 game +6 days). Adelaide in Traeger park with 2 extra days rest will be tough. To balance that up, we only play 4 games where we’ve had additional rest over our opponents (3x +1 day, 1x +3 days)

- Last 6 rounds include 5 against teams in this yrs top 8. Three of those road trips, and two of those three against teams with home team having extra rest (Geelong +2 days, WCE +1 day)

- A lot of Sunday 3:20pm games (6). Not good for crowds, it’s an effing school night AFL. We’ve got 4 traditional Saturday/Sunday early afternoon games (2 home, 2 away). Timing of games not terrific for people wanting to take smaller kids along. Might pair back the membership level given I’m not going to get to a lot of these games.

Positives:

- Only 3 road trips in the 13 rounds before the bye

- Playing 8 teams that finished 10^th or lower,  in the 12 rounds before the bye

- If we make the finals, we’ll have earnt it.

 

Interesting analysis of the comparative rest breaks leading into games - do you know if this is better/worse than 2017?

I’m not sure the 3 road trips in the first 13 games thing is good. It means 5 of our last 10 games are interstate or in Geelong. When coupled with the fact that, based on 2017, our back half of the year features harder teams, that again puts us under enormous pressure to bank early season wins.