A ten week season is a joke, but I'm glad for the players that they will soon be able to start planning with certainty.

There were rumours of some terrible fixturing decisions in previous draft fixtures, such as games being scheduled for 5pm on Friday nights. Hopefully these have been removed.

3 hours ago, poita said:

There were rumours of some terrible fixturing decisions in previous draft fixtures, such as games being scheduled for 5pm on Friday nights. Hopefully these have been removed.

So we play 6 of last year's top 7, missing only Richmond who were eliminated in straight sets last year. Meanwhile Carlton don't have to play any of Melbourne, Brisbane or Adelaide - that sounds fair.

The 5pm Friday fixture in Frankston in round 4 and 6pm Thursday fixture in Geelong in round 5 remain. Bad luck for those players with other jobs to think about.

It's a worse fixture than the men. They really want some of the horrid teams to make the 8.

There's a gulf between the top and bottom teams. We're much better off playing the better teams. Those with soft draws will be found out come finals.

First time playing Geelong in the ALFW and would you have guessed; it'll be at taxpayer funded park. Haven't we seen enough of that [censored] pile.

Great first up game against the pies. I'll for sure get along to that one.

Really looking forward to the season. Pretty confident we can go back-to-back given the players Brisbane and Adelaide have lost to the expansion teams.

Edited July 17, 20231 yr by BDA

On first glance, it's what I expected as reigning premiers in a comp with a huge gulf between the best and the rest. Need to see if the rest of the top 4 have received the same treatment. But if we fail to get amongst it, I don't think it will be something we can blame on the fixture.

In terms of travel, we've done very well. The early starts for the Hawks and Cats games are really stupid though. I don't think it's so much of an impact on the players these days, but it's not great for fans. Yes, realistically there weren't going to be many Dees fans travelling down to the Cattery, but local fans who have jobs or kids? Too bad for them, I guess. And then it's like, why bother having that at GMHBA?

Mostly just relieved that it's finally (finally!) been announced.

And that they've set the Grand Final venues in advance.

3 Home games at Casey out of 10 games in total!!

North 5 games at Arden st or Tas

Lions 4 home games at their training base and an away game against GC and then another home game in R10 ( you know where that will be)

44 minutes ago, Dees_In_October said:

On first glance, it's what I expected as reigning premiers in a comp with a huge gulf between the best and the rest. Need to see if the rest of the top 4 have received the same treatment. But if we fail to get amongst it, I don't think it will be something we can blame on the fixture.

In terms of travel, we've done very well. The early starts for the Hawks and Cats games are really stupid though. I don't think it's so much of an impact on the players these days, but it's not great for fans. Yes, realistically there weren't going to be many Dees fans travelling down to the Cattery, but local fans who have jobs or kids? Too bad for them, I guess. And then it's like, why bother having that at GMHBA?

Mostly just relieved that it's finally (finally!) been announced.

And that they've set the Grand Final venues in advance.

I guess not exactly...

Availability may again compromise the highest (sic) team's choice?

Re H&A games, many Dees fans will be happy that 2 'home' games are in Melbourne(ish) Not this SW Gippslander, though! 🥺

On the other hand, 2 more games' worth of experience at Princes Park - already a happy-ish hunting ground - might be handy come choosing a GF venue (thinking positive!😉) - particularly if against an interstate team. This for a Dees-fans-filled-big(ger)-crowd atmosphere, better than Casey (I acknowledge grudgingly...)

The other thing which annoys me is the simple lack of respect for the AFLW by the AFL.

How do you develop interest in the game and get ratings on TV when you send the games to Ballarat, Warrnambool, Alberton, Tasmania, Windy Hill, Unley, Arden st, Whitten oval, Victoria Park......crowds will be pathetic. 

There is a perfectly good stadium at Marvel under a roof owned by the AFL, where perhaps every Victorian team should play, with conditions guaranteed to produce a good spectacle, with modern facilities for spectators, and no advantage to any side.    

With a train station right next to the ground and a $9.40 return V-Line ticket price I'd argue it's probably easier to get to GMHBA than Casey Fields. Although I acknowledge the start time is a bit odd. 

They are Melbourne. they have to play home games in Melbourne. it’s madness. 

the crowds would be big in spring playing at Icon or similar. 

and a 10 game season? treats the comp like it’s a novelty joke. why go to 18 teams if you are not ready to play a 17 round season??

https://www.womens.afl/news/120862?_ga=2.6926130.1607083853.1689569774-109191650.1689569774

Melbourne play 6 of 7 finalists from last season, the most of any team. Fremantle and West Coast play 3 of a possible 8. 

I agree that we are better off playing quality teams than beating up on the also rans, but don't forget that we missed out on a home GF last year by a single goal. Could the extra game against a weaker side for Adelaide or Brisbane end up gifting them a home GF?

Agree that a mix of Casey and Princes Park games is preferable. While we have a big advantage at Casey, I hate to think how much percentage we've squandered there over the years due to poor conditions. I also like that PP attracts a different crowd of Dees fans. We're also undefeated at PP from five starts and it's becoming the preferred finals venue.

Melbourne travel interstate 3 times, Brisbane 4, Adelaide 5, North 4 (including Tassie). Perhaps clutching at straws in a 10-week season, but our travel is also nicely spaced out, whereas Brisbane travel 3 times in a 4 weeks and Adelaide have a back-and-forth trend for much of the season.

Awarding points as follows (yes, it's a flawed measure):

Fixtures ranked "hardest" to "easiest":

Disclaimer being that the gulf reflected by these points allocated might narrow significantly or widen; very difficult to predict. Personally, I'd prefer for us to play as many of the contenders during the season. Brisbane has been compensated for their loss of players through the fixture. Not saying it's right, but this is the treatment we can expect (if draft/trade measures/natural decline fail to weaken us) until there is full season.

1 hour ago, Dees_In_October said:

Agree that a mix of Casey and Princes Park games is preferable. I also like that PP attracts a different crowd of Dees fans. We're also undefeated at PP from five starts and it's becoming the preferred finals venue.

Yes, those Ikon evening vibes have been an enjoyable experience for Dees fans.  Winning helps! 

The Season 8 opener against the Pies on Friday September 1, with Bri Davey and Brit Bonnici returning, will be a cracker.  

Will they run a practice game double header like they did last season?   Hope so.

Good to see we open the season instead of the usual Carlton/Collingwood.

Very happy to finally play the Crows on our turf at Casey!!!

To also play potential finalists there in WBD and Freo is good for us.  We have beaten the Lions at their ground.  Ikon Park holds no fear for us where we play Pies and Roos.  Finally the Away games:  Eagles, Geelong, Hawks and GWS those are ours to lose!

Very happy with our overall fixture. 

Fair reward for being Premiers.

Why isn't Marvel being used to showcase the game, instead of all these second rate country grounds.  Under the roof, good surface, easy for fans to get to and more of them to turn up than some country town, with TV facilities already there to cut down the costs for broadcasters.

From 1 September to a mid November Def Leppard concert ( a Tuesday) the only thing happening at the stadium is "stadium golf" a fabricated driving range for the day.

The ground is now owned by the AFL.... play football there. 

On 7/17/2023 at 4:14 PM, Dees_In_October said:

And that they've set the Grand Final venues in advance.

I missed that.  Could you post what the venues are.  TIA.

8 hours ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Very happy to finally play the Crows on our turf at Casey!!!

Good point! I'd overlooked that.

18 hours ago, Demonland said:

Good to see some consolidation of venues used, despite there still being some home grounds under development for part/all of the season (Whitten Oval, Punt Rd). Hopefully it means some stability for more teams and fans.

6 hours ago, Lucifers Hero said:

I missed that.  Could you post what the venues are.  TIA.

https://www.womens.afl/news/120490/aflw-fixture-match-ups-revealed-gf-venues-locked-in

The possible Grand Final venues are:

* Alberton Oval: Port Adelaide
* Norwood Oval: Adelaide
* Brighton Homes Arena: Brisbane and Gold Coast
* Fremantle Oval: Fremantle
* GMHBA Stadium: Geelong
* Henson Park: GWS and Sydney
* Leederville Oval: West Coast
* Ikon Park: Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Hawthorn, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Richmond, St Kilda and Western Bulldogs

Hopefully similar has been done for the first three weeks of finals...but wouldn't be surprised if they forgot to do that!

39 minutes ago, Dees_In_October said:

Good point! I'd overlooked that.

Good to see some consolidation of venues used, despite there still being some home grounds under development for part/all of the season (Whitten Oval, Punt Rd). Hopefully it means some stability for more teams and fans.

https://www.womens.afl/news/120490/aflw-fixture-match-ups-revealed-gf-venues-locked-in

The possible Grand Final venues are:

* Alberton Oval: Port Adelaide
* Norwood Oval: Adelaide
* Brighton Homes Arena: Brisbane and Gold Coast
* Fremantle Oval: Fremantle
* GMHBA Stadium: Geelong
* Henson Park: GWS and Sydney
* Leederville Oval: West Coast
* Ikon Park: Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Hawthorn, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Richmond, St Kilda and Western Bulldogs

Hopefully similar has been done for the first three weeks of finals...but wouldn't be surprised if they forgot to do that!

No MCG.  Bit of a surprise since iirc they held a prelim final there are few years ago.

And no Marvel stadium.  Two years ago they got 40,000+ to the GF in Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval.

Any theories on why they are using second string venues which have very small capacity and probably limited facilities...really limits revenue raising and merchandising for the GF.

8 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

No MCG.  Bit of a surprise since iirc they held a prelim final there are few years ago.

And no Marvel stadium.  Two years ago they got 40,000+ to the GF in Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval.

Any theories on why they are using second string venues which have very small capacity and probably limited facilities...really limits revenue raising and merchandising for the GF.

Cricket/other events is the official line.

I think Ikon Park is a good GF venue if it's a VIC vs. interstate team. Two VIC teams, and you're right, they'd be limiting themselves and taking away the chance to beat that record. I don't know that there are any other options available though. Hopefully at the very least there won't be any repeats of the Richmond vs. North semi-final last season, inexplicably played at Punt Rd Oval instead of Ikon Park, with North fans basically locked out.

Strangely the Demons are not mentioned in this article.

McClelland Trophy race to heat up as AFLW fixture confirmed