Bring-Back-Powell

We've got equal amount of MCG games as Collingwood and one more than Richmond. Pert and CO will be wrapped with that. Surely it's been years since that's occurred.

I was feeling upbeat about the fixture until I read that. How can a club get just 5 trips when there are 8 interstate teams plus Gather round?

Hope it's the other way around as you'd imagine a lot more MFC supporters will be in town for the Adelaide gather round game.

Same amount of travel as 2023.

Surely they will after last year's debacle. Have to go no worse than 1-1 in the Adelaide oval double. Our first game at the MCG in a final round since 2018. Playing WC at the G for first time since 2014. Away MCG games against Hawthorn, Collingwood, Carlton and Richmond which should total an excellent 14 MCG games, 1 more than last year.

We avoid Geelong in Geelong and have a proper bye for once!

This year it was Bulldogs and Carlton that had to play the SA teams in Gather Round. Next year it’s us and Essendon. The year after it will be two other teams. Cleary it’s on a rotational basis. I’m struggling to comprehend what the issue is here??

The advantage of round zero is Carlton and Collingwood could potentially be 0-2 before the Saturday of round 1.

That's exactly what's happening.

Spot on. Since the flag we've played with the red ball just twice at the G. Once against St Kilda in 2022 and once against Freo in 2023. I'd like to see more Saturday afternoon and early Sunday afternoon games at he G to add variety to the schedule. However Saturday afternoon footy seems to be reserved for the also rans if the second half of last season was a guide. I'd also like to see us play at Marvel more than once, at the expense of 1 or 2 less interstate trips. I figure we won't get more than 13 MCG games like last year.

I wonder if the club internally acknowledges that a lack of a proper bye has actually hurt the club come finals time, or whether they're not having a bar of it. In 2021 we actually had a decent bye - played Queens Birthday on round 13 and then next played the Saturday night of round 15, and went on to have a fairly solid finals campaign.

Logic would suggest that's the case as we would go in fresh for Gather Round rather than copping a 5 day break. So nothing surer then our bye being scheduled on a weekend other than that.

Was hoping the Sydney game would be on the weekend to make it easier to travel up. Was earlier rumoured to be Sunday 3:20pm.

Perhaps we have a bye the weekend before Gather Round given we have a Thursday night game on Gather Round weekend. Round zero - @ Sydney Round 1 - V Dogs Round 2 - V someone. Round 3 - Bye Round 4 - Gather Round @ Adelaide (Thu night)

I have no doubt we'll train the house down and tough love will be enacted. If you believe analysts like David King, we train the hardest in the league. Who remembers the fellas doing running drills after the praccy match V St Kilda in blistering 32 degree heat. The results from rounds 1-9 speak for themselves over the last 2 years as we jump out like a rocket in the practice matches and generally have our dominant wins in the first couple of months. For example this year our early season wins over the Dogs and Sydney were first class and we also walloped North by almost 100 points. It's after round 9 (2022) and/or finals (2022 and 2023) that the club loses its way somewhat and fades in the final 300 metres down the straight.

Technically we could play Adelaide twice at Adelaide Oval next year. One in Gather Round and one later in the year. Richmond and GWS both "hosted" Sydney and Hawthorn respectively two times. One in Gather Round and one later in the year.

Every second day it's been reported in the media that we're playing Sydney in Sydney for round "zero" on Labor day weekend and it's being billed as the Brodie Grundy rematch. I'd be surprised if we're now not involved.

Like others I'm getting a bit over the Alice game, but obviously the club needs the $750K or whatever it is these days. Pleasing that we have an 8 day break into the following week as opposed to the usual 6 day break we have after Alice. And given how we've fared against Freo the last two year at the MCG, it might be a blessing to play them in Alice rather than at the G.

Exactly. We would’ve had a very embarrassing loss to GC in 2019 had Hore not nailed that goal from 50 with 30 seconds left. No issues if he’s a direct replacement for Hibberd who barely played 10-12 game last year.

In a parallel universe that didn’t have Gather Round this year, we finish second and play Brisbane in a week 1 MCG final.

In the pre COVID 2020 fixture we got stiffed. Round 1 in Perth and round 23 in Hobart (although the fixture got torn up for obvious reasons.

As mentioned above, Carlton and Bulldogs drew the short straw in 2023. Us and Essendon have drawn the short straw next year. Two other clubs will draw the short straw in 2025. I personally don’t see the issue.

The fixture snag I really want the Dees to avoid is GC in Darwin but you know that will be inevitable.

That was on the club and/or the players for coming home after our Perth game and then flying back to Adelaide the following week, rather then spending the week in Adelaide to reduce travel stress. The Dogs spent an entire week in Perth after Gather round to reduce travel and ended up putting in one of their best performances of the year against Freo at Optus. Hopefully lessons are learnt if we’re back to back travelling before or after Gather Round.

Not ideal that us and Essendon are the only genuine away teams in Gather Round. However Carlton and Dogs drew the short straw last year and another two clubs will draw the short straw in 2025. And it’s not as if playing a neutral game against Essendon last year did us any favours as we put in our softest performance of the year that day. We might come in with a different mindset knowing the challenge ahead of playing Adelaide at AO.