News 2014 AFL fixture (including Round 23 schedule) released

[you pick one]

17 FREE TO AIR, NO COMPLAINTS HERE.

 

[vinum coupe]

17 FREE TO AIR, NO COMPLAINTS HERE.

only 14 here

 

[Gysenn]

In a system designed to ensure that the worst-performing club receives the most benefits, a system I find completely flawed and detrimental to the game, how is it that the worst performing club has received the 12th most difficult fixture, while the 7th best performed club has received the easiest fixture?

With teams based in various locations around the country, most central to one location, among thousands of other factors, the possibility of the game ever having a perfectly balanced fixture is next to impossible - interstate clubs will always be forced to travel more often than Victorian ones - however, why does the AFL insist on not only rewarding mediocrity in the draft - but also in the fixture - by striving towards making it easier for the lowly clubs? They've even failed at that, seeing as bottom of the ladder Greater Western Sydney will face a more difficult campaign next season than their fourth-place cross-town rivals.

Why doesn't the AFL take a new direction - doing whatever possible, to the very best of their ability, to ensure that the fixture is completely equal? The English Premier League, one of the most successful and well known sporting leagues in the world, does just that. 38 games - 19 home games against the other 19 teams, and 19 away games against the 19 other teams. With an 18 team competition in the AFL, 34 games would be an unreasonable expectation, however doing whatever possible to ensure that every team has the same amount of 6 day breaks... a random number of double up games against certain opponents... and most of all - playing home games at home, and away games away - is that really too much to ask? For example: Teams play home games against Collingwood at the MCG - the ground that Collingwood calls home and plays best at - rather than their own Melbourne-based home ground, purely because of crowd numbers. How is that fair?

Assuming that the attached analysis of the fixture is correct, you can predict with a fair amount of certainty here and now which teams on the fringe of the finals will make the cut next season, and which teams won't.

Richmond, with the easiest fixture, will surely have a top six position in the bag, and will likely push for top four and be unlucky not to finish even higher than that. North Melbourne, already tipped by many to challenge for the top four, has the fifth easiest fixture - a near certainty for the top eight on that alone. Adelaide, unlikely to make the cut on talent alone, will be helped by having the fourth easiest fixture - there's every chance that they could push out a more talented team with a more difficult fixture to clinch eighth spot.

On the other end of the scale - Essendon and Carlton would have liked their chances to make the finals after finishing seventh and ninth respectively in 2013 - but you'll forgive them for making excuses if that's not the case come September, seeing as their campaign is of an equal difficulty to the side that won the premiership. Some might have said Brisbane's chances at finishing in the top half would be 50-50, but that would seem unlikely now seeing as they've been hit with the single most difficult fixture of all.

Sporting competitions will always exist for entertainment, and ultimately - to maximise revenue. But a competition that rewards failure, punishes success, and sacrifices the only true advantage that sides earn - a home ground one - for the sake of revenue will always be a severely flawed one.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-11-01/the-inquirer-the-2014-fixture

 

[you pick one]

Hawthorn had a s**t draw last year,If your good enough and work hard enough it doesn't matter.Not to many sides would be throwing in the towel just looking at the fixture in November.

 

[nohairandfair]

Our Round 9 (Subiaco), 10 (Simmonds) and 11 (Sydney) scheduling is very poor.

Interstate travel with consecutive 6 day breaks compounded by Sydney being fully rested up after having it's bye in Round 10.

WTF is that!

 

[you pick one]

Our Round 9 (Subiaco), 10 (Simmonds) and 11 (Sydney) scheduling is very poor.

Interstate travel with consecutive 6 day breaks compounded by Sydney being fully rested up after having it's bye in Round 10.

WTF is that!

Is it that bad? if the bye is good for Sydney then it's just as good for us coming into the Freo game rd 9, rd 10 North are off 6 day break as well, and Sydney's not a big trip.

 

[manboob]

Why can't it be like back in the day when every team played each other twice over the course of three years. Was fair for everyone and meant that blockbusters were just that!

The Swans playing GWS twice is BS is doesn't build a rivalry or the brand. Playing the Cats, Hawks, Pies up there does though.

 

[Strangled Cat]

Will be at the G until Richmond are s**t again... i.e. 2 years.

Richmond aren't s**t? Could'a fooled me...

 

[manboob]

"Shittier"?

 

[vinum coupe]

Why can't it be like back in the day when every team played each other twice over the course of three years. Was fair for everyone and meant that blockbusters were just that!

The Swans playing GWS twice is BS is doesn't build a rivalry or the brand. Playing the Cats, Hawks, Pies up there does though.

I would prefer that we just played everyone once.
But even then people would complain that it's an uneven fixture.

 

[manboob]

No complaints here. But oh noes the tv are gonna lose 5 games oooooh!

 

[manboob]

If they want to fill the gap in scheduling I would love to watch an All-Stars game with the best under 22s from the VFL affiliate sides. I.e those guys who are eligible to play senior footy.

 

[H E Pennypacker]

Does anyone have a 2014 fixture file I can import into my google calendar? Someone on this board made one available for the 2013 season and it was really handy. Cheers.

 

[manboob]

Does anyone have a 2014 fixture file I can import into my google calendar? Someone on this board made one available for the 2013 season and it was really handy. Cheers.

I think you can even get it from the AFL/GFC. I did one year. I'll have a look and get back to you.
But in the meantime try:
http://www.icalshare.com/calendars/6039

Or this one for just the cats. http://www.icalshare.com/calendars/6034

 

[H E Pennypacker]

I think you can even get it from the AFL/GFC. I did one year. I'll have a look and get back to you.
But in the meantime try:
http://www.icalshare.com/calendars/6039

Or this one for just the cats. http://www.icalshare.com/calendars/6034

Thanks.

Not sure if I'm doing something wrong but I can't import either AFL or Geelong calendar into either google calendar or Lotus Notes.

 

[manboob]

Thanks.

Not sure if I'm doing something wrong but I can't import either AFL or Geelong calendar into either google calendar or Lotus Notes.

Works fine for me. I just hit subscribe. It's a URL not a file.

try this?

webcal://www.google.com/calendar/ical/qgp27dmih2tv52fpoicbk297vk%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

 

[H E Pennypacker]

Works fine for me. I just hit subscribe. It's a URL not a file.

try this?

webcal://www.google.com/calendar/ical/qgp27dmih2tv52fpoicbk297vk%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

Cool, that did the trick. Was trying to add the URL but for whatever reason it just didn't like how I was doing it (maybe I'd included the 'webcal' bit at the start?).

Thanks heaps.

 

[Partridge]

Our Round 9 (Subiaco), 10 (Simmonds) and 11 (Sydney) scheduling is very poor.

Interstate travel with consecutive 6 day breaks compounded by Sydney being fully rested up after having it's bye in Round 10.

WTF is that!

There's nothing to be scared of in that. A trip to Perth, a game at home, then a trip to Sydney. We had three successive 6-day breaks this year remember. Including a trip to Sydney. We won all 4 games.

Some recent history regarding trips to Sydney - we've won in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013. There is no reason at all to fear playing them either at Geelong or up there.

 

[lionbear]

I think if you added up the number of 6 day breaks all AFL clubs have had the last 5 years, Geelong would be top 4.

 

[kickazz]

Gotta say, I enjoy the night games, but only one day game at Kardinia Park all year is just not enough. (R23 isvs Bri announced to be Saturday night). I'm lucky enough that work/family commitments don't really affect when i can go, but I do like to spend anafteroon at the footy.

I know for a fact that the night games are very difficult for eastern suburbs (Melb) and western district based supporters. What are other people's thoughts on this? To the club, it may all be much the same in the short-term, but think of whenyou were a kid and your dad/mum/uncle took you to Kardinia Park for a game and how you grew to love the Cats.

Are too many night KP games going to put at risk the passion of the next generation?

 

[vinum coupe]

Are too many night KP games going to put at risk the passion of the next generation?

Yep. Only 4 home games that start in daylight.
5 games total.

 

[Shell]

I dont mind night games. But having said that NO:

- night games at KP on a Thursday night. Friday I can hack, but Thursday? Please.
- ****ing bullshit twilight 4.40pm starts on a Sunday.

Honestly the whole AFL needs a good kick up the arse re. the fixture this year.

 

[cats_09]

I would rather see a better ratio of day to night games in Geelong, I think that 1 out of 7 games being a day game is not enough. I would like around half the games to be day games - for a 7 game season, 3 day, 3 night & 1 twilight (if we have to have a twilight match), and for an 8 game season 4 day games, and the other 4 split between night & twilight unless we can totally scrap the twilight option.

 

[TEDDY24INC]

More to the point... Why is our game scheduled for Saturday night and the Carlton V Essendon game during the day.. Given our ladder position, this is a load of crap. We are equal top, yet have the latest start to our round 23 fixture out of the top 5 teams. If we finish top or second and draw the hawks week 1, we better not be asked to play Fri night giving them an extra day to prepare. All top 8 teams have games before ours except north who are an equal time slot and the crows who are on a sunday but in 8th anyway... baffling!

 

[cats_09]

More to the point... Why is our game scheduled for Saturday night and the Carlton V Essendon game during the day.. Given our ladder position, this is a load of crap. We are equal top, yet have the latest start to our round 23 fixture out of the top 5 teams. If we finish top or second and draw the hawks week 1, we better not be asked to play Fri night giving them an extra day to prepare. All top 8 teams have games before ours except north who are an equal time slot... baffling!

Umm - Adelaide is a top 8 team and they are scheduled to play Sunday afternoon. And if something happens where Gold Coast turn their slide around and can make it back into the 8, they also play Sunday.

So we are luckier then a couple of teams.