Preview 2023 Fixture - hopes, dreams, dreads

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

There's usually a competency lag with Friday night / nationally televised games

For non-Victorian clubs anyway

Us not stinking is a fairly recent development

Even our own fans aren't turning up to games yet. Hopefully the tide is turning

 

[Dirty Bird]

So Sydney who are currently a basket case get loaded up with Thursday, Friday and Saturday night games.

Our showdown is on Foxtel and Sydney v Essendon free to air. Which game is likely to have more on it, be the better game and have neutrals interested?

Muppets

Don't complain about the symptom

Complain about the problem - The non-vic fans who demand their teams live on fta. Get rid of that, and we get fairer equitable fixturing.

 

[George Kramer]

Don't complain about the symptom

Complain about the problem - The non-vic fans who demand their teams live on fta. Get rid of that, and we get fairer equitable fixturing.

Relevance?

 

[jackster83]

Saturday night is my favourite timeslot, particularly for going to games.

 

[Peter Doherty]

So Sydney who are currently a basket case get loaded up with Thursday, Friday and Saturday night games.

Our showdown is on Foxtel and Sydney v Essendon free to air. Which game is likely to have more on it, be the better game and have neutrals interested?

Muppets

AFL can't afford to treat Sydney like the other big clubs.

Their supporters get pampered, attractive fixtures, draft and salary concessions to keep them up the ladder.

If they didn't, they all would drop off.

 

[WeeBlake]

Don't complain about the symptom

Complain about the problem - The non-vic fans who demand their teams live on fta. Get rid of that, and we get fairer equitable fixturing.

Wat

 

[Dirty Bird]

Nothing like the VFL.

Give you Saturday night home showdown. But not Nationally televised. That will be Essendon V Sydney.

So our 3 Sat night slots are

Ade V GWS - but Geel V Essendon will be on 7

Ade V Port - but Ess V Syd will be on 7

Ade V Syd - but St k V Gee will be on 7

They simply can't have a prime time slot without a Victorian team can they?

National competition my arse.

Stop complaining about the symptoms.

The problem is the non-vic fans demanding their teams play on fta every game.

So 7 gets rights to that.

They're getting the biggest piece of the pie they can.

If non-vic fans bite the bullet re: pay tv/online streaming, everyone's in the same boat. 7 can't get 3 above average slices, and instead get 2 bigger slices. Sure, they might lose a little. But the average fan get better as we get the very best on tv.

Look at this years fixture, There was one round for the entire year where the foxtel saturday night game didn't involve an interstate team. And that was actually last weekend. The 7 game was Brisbane-Essendon, while Carlton-Western Bulldogs was foxtel.

If we give up having every game on fta. 7 is forced to give the fans the best footy. It becomes fairer for all.

Nothing will change until we change.

 

[maxlilly]

Why does it always seem we fly to Perth v WCE for the last round every year

 

[WeeBlake]

Stop complaining about the symptoms.

The problem is the non-vic fans demanding their teams play on fta every game.

So 7 gets rights to that.

They're getting the biggest piece of the pie they can.

If non-vic fans bite the bullet re: pay tv/online streaming, everyone's in the same boat. 7 can't get 3 above average slices, and instead get 2 bigger slices. Sure, they might lose a little. But the average fan get better as we get the very best on tv.

Look at this years fixture, There was one round for the entire year where the foxtel saturday night game didn't involve an interstate team. And that was actually last weekend. The 7 game was Brisbane-Essendon, while Carlton-Western Bulldogs was foxtel.

If we give up having every game on fta. 7 is forced to give the fans the best footy. It becomes fairer for all.

Nothing will change until we change.

I don’t see why FTA broadcasting in Adelaide means less Adelaide games get broadcast FTA in other places

 

[Klug]

Why does it always seem we fly to Perth v WCE for the last round every year

Absolute joke...I would estimate this trip to Perth in last round would've happened every second year on average.

No game in Melbourne until Round 15!

We play Launceston, Geelong, Ballarat, Darwin, unlike any other club, as well as the standard Perth, Brisbane, Sydney trips.

Silvers has to get more aggressive with our fixturing requests, and demand improvements.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Wat

Lets take the showdown for example.

Option 1- Show Adelaide-Port Adelaide Country wide
Option 2- Show Essendon-Sydney Country wide
Option 3 - Show Adelaide-Port Adelaide into SA and Essendon-Sydney everywhere else
Option 4 - Show Essendon-Sydney into NSW, Adelaide-Port Adelaide everywhere else

So - Option 3 and 4 is the status quo, and options 1 and 2 are what we should be working towards.

7 will choose Option 3 every time. They get Adelaide-Port Adelaide into SA maximising the SA market, and Essendon-Sydney everywhere else which maximises the NSW and Vic markets. Sure, a sizable chunk of Vic would rather watch the Showdown, and more than likely so would WA and QLD. But more eyeballs would be on Channel 7 under option 3.

If they go option 4, Vic most likely has less viewers.

Now, if non-vic fans gave up their fta monopoly on local teams. What would 7 choose between? Option 1 or option 2?

With how things are travelling, Option 1. As now instead of getting to have both the Adelaide and Sydney slices. They can only choose 1. Neutrals would watch the better game, which is option 1.

Thing is, by making the change I believe things would be better. Sure, 7 would pay less as they get 2 slices (arguably bigger than the 3 current slices) but foxtel/Kayo would pay more as now, if you're from outside Vic, you'd need Kayo/foxtel to watch your team now, rather than being able to rely on fta. Now 7 would be forced to take the best game, instead of the vic game, as they'd need 2 teams to draw viewers, rather than 3/4. In turn, you'd expect the sponsorships to shift towards non-vic teams, away from vic teams (If you wanted to be a major sponsor, you'd get more bang for your buck sponsoring St Kilda than Port Adelaide.)

The only winners in the current tv deals are Channel 7, and the selfish non-vic fans who live in the same state as their team.
If those selfish people gave up their sense of entitlement. The clubs (well, non-vic at least) will be better off as well as neutral fans who now get the best. Imagine being an Essendon fan living in Brisbane this week. Instead of getting the game between 2 finals aspirants, you get the mismatch of a Q-Clash between a good team and a finals aspirant in themselves. You miss out on watching your team, in what should be a better game, simply because the local teams are on tv.

 

[George Kramer]

Saturday night is my favourite timeslot, particularly for going to games.

Yeah I’m a fan, but interstate Friday games are great to sit down to

 

[George Kramer]

Lots to like there

Two day games on the MCG against top quality opponents

I like the string of home Saturday night games towards the end of the season

Saturday MCG games would have been better for an interstate trip but can’t have everything

 

[George Kramer]

Why does it always seem we fly to Perth v WCE for the last round every year

Theres a bye so doesn’t matter

 

[Dangarman]

View attachment 1690343

That is disgraceful

Adding Thursday night games:
9x Bris (3/6 Thu/Fri)
8x Carl (3/5)
7x Geel, Rich, Syd (3/4), WB (2/5), Cwd (1/6, plus ANZAC Day and Kings B'day)
6x -
5x - Mel (1/4)
4x - Port (1/3)
3x - StK (1/2)
2x - Freo and GC (0/2)
1x - Ad (1/0), Nth, WC, Ess (0/1) (Ess also got ANZAC day)
0x - GWS, Haw.

Only 3 of those 31 games featured no Vic sides - Syd vs Bris; WC vs GC; and Freo vs GC.
Both of GC Fri night games were one of a double Fri night fixture - vs Freo in Gather round (against Rich vs Syd) and vs WC (last week against Rich vs Geel)
Freo got the GC gather round game plus a one out home Friday night game against the Dogs (and choked big time).
North got Carlton one out Fri night at Marvel.
Ess get the Dogs one out Fri night at Marvel.
Crows of course got the opening match of Gather round at home vs Carlton, and made the most of their only opportunity to be front and centre of attention!

 

[GROTTO]

Unbelievable bs Friday night games involving the Swans and basically all the other VFL Clubs.

A Friday Night Showdown was what both SA Clubs deserved.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Why does it always seem we fly to Perth v WCE for the last round every year

Since Freo joined the league

1995 - Fremantle vs West Coast
1996 - Fremantle vs Fitzroy
1997 - West Coast vs Brisbane
1998 - West Coast vs Adelaide
1999 - West Coast vs St Kilda
2000 - West Coast vs Melbourne
2001 - Fremantle vs Adelaide
2002 - Fremantle vs Adelaide
2003 - West Coast vs Fremantle
2004 - West Coast vs Melbourne
2005 - West Coast vs Adelaide
2006 - Fremantle vs Port Adelaide
2007 - West Coast vs Essendon
2008 - Fremantle vs Collingwood
2009 - West Coast vs Richmond
2010 - Fremantle vs Carlton
2011 - West Coast vs Adelaide
2012 - Fremantle vs Melbourne
2013 - West Coast vs Adelaide
2014 - Fremantle vs Port Adelaide
2015 - West Coast vs St Kilda
*2016 - Fremantle vs Western Bulldogs
*2017 - West Coast vs Adelaide
*2018 - Fremantle vs Collingwood
*2019 - West Coast vs Hawthorn
2020 - NA^
2021 - NA**
2022 - NA**

So away into Perth in the final round of the year
7 - Adelaide*
3 - Melbourne
2 - St Kilda, Port Adelaide, Collingwood*
1 - West Coast, Fitzroy, Brisbane, Fremantle, Essendon, Richmond, Carlton, Western Bulldogs*, Hawthorn*
0 - Gold Coast, Greater Western Sydney, Sydney, Geelong, North Melbourne

*Doesn't really count due to pre-finals bye
^Pre finals bye, and no game scheduled in Perth
**No game scheduled in Perth

That 2007-10 run. That was looking good there.

 

[El Doederino]

Geez Melbourne must be a boring city if their citizens can’t cope without one of their teams being on tv on a Friday or Saturday night.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Unbelievable bs Friday night games involving the Swans and basically all the other VFL Clubs.

A Friday Night Showdown was what both SA Clubs deserved.

MCG schedule that week has Bledisloe cup on the Saturday Night.
Meant that the Friday Night game had to be one of the MCG games.
Make this an absolute cracker. Surely we get Friday Night next year. And if our crowd behaves. Then surely it's our game. Last 2 night games Port's had there's been pitch invaders. Does the AFL really want that on tv for all to see?

 

[Peter Doherty]

MCG schedule that week has Bledisloe cup on the Saturday Night.
Meant that the Friday Night game had to be one of the MCG games.
Make this an absolute cracker. Surely we get Friday Night next year. And if our crowd behaves. Then surely it's our game. Last 2 night games Port's had there's been pitch invaders. Does the AFL really want that on tv for all to see?

Sunday arvo for us next year, Saturday night for the Power, nothing surer.

 

[aabp1978]

Genuinely interested to know when was the last time two non-Victorian teams played on a stand-alone Friday night (excluding a final?)? Has it ever happened?

 

[BACCS]

There is no logical reason why that Melbourne game at the MCG could not have been scheduled for a Friday night. I would hope our first demand for 2024 is to reward us with at least 1 or 2 standalone Friday night games and keep our other standalone Thursday night game in Gather Round. Saturday night games are great, but normally are never on Channel 7 for us and are competing with another game. One game at Marvel for the year is also a joke, I remember years of us getting 2-3 a year there.

 

[pjcrows]

If we finish the season well, we will be back in prime time next year. Think back to 2016/17/18 - regular night games.

 

[skam85]

Why is everyone so upset about lack of FTA? Channel 7 coverage is crap and Kayo is the cost of four coffees a month.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Why is everyone so upset about lack of FTA? Channel 7 coverage is crap and Kayo is the cost of four coffees a month.

Because I'm not selfish worrying about myself, and want the club to have access to more potential eyeballs, which brings in better sponsorships?

I have Kayo, so doesn't phase me at all. Just looking out for the AFC here.