Fixture 2023 Fixture wishlist - Anzac Day sold out

[eth-dog]

So since we finished 14th it means we get the weakest tier of fixtures.

We can play 0-1 of Geelong, Melbourne, Sydney, Collingwood, Fremantle and Brisbane
We can play 1-2 of Carlton, St. Kilda, Port Adelaide, Gold Coast, Richmond and Western Bulldogs
We can play 2-3 of North, Adelaide, West Coast, GWS and Hawthorne twice

A bit of trivia:

1. We haven't played Melbourne twice in a year since 2005
2. We haven't played Carlton twice in a year since 2016

I'm hoping for a 1/1/3 split but it'll more likely to be 1/2/2. Hoping we get Collingwood, Carlton, Adelaide, GWS and Hawthorne. What about you guys?

 

[Lore]

Carlton = Middle 6 side
West Coast/Hawthorn & North Melbourne = Bottom 6 sides

So that's 3.

Would like Sydney twice so we can guarantee to play them in Melbourne as they can't both be away games.

That's 4.

And then one of Richmond/Brisbane that are currently in the elimination finals, so whichever one loses I guess since Sydney maxes out our top 6 picks.

If Richmond loses it should be West Coast as the bottom 6 side, and if Brisbane loses then Hawthorn, so either way there's three interstate sides among the return fixtures.

 

[Zach Package]

Sheedy v Tyson Fury

The entire board v lightbulb

Am I doing this right?

 

[Beerfish]

2. We haven't played Carlton twice in a year since 2016

This is ridiculous. It's a bit hard to keep a rivalry going when you've played each other 6 times in the last 6 years.

 

[eth-dog]

This is ridiculous. It's a bit hard to keep a rivalry going when you've played each other 6 times in the last 6 years.

They're the team most likely in that group for us to ask a double up for and vice versa

 

[Doss]

We played Carlton twice in 2017, Eth.

Still a damned long time ago.

 

[Reximilian]

West Coast in Melbourne.
No Thursday and minimal Sunday games.
No double up against Collingwood.
Melbourne would definitely be my preferred top 6 double up as we usually match well against them, even if we’ve lost the last three games.

 

[eth-dog]

Well, now that the three groups are locked in, what do we think?

I must admit part of me wants all of Carlton, Collingwood, Richmond and Hawthorne as part of our double ups but we probably only get 2 so Carlton and Hawthorne

 

[JayJ20]

I want Carlton, Collingwood, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and West Coast. I think we're always going to end up with an interstate team twice so I prefer it to be West Coast so they can come to Melbourne for once.

I don't want Richmond, Geelong or Port twice because that's pretty much two guaranteed losses.

 

[ant555]

I want Carlton, Collingwood, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and West Coast. I think we're always going to end up with an interstate team twice so I prefer it to be West Coast so they can come to Melbourne for once.

I don't want Richmond, Geelong or Port twice because that's pretty much two guaranteed losses.

So you want a draw to give us some soft wins so we can progress up the ladder and start the wave of another false dawn.

 

[JayJ20]

So you want a draw to give us some soft wins so we can progress up the ladder and start the wave of another false dawn.

Yeah I do want to win as many games as possible. It’s up to the club to recognise their shortcomings even if we somehow make the 8 on the back of a soft fixture. It’s only going to be a problem if the club doesn’t address list needs.

 

[ant555]

Yeah I do want to win as many games as possible. It’s up to the club to recognise their shortcomings even if we somehow make the 8 on the back of a soft fixture. It’s only going to be a problem if the club doesn’t address list needs.

Sums it up. This is the same attitude the club has had and why we are here now. Quick fixes.How does hoping for soft draws help build a winning culture?

 

[JayJ20]

Sums it up. This is the same attitude the club has had and why we are here now. Quick fixes.How does hoping for soft draws help build a winning culture?

Because confidence is also important. Small steps. The difficult start to our year this year completely sapped our confidence. It resulted in the coach being sacked, players losing confidence and the team as a whole regressing. A soft fixture doesn't mean you don't play top teams and it also doesn't mean you cannot beat top teams. It just means that you have more time to build confidence instead of losing by 10 goals every week. Collingwood is a good example of how a soft fixture can build a team's confidence. They were getting thrashed by Richmond and Bulldogs earlier in the year, but eventually built their confidence by continuously beating average teams in close games. Same thing happened with Collingwood in 2018 and Richmond in 2017 (who lost to Adelaide by 70+ early in the year). Even Melbourne's 10 game winning streak to begin the year last year was largely against average teams and many people were saying that they were overrated because of their fixture up until that point.

Establishing a winning culture by wanting a soft fixture is not looking for a quick fix. It's recognising that the team is not good enough and using the year to try to build the confidence of younger players. If you're good enough to win, then you win. If not, then you lose.

This is not the same attitude that got us here. The same attitude would be looking at our top 8 finish and thinking that our list is good enough to rely on internal development like we did last off-season or targeting "cream" players that we don't need like we did in 2018-2020. That's a problem because it's not recognising the difficulty of the fixture.

It's not the soft fixture that puts us in this cycle. It's our interpretation of what it means and how we approach list management that got us here.

 

[ant555]

Because confidence is also important. Small steps. The difficult start to our year this year completely sapped our confidence. It resulted in the coach being sacked, players losing confidence and the team as a whole regressing. A soft fixture doesn't mean you don't play top teams and it also doesn't mean you cannot beat top teams. It just means that you have more time to build confidence instead of losing by 10 goals every week. Collingwood is a good example of how a soft fixture can build a team's confidence. They were getting thrashed by Richmond and Bulldogs earlier in the year, but eventually built their confidence by continuously beating average teams in close games. Same thing happened with Collingwood in 2018 and Richmond in 2017 (who lost to Adelaide by 70+ early in the year). Even Melbourne's 10 game winning streak to begin the year last year was largely against average teams and many people were saying that they were overrated because of their fixture up until that point.

Establishing a winning culture by wanting a soft fixture is not looking for a quick fix. It's recognising that the team is not good enough and using the year to try to build the confidence of younger players. If you're good enough to win, then you win. If not, then you lose.

This is not the same attitude that got us here. The same attitude would be looking at our top 8 finish and thinking that our list is good enough to rely on internal development like we did last off-season or targeting "cream" players that we don't need like we did in 2018-2020. That's a problem because it's not recognising the difficulty of the fixture.

It's not the soft fixture that puts us in this cycle. It's our interpretation of what it means and how we approach list management that got us here.

Nope. You said you did not want to play some sides because they where certain losses .
I would rather them play good sides and establish a brand.
What did the softer draw do for us last year ?
We have been flat track bullies for an age .
Time to embrace hard work and hard challenges.

 

[JayJ20]

Nope. You said you did not want to play some sides because they where certain losses .
I would rather them play good sides and establish a brand.
What did the softer draw do for us last year ?
We have been flat track bullies for an age .
Time to embrace hard work and hard challenges.

Yes I don't want to play them twice because Port and Richmond are our bogey sides. It's my fixture wishlist lol.

We don't get anything from playing Richmond twice because we already know our list won't beat them. Almost every side has bad matchups. I'd rather play Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne who are better than Port and Richmond, but we have a chance of beating them.

The only time I'd want to play those teams twice is if we actually address our list issues that prevents us from beating them.

 

[ant555]

Yes I don't want to play them twice because Port and Richmond are our bogey sides. It's my fixture wishlist lol.

We don't get anything from playing Richmond twice because we already know our list won't beat them. Almost every side has bad matchups. I'd rather play Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne who are better than Port and Richmond, but we have a chance of beating them.

The only time I'd want to play those teams twice is if we actually address our list issues that prevents us from beating them.

And like I said it is this sort of thinking that creates outrage when we fall into finals and fall out again.

And to add a point . Collingwood are nothing like us. They have 10 players that have played in a GF and have played and won finals in the last 5 years.

 

[JayJ20]

And like I said it is this sort of thinking that creates outrage when we fall into finals and fall out again.

And to add a point . Collingwood are nothing like us. They have 10 players that have played in a GF and have played and won finals in the last 5 years.

But it isn't though. I genuinely don't see the point. To be a good side, you're eventually going to have difficult fixtures, but it doesn't really matter whether it is now or later. It's not like Essendon can choose a soft fixture anyway. Is the soft fixture our problem? I wouldn't say so. It's list management, culture and consistency. Those things need to be addressed regardless of how hard the fixture is. Yes we overachieve by having a soft fixture, but that's only a problem if we overrate the list.

Using Fremantle as an example, they played West Coast (17th), GWS (16th), St Kilda (10th), Carlton (9th) and Melbourne (2nd) twice. That's a really soft fixture. Did that stop them from beating Geelong in Geelong, Melbourne in Melbourne, Brisbane, Bulldogs away, drawing against Richmond away and winning an EF? Nope. They may well beat Collingwood next week to book themselves a prelim spot. St Kilda have had a ridiculously difficult fixture two years in a row. Did they benefit from that? Nope. So the soft fixture didn't harm Fremantle and the difficult fixture didn't benefit St Kilda. We can play Richmond, Geelong, Sydney, Brisbane and Port twice every year and it isn't going to change anything unless the cultural and list management issues are addressed.

Anyway, there's no reason for us to go back and forth about a fixture wishlist so let's agree to disagree.

 

[ant555]

But it isn't though. I genuinely don't see the point. To be a good side, you're eventually going to have difficult fixtures, but it doesn't really matter whether it is now or later. It's not like Essendon can choose a soft fixture anyway. Is the soft fixture our problem? I wouldn't say so. It's list management, culture and consistency. Those things need to be addressed regardless of how hard the fixture is. Yes we overachieve by having a soft fixture, but that's only a problem if we overrate the list.

Using Fremantle as an example, they played West Coast (17th), GWS (16th), St Kilda (10th), Carlton (9th) and Melbourne (2nd) twice. That's a really soft fixture. Did that stop them from beating Geelong in Geelong, Melbourne in Melbourne, Brisbane, Bulldogs away, drawing against Richmond away and winning an EF? Nope. They may well beat Collingwood next week to book themselves a prelim spot. St Kilda have had a ridiculously difficult fixture two years in a row. Did they benefit from that? Nope. So the soft fixture didn't harm Fremantle and the difficult fixture didn't benefit St Kilda. We can play Richmond, Geelong, Sydney, Brisbane and Port twice every year and it isn't going to change anything unless the cultural and list management issues are addressed.

Anyway, there's no reason for us to go back and forth about a fixture wishlist so let's agree to disagree.

We do disagree with the fixture but I will also throw this one at you. We are not Fremantle either nor are we at their stage of development. Like the Pies they have a culture of defense and they replaced a defensive coach in Lyon with a defensive coach in Longmuir. Anyway my point has been more about attitude. Having a soft draw last year basically lead us to this point with the influential supporters and board members getting in front of themselves when we got a harder draw and could not live up to expectations once we had a few injuries and a tougher draw early.

 

[Doss]

Hawthorn has apparently requested to play us Round 1.

 

[eth-dog]

Hawthorn has apparently requested to play us Round 1.

Hopefully at the MCG

 

[Lore]

For the 40th anniversary of 1983

 

[Don Won]

Happy with that. Hope we get them twice.

 

[dave10]

Happy with that. Hope we get them twice.

We might actually win in round 1

 

[Godzke]

North have requested to play us on Good Friday, Magic Round, Heritage Round, Aunt Geraldine's birthday weekend and even New Years Day in the hope of getting their average crowd attendance above 15,000 next season.

 

[kleanr]

This is ridiculous. It's a bit hard to keep a rivalry going when you've played each other 6 times in the last 6 years.

..however bragging rights are almost guaranteed each year