Fixture 2025 Fixture Discussion

[KissKiss]

I'm just hoping for at least one day game in Melbourne. Want to take my little fella to a game but the night games are a bit too hard

 

[Mr Ripper]

I’m philosophically opposed to any timeslot that makes it difficult/impractical/impossible for kids to attend games.

 

[Section 5]

I am happy for another Sunday night game or two during the season.
The only home game would again be Sunday 4th May 2025 with a 7.10pm start being the day before Labor Day PH.
We played the Suns and i think that will be the likely matchup again. Crowd 30,285.
I doubt they pick an Easter Sunday game over Easter Thursday v Pies.

Away games on Sunday night we may get. If we do i think it will only be one of the two available spots before a PH.
Cities of Sydney, Adelaide & Melbourne Sunday 8th June. Kings Birthday PH Monday.
City of Perth Sunday 1st June. WA day PH

The AFL may test the waters and play 2 Melbourne teams on a Sunday night with no PH on that Monday.

On a side note, the Lions played 8 Sunday games in 2024 compared to 2 Sunday games in 2023 both being away.

 

[POBT]

I’m philosophically opposed to any timeslot that makes it difficult/impractical/impossible for kids to attend games.

Yeah, so much of the sustainable growth in footy comes from families going to the footy together and then continuing that tradition with the next generation. Family friendly time slots (I'd include the old 7.10pm start on a Sat night) might not be the greatest revenue generating games but it's how you grow your base. Thursday night footy might be awesome for sponsors but you wouldn't want any more than 1 or 2 (unless they were all in school holidays).

Our club is still operating in a growth market. Vic clubs are trying to squeeze more profits from largely mature markets so they want every game to be revenue maximising. We should always have one eye on growth when we're planning and a focus on expanding our fan base in the long term is integral.

 

[Section 5]

Yeah, so much of the sustainable growth in footy comes from families going to the footy together and then continuing that tradition with the next generation. Family friendly time slots (I'd include the old 7.10pm start on a Sat night) might not be the greatest revenue generating games but it's how you grow your base. Thursday night footy might be awesome for sponsors but you wouldn't want any more than 1 or 2 (unless they were all in school holidays).

Our club is still operating in a growth market. Vic clubs are trying to squeeze more profits from largely mature markets so they want every game to be revenue maximising. We should always have one eye on growth when we're planning and a focus on expanding our fan base in the long term is integral.

I think the AFL do take into account children into their fixturing. It is probably not in their main top four criteria though.
Also, they usually have a children go free month later in the year.
The fixture is a difficult mathematical exercise.

Below the day and night Gabba games over the last 2 years. Thats all i bothered to look at.
I only did the home games as SEQ is where the AFL want to grow the game as you pointed out.
I will use the standard after 6.00pm as a night game. Then i will do a before 7.00pm one.

Season 2024 after 6.00 pm classed as a night game.
3 day games and 8 night games

Season 2024 after 7.00 pm classed as a night game.
5 day games or reasonably family friendly timeslot, and 6 night games

Season 2023 after 6.00pm classed as a night game
5 day games and 6 night games

Season 2023 after 7.00pm classed as a night game
6 day games or reasonably family friendly timeslot, and 5 night games

It may just be our perception of there is too many night games or too many day games.
My daughter (32) hates day games and thinks there are too many of them each year. Thats her perception.
Your seating at the ground can also influence you perception if you are looking into the sun for 3-4 hours.
Other people may love sitting out in the sun for 3-4 hours.

For the record i much prefer night games.

 

[Elixuh]

There are 5 Mondays across Australia next year in places where afl is played which have public holidays. There are also some in early March when OR was held this year.

So they could do 5 rounds with Sunday night games. Otherwise give them all to Perth.

 

[Elixuh]

Even from a TV viewer perspective I have very little interest watching footy until 930/10 on a Sunday night

 

[Tom14]

Even from a TV viewer perspective I have very little interest watching footy until 930/10 on a Sunday night

I had an early work flight the morning after our game v the suns early this year. Gross stuff and that one will be locked in as it worked with the Qld public holiday.

 

[Section 5]

There are 5 Mondays across Australia next year in places where afl is played which have public holidays. There are also some in early March when OR was held this year.

So they could do 5 rounds with Sunday night games. Otherwise give them all to Perth.

I assume you are counting Easter and the possible OR games being the 7-9th March period.

The usual starting time for round 1 is around the 18-23 March each year.
You are correct in that OR (round zero) was earlier in 2024 being over 7-9th March.
There are Monday PH on 3rd March in Perth, with Adelaide, Hobart and Melbourne being the 10th

If OR is kept to the northern states again, they will be home games so won't be played on a Sunday evening 9th March
The AFL mentioned they were thinking of finishing off non-AFL dominate states OR (round zero) with 2 Melbourne teams.
If that's the case, then one game in Melbourne Sunday evening may happen.
However, by adding 2 Melbourne teams that is taking away their concept of the spotlight being on non-AFL dominant states
The AFL did eventually cop a lot of flak from the Melbourne media and clubs for this concept in 2024.

I wish they would ditch this OR (round zero) concept anyhow.
The AFL patted themselves on the back saying how successful it was but i don't think it made much difference
It shortens the preseason earlier by one week and it does further hinder the teams that play in the PF & GF the most.
Both GF teams lost their OR games in 2024.
And then you have the crazy situation of early bye rounds along with the 2 scheduled one's mid-season.

 

[CarterS]

I don't like North selling a home game to Freo and WC.

Add on to the fact that the SA teams get a free home game for Gather Round.

That leaves QLD and NSW teams as the only ones with no bonus home games.

In terms of 2025 wishes:

1. Last year we had 3 trips to SA and 2 trips to WA. It is mental to have away games against all those teams in one year. So for 2025 I would hope for 1 away trip each state maximum (not including Gather Round).
2. Home games against Hawks and Port.
3. As many Friday night games as possible.

 

[KissKiss]

I don't like North selling a home game to Freo and WC.

Add on to the fact that the SA teams get a free home game for Gather Round.

That leaves QLD and NSW teams as the only ones with no bonus home games.

In terms of 2025 wishes:

1. Last year we had 3 trips to SA and 2 trips to WA. It is mental to have away games against all those teams in one year. So for 2025 I would hope for 1 away trip each state maximum (not including Gather Round).
2. Home games against Hawks and Port.
3. As many Friday night games as possible.

Also please no Tassie or Ballarat.

 

[Grasshopper17]

Also please no Tassie or Ballarat.

Or Canberra or Alice Springs.

Would be nice to avoid Geelong also but we are probably due

 

[KissKiss]

Or Canberra or Alice Springs.

Would be nice to avoid Geelong also but we are probably due

Yeah I'm big on all teams should make the trip to Geelong so I accept we need to make the trip occasionally. I'm just sick of getting sent to extra out of Melbourne trips. I'm scared of a north game being sold to WA being us or something annoying that takes away the few games I can get to

 

[Grasshopper17]

Yeah I'm big on all teams should make the trip to Geelong so I accept we need to make the trip occasionally. I'm just sick of getting sent to extra out of Melbourne trips. I'm scared of a north game being sold to WA being us or something annoying that takes away the few games I can get to

Wouldn't North simply be "hosting" the WA teams over in WA?

 

[Cubs2Lions]

Wouldn't North simply be "hosting" the WA teams over in WA?

Yep, North would be "hosting" both West Coast and Fremantle with 1 being played in Perth and another in Bunbury.

On an unrelated note, how North Melbourne has survived for so long in the competition astounds me given they are so small in a saturated market like Victoria is and that as a result having to take numerous home matches all around the country in the past 20-30 years just to survive.

 

[briztoon]

They should have moved to the Gold Coast. At least the Kangaroos name could’ve worked easily on the Coast, beats the Suns. Still time enough for the two to merge.

Honestly need to cut the number of teams in Victoria in half.

 

[Section 5]

Honestly need to cut the number of teams in Victoria in half.

you would need to unlock a Genie for thar to happen

 

[rye]

north is the sick man of the afl.

not a matter of if theyre going to get kicked out its a matter of when.

 

[BrainOfMorbius]

How Fox Footy’s ‘Super Saturday’ deal will shape the AFL fixture (The Age, 1 Nov 2024)

Clubs are bracing for the commercial impact of delayed free-to-air AFL coverage on Saturdays from next year as Fox Footy holds exclusive live broadcast rights of the game nationally for the first eight rounds.

The AFL’s lucrative new broadcast deal starts in 2025 and runs for seven years, and it is having an impact on the schedule for next season, with the league working to release the fixture by mid-November.

The $4.5 billion broadcast deal has some restrictions on the number of games teams can play on Saturdays for the first eight rounds to share the load across the competition, but that desire to spread the number of games each team plays on a Saturday is also making the development of the fixture more complicated.

Clubs want clarity from the league as to how it will affect them, and their fans.

The deal means that supporters of teams playing anywhere in Australia on Saturday in the first eight rounds will need a Foxtel or Kayo subscription to watch them live, with free-to-air coverage on Seven to be delayed. Only the Anzac eve, Anzac Day and Dreamtime games will be shown live on free-to-air if they fall on a Saturday.

Assuming we are fixtured on a Saturday prior to R8, for the first time since 2001 not all Lions games will be live on FTA into Brisbane, which is a shame.

 

[mighty_lions]

How Fox Footy’s ‘Super Saturday’ deal will shape the AFL fixture (The Age, 1 Nov 2024)




Assuming we are fixtured on a Saturday prior to R8, for the first time since 2001 not all Lions games will be live on FTA into Brisbane, which is a shame.

I have Foxtel so it doesn't matter too much to me, but why would anyone want to watch a game on delay, its not the 90's or early 00's

 

[dlanod]

Assuming we are fixtured on a Saturday prior to R8, for the first time since 2001 not all Lions games will be live on FTA into Brisbane, which is a shame.

I remember watching games on delay back in 2003 and getting the result spoiled occasionally before I moved away so at least there's a couple more years there.

Just did digging - 2002 was the first year every game was shown live or on delay, which is probably what you're thinking of. I think 2012 was the first year of the deal that meant every NSW/Qld game was live and every local team game would be on FTA, the combination getting us where we are today.

 

[Nunez]

I remember watching games on delay back in 2003 and getting the result spoiled occasionally before I moved away so at least there's a couple more years there.

Just did digging - 2002 was the first year every game was shown live or on delay, which is probably what you're thinking of. I think 2012 was the first year of the deal that meant every NSW/Qld game was live and every local team game would be on FTA, the combination getting us where we are today.

Flashbacks to "if you don't want to know the score, look away now" being muttered by the commentators.

 

[Dalions]

Hopefully we don’t get scheduled many Saturday games in the first 8 rounds.

 

[briztoon]

I have Foxtel so it doesn't matter too much to me, but why would anyone want to watch a game on delay, its not the 90's or early 00's

Welcome to watching AFL on free to air in SEA. Every game is on a slight delay, even the grand final.

 

[Dalions]

Welcome to watching AFL on free to air in SEA. Every game is on a slight delay, even the grand final.

Isn’t that the case everywhere?