the 2017 FIXture thread

[saintbrat]

in the routine established by Eastern ( RIP)
it is now time for the clubs to put their wish list to the AFL

what are your referred options ?

for me
only 5 interstate again would be nice
NO China
but open to Northern territory
some consistent home games early for building brand

whilst we have a nice ladder position it will mean that we will possibly get a FIXture which includes more games against mid and upper ladder teams

[stkmo]

More games at the G.

[Legendary]

One unfortunate aspect of our higher ladder finish is that we will play more of the good sides twice in 2017.

So expect a more difficult FIXture than this year, which has been pretty good.

Would also like to see at 3 or 4 games at the 'G

<post amended for accuracy>

[desertsaint]

Just keep melbourne in our group of six and we've got two wins each year. North and Carlton will probably be good teams to share with next year as well - so there's six!

[Life Long Saint]

One unfortunate aspect of our higher ladder finish is that we will play more of the good sides twice in 2017.

So expect a more difficult fixture than this year, which has been pretty good.

Would also like to see at 3 or 4 games at the 'G

Our group of six currently contains Geelong, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Melbourne and Collingwood.
If it goes that we play three teams from our own group of six twice and one team from each of the other two groups then we should be OK for the draw.
We match up really well against Geelong. North are on the decline. They placed all their eggs in challenging for this season. That hasn't worked and they will drop in a spectacular fashion next season. We have the Demons covered and shouldn't fear Collingwood. Port Adelaide remains as the bogey team for us and have been for quite some time.
That can all change as the last six games are played out but we should be looking to win at least three of remaining games to give us an 11-11 record. Remarkable, really.
That will put us firmly in the middle six. We've shown this season that we can more than hold our own against teams around us on the ladder. We should improve with Carlisle next season. And if we can recruit one or two good midfielders then we can seriously challenge for finals next season.

[St Chris]

We need to get back onto prime time FTA TV - Friday night & Saturday night games. Not really bothered on whether they're home games or not, just the added exposure will firstly help with sponsors, but secondly, we will get back closer to relevance in the AFL. We've had a couple of crackers on Ch 7 this year (Cats game, Kangas game and against Port) and we're an attractive team to watch when we're up and going.

It really feels like the AFL is split in half ATM, Hawks, Cats, Swans, Richmond play first half of the weekend in the "real" games, then Us, Suns, Dees, GWS, Brisbane etc get stuck in the graveyard shifts on Sunday.

We should request a big Friday night game against the Tigers for Maddie's Match, and I wouldn't mind a convenient excuse to head up to Cairns in the middle of winter...

[thejiggingsaint]

Friday nights at Etihad. Our improvement merits at least 2or 3. More MCG FIXtures. Metricon game against the Suns (I want to go to another pre-game function! AND see the boys redeem themselves on the field!)

<edited for accuracy>

[Con Gorozidis]

Obviously as many Friday night games as possible.

In general I am an advocate for Monday night games. Monday is the most depressing day of the week so footy would be great for mental health.

[noddy04]

2 games at Adelaide Oval. No games on Friday nights. Dont care where else

[borderbarry]

Would not mind seeing a game in the Territory. 3 Friday night games would be good. Not keen on Thursday games. Definitely want more games at the G because we will be playing finals !!!!

[prwilkinson]

I wonder if we'll play Port Adelaide away...

[Toy Saint]

I'm really not fond of Sunday twilight games.

Prefer Saturday afternoon or evening.

Friday nights are OK for the club and for watching TV, but difficult for me to get to after a weeks work.

Hate the idea of getting crap home games and losing money.

Would be OK with games in Brisbane, Gold Coast or even Cairns in the middle of Melbourne's winter, a gear excuse to get away for a weekend.

Shanghai is China is also appealing for me, a very exciting city, and with an outside chance of gaining some extremely wealthy supporters.

[saintbrat]

http://www.saints.com.au/news/2016-07-1 ... e-for-2017

• 22 rounds to be played across 23 weekends
• Bye weekend on eve of finals set to continue
• Standard round to stay the same, ending in Sunday twilight game
• Mid-season bye structure set to remain
• Thursday game on March 23 could kick-off round one

CLUBS have been told to submit fixture requests for a season that could begin on Thursday March 23 next year.

However the date is yet to be locked in, with the AFL still considering the date of the opening weekend and the number of weekends to be used to complete the 22-round season.

The AFL is also working on the basis that the bye round ahead of the finals will continue in 2017, although that is yet to be confirmed.

The consultation process involves clubs, broadcast partners, players and venues and is expected to lead to a fixture announcement at the end of October.

AFL general manager clubs and operations Travis Auld said the standard round of football would feature matches on Friday night, two on Saturday afternoon, one Saturday twilight, two Saturday night, one early Sunday, one Sunday afternoon and one Sunday twilight.

The AFL also needed to consider player welfare, venue contracts, player welfare, travel, maximising attendances, fan engagement, blockbuster and themed rounds and consistency of start times, expansion market objectives and rewarding on-field performance when developing its fixture.

The 'weighted' rule used in developing the 2014, 2015 and 2016 fixture will continue in 2017, the first season under a new broadcast deal.

KEY DATES
Round one (potential date) – Thursday March 23
Easter Thursday April 13-Monday April 17
Anzac Day Friday April 21 – Tuesday April 25
Round 23 (potential date) – Friday August 25-Sunday August 27
Week one – Finals – Friday September 8-Sunday September 10
AFL Grand Final – Saturday September 30, 2017

[older saint]

Better form will see Friday night games - perhaps 1 or 2 vs say a WB or Geelong type

More games at he G would be good also

On overall would love to see Thursday night footy interstate replace Sunday twilight footy permanently.

[desertsaint]

2 games at Adelaide Oval. No games on Friday nights. Dont care where else

This is a wishlist for 2017 - not a prediction (but you're probably right).

[samuraisaint]

Play Melbourne in Darwin or Alice Springs - be a great long weekend in mid-winter.
Two games vs Brisbane Lions.
Two games vs Collingwood
More early start games - love the 1:10 or 1:45 start times.

[saintbrat]

Bit hard to get a foothold on viewing when you play the worst spot of the weekend
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/a ... fb2b88a059

[MC Gusto]

As many games as possible at the G / as little as possible at Etihad

Whilst I'd like to minimise interstate trips I think we need them to get over this travelling hoodoo we've developed

[saintspremiers]

Bit hard to get a foothold on viewing when you play the worst spot of the weekend
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/a ... fb2b88a059

Pls copy and paste for those of us that don't subscribe

[saintbrat]

When it comes to the marquee Friday night slots, fans wants the AFL to forget off-field clout and give them premiership contenders.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Clubs playing an exciting brand of footy are really helping to drive those numbers, with audiences for the Western Bulldogs up 36 per cent and the GWS Giants up 27 per cent over last year’s figures,” Neill said.

Hawthorn, Sydney, Geelong, North Melbourne and Richmond comprise the top five for viewer numbers, the Tigers by dint of the large number of prime-time games they have been afforded.

There is bad news for some Melbourne clubs battling in the lower reaches of the ladder and hoping for Friday night action next season — St Kilda, Melbourne and Carlton don’t rate in either of Foxtel’s or Seven’s list of the top-10 most-watched games.

[Bluthy]

There is bad news for some Melbourne clubs battling in the lower reaches of the ladder and hoping for Friday night action next season — St Kilda, Melbourne and Carlton don’t rate in either of Foxtel’s or Seven’s list of the top-10 most-watched games.

But there is sometimes a after-game buzz that can carry on and give good press. After the Geelong game a lot of people were talking about what an amazing game it was and probably watched the highlights or the last quarter. We are playing an exciting brand of footy that will have neutral supporters starting to tune into our games more. And the "on-the-up" teams tend to have neutral supporters tune in more as they want to see who the future contenders will be.

[saintbrat]

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/a ... qdjki.html

JULY 25 2016 - 8:28PM

AFL season 2016: Prepare for Good Friday football, with commission tipped to approve 4pm match in 2017

The AFL Commission will almost certainly make a definitive call on Good Friday football this week with the long-held tradition of keeping the religious day football-free expected to be broken and a 4pm game scheduled for next season in Melbourne.

Fairfax Media understands Mike Fitzpatrick's AFL Commission now has the numbers to push through a Good Friday game after the league gave the concept the green light last year. The commission will make the call on Friday when it meets in Brisbane.

Most of Gillon McLachlan's executive is understood to be supportive of the change. While talks with the Seven Network and News Limited are ongoing, with the AFL consulting regularly with the Good Friday Appeal stakeholders, all parties now seem on board with the concept for next year.

And it has emerged that St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs have been working closely with the AFL and the Good Friday Appeal stakeholders to present a compelling case to share the potential blockbuster.

[saintbrat]

Others say North and Carlton in the mix

[saintbrat]

Bulldogs GF win may have given the Saints joint bid for Good Friday a boost
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/m ... 7c0606c805

[saintbrat]

FIXture out late October <corrected by mod. No warning for using the word fixture when it is meant to be FIXture>