Us playing Hawthorn or North as an away game first up youd think.
Then we’ll get the round 2 home game v interstate side on a Sunday 3pm or later.
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Round 1 Geelong GMHBA
Round 2 Melbourne MCG
Round 3 GWS GS
Round 4 Port AO
Round 5 Gold Coast Marvel Sunday Twilight
Round 6 ANZAC Day
ANNOUNCE 0-6
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Yeah, I had read that too. Just have no idea why there’s two different views! 
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Here is a crazy idea, if they are so keen on playing games a week early, why not just start the season a week early with 9 games.
I don’t think the MCG / Marvel are available due to concerts and cricket commitments.
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The AFL plans to release the 2024 fixture in a fortnight as clubs prepare to open the season with a northern-states twist.
The league has told clubs it is preparing to release the fixture on Thursday, November 16 as AFL bosses thrash out the final details in talks with club chiefs.
Key requests include another King’s Birthday eve game between Essendon and Carlton, a Good Friday game featuring North Melbourne and the Blues, and a second major home MCG game for St Kilda.
Western Bulldogs are in talks with the league about another marquee game to replace the Good Friday game it lost to Carlton last year.
The 2024 season is expected to be launched with four marquee games in Sydney and Queensland to help deliver the game a boost in the northern states.
The mooted opening weekend games include GWS Giants versus Collingwood, Sydney Swans versus Melbourne, Gold Coast against Richmond and Brisbane versus Carlton.
It will see new Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick take on his old side, new Swan Brodie Grundy face his old Melbourne teammates and the Lions and Blues clash in a repeat of the 2023 preliminary final.
Scheduling four games on the opening weekend of the season will mean those clubs will have two byes in-season.
Carlton and Richmond could continue their blockbuster rivalry in the early rounds of the season.
Fixture whispers: How AFL will navigate five-day breaks
– Jon Ralph
The AFLPA will attempt to safeguard the health and fitness of its players despite agreeing to the five-day breaks which allow the league to beef-up its Thursday night schedule.
The league and AFLPA agreed to a new deal as part of the collective bargaining agreement that will see clubs playing a maximum of three five-day breaks each home-and-away season.
It allows the AFL to schedule quality Thursday night games every week of the home-and-away season if it sees fit.
The new $643 million-per-year deal that kicks off next year requires the league to schedule the first 15 rounds with Thursday night football from 2025 onwards.
But a league that scheduled 11 Thursday home-and-away games and a Thursday night final is yet to lock in how many Thursdays will be in the 2024 fixture.
The AFL said when it brokered its TV rights deal it was in “active discussions” about an earlier start time to Friday night football but new CEO Andrew Dillon is yet to get that deal over the line with Channel 7.
The league is expected to again lock in the first 15 or so rounds of the schedule for clarity then have a floating component to maximise blockbusters in the back-end of the season.
The AFL wants to maximise Thursday night blockbusters in the future. Picture: Getty Images
But the new-found flexibility with five-day breaks means the league can ensure the quality of Thursday night football, with the AFL believing big blockbuster games to start a round are important for the momentum and flow of a weekend’s action.
The new rules contained in the AFL CBA will give players the best chance to avoid injuries despite the added strain of multiple five-day breaks.
Those rules include:
– Clubs cannot play successive five-day breaks.
– A club cannot play a five-day break against a team which has had a seven-day break.
– Clubs cannot play off a five-day break after travel to Perth.
– WA-based clubs cannot play a home game then be forced into a five-day break if that fixture involves interstate travel.
– Teams need at least three weeks between five-day breaks.
Teams could have a maximum of three five-day breaks during a season. Picture: Getty Images
There are two options for maximising breaks before or after playing off a five-day break.
A club which is playing off a five-day break must have a six-day break in the previous round and a seven-day break in the next round, or a six-day break in the previous round and a seven-day break in the following round.
There is still discretion to change those protocols based on the rule “in the AFL’s reasonable opinion is likely to impact on the AFL’s ability to comply with any of its obligations to AFL broadcasters”.
Under that scenario the player union and AFL will “in good faith consider reasonable changes to the five-day break requirements”.
The league is likely to lock in a 26-week home-and-away season with four games in northern states as part of a split round 1, as well as the second AFL Gather Round early in the year.
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So I found this interesting in relation to St Kilda’s request. They want a second MCG home game. I know we’re focussed on football, but i’ve always said we should expect the club to be great at ‘football’ and ‘commercially’. Just like the successful clubs all are.
Around 80% of Essendon members want to be playing more home games at the MCG. The club knows this. With its contract at Marvel expiring in 2024, pressure is on Barham and Vozzo to deliver on the #1 priority off field for members, more MCG home games.
I’ve been critical of our lack of drive in joining other MCG Clubs pushing Collingwood out of priority seating at Collingwood’s away games, it’d be a real lapse in commercial execution for Essendon to be muscled out of the MCG by Dr Kilda!
It’s a really important moment for Essendon’s administration. The Club has long told us of its intention to secure more MCG games because that’s what members want. Marvel Stadium can’t cater for a successful on field Essendon for 7 home games. Let’s hope Essendon finds some mongrel off field and delivers on this.
Maybe it’s 80% of the members you know.
Across the entire base, I think that wouldn’t be that high. And it’ll be dependant on who we play.
The split between MCG and Etihad is being negotiated though. We’d either stay as is and get a better deal at Marvel or get a game or two at the MCG.
Will be interesting to see what comes from it.
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Yep… Although anything less than at least one more MCG game will be unacceptable. If Essendon is strong commercially and delivers what fans want, more MCG games is a must.
Essendon A poll by ‘Scooter’ early this year. Over 3,000 responses, certainly would be an accurate reflection of Essendon members and fans.
Separate to that, I actually know it’s around 75-80% as I was informed of this by someone who worked at the club in the Marketing team
a few years back.
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It’s sad that there is an entire generation of Essendon fans who don’t know how good it is to be an MCG team.
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The period 1993-1999 was the greatest times following Essendon (aside from flags). Essendon was the biggest show in town, packing the G regularly against non big 4 clubs and the atmosphere was brilliant.
Marvel at times is terrific and has its comforts, but it doesn’t have blockbuster vibes where any Essendon fan, young or old, could roll up with their friends at late notice and watch the Bombers without booking a week out, paying additional fees, sitting in the bleachers perplexed at the sight of 10,000 empty seats below them.
And to me, Essendon home games haven’t had the same thrills ever since.
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The fixture is being released on November 16 (in 2 weeks). We have requested Kings Birthday eve again v Carlton and we won’t be playing in NSW or Qld round one in the split round one.
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What does the split round mean for supercoach? That’s the only relevant question at this stage.
It will be a rolling lockout, which I think they do for all rounds now (I haven’t played SC for a few years). You’ll have to have a full team by the start of the first games, but you can add and remove players from teams playing in week 2 right up until their game starts.
Anyone know what this says?
https://twitter.com/superfooty/status/1719621922210922826?s=21&t=JRJO_BaGcKbDnMQQBsLQtg
The first four games of the 2024 AFL season have been labelled “Round Zero” by clubs as part of the new northern-states extravaganza.
The league will meet over the next two days to decide what to call the opening weekend of the new season, which will see four games played in Sydney and Queensland across March 8-10.
It means there will still be nine games as part of regular round 1 the following weekend on March 14-17, including the Richmond-Carlton blockbuster on Thursday night at the MCG.
Collingwood will play GWS in one of the four “Round Zero” games and then the Pies want to unfurl their premiership flag on the Friday night of round 1, March 15, against a strong Victorian club at the MCG in the second game of its back-to-back premiership campaign.
The plan is to help kick the season off with a bang in Queensland in New South Wales in “Round Zero” to help grow the developing markets.
Clubs have codenamed it “Round Zero” but the league could shift to officially label the northern-states footy festival the “Opening Weekend”.
The “Round Zero” arrangement is an experimental step for the league following feedback from the Queensland and New South Wales clubs.
The four opening weekend games are GWS Giants versus Collingwood, Gold Coast versus Richmond, Brisbane versus Carlton and Sydney Swans versus Melbourne.
Those eight clubs will also be scheduled a second in-season bye, most likely some time after the round 4 Gather Round in South Australia on April 4-7, to ensure parity is restored across the fixture.
The byes for the eight clubs could either be split across several rounds or scheduled for one weekend in the second month of the season.
St Kilda is eyeing a round 2 home game blockbuster against Collingwood at the MCG on Thursday night, March 21 following the success of the Saints’ 150th year clash against Essendon there this year.
The clash against the Magpies at the MCG would be a major drawcard game for the Saints and attract a bumper crowd, helping to fill the coffers for the club off the back of last year’s finals series.
Western Bulldogs were eyeing a blockbuster early-season home game against the Magpies but that opportunity could instead be handed to Ross Lyon’s men.
The Magpies are locked in to take on Brisbane in the grand final rematch on Thursday, March 28 in what is looming as a certain round 3 sellout at the Gabba.
Collingwood pipped Brisbane in this year’s grand final by four points at the MCG to win its 16th premiership cup, joining Essendon and Carlton with the most flags.
Brisbane is expected to travel west to play in Perth for its second game after opening the season against the Blues in a repeat of the preliminary final.
North Melbourne will host Carlton on Good Friday, March 29 at a packed-out Marvel Stadium after the two clubs drew 49,062 to the same clash this year.
The Anzac Day blockbuster between Collingwood and Essendon on Thursday, April 25 lines up with round 7.
Geelong’s redeveloped stadium is expected to be ready for the season-opener after almost a year-long delay due to a steel problem.
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The 14,000-seat northern grandstand is on track to be ready for the start of the men’s season in mid-March and will boost the GMHBA Stadium capacity to more than 40,000.
The steel issue was a major problem for the club last year, severely limiting the crowd numbers.
But the Cats are preparing to have the full stadium available for fans for the start of the new season as the club attempts to climb back into finals.
ANNOUNCE GEELONG VS ESSENDON ROUND 1
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I’d like to move back to the MCG and then be successful, purely so I can blame the move to Etihad Stadium for our woes.
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