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Pros and cons of your AFL team's draw (Part I)
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31st October, 2014
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31st October, 2014
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The AFL fixture for season 2015 has been launched and a few anomalies and highlights have emerged.

Here, I will look at the pros and cons of your club’s draw and make the verdict on them.

This analysis will be covered in three parts, today we’ll cover the first six alphabetical teams: the Adelaide Crows, Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon and Fremantle.

Adelaide
Double-up against: Brisbane Lions, Geelong Cats, Gold Coast Suns, Port Adelaide, West Coast Eagles.

Pros
* Blockbuster home games against the Geelong Cats, premiers Hawthorn and a home showdown against Port Adelaide in Round 5.
* Host the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns in their only trips to the City of Churches in 2015.

Cons
* No home games against either Collingwood, Essendon or Carlton; no home game against the latter team for the fifth year running.
* Must travel beyond the Barassi Line four times.
* Only one Friday night match (against Richmond in Round 19).
* Play at the MCG only once (against Carlton in Round 10).

Verdict
Adelaide fans will be treated to some blockbusters in 2015, including hosting the first Showdown of the year in Round 5, welcoming heavyweight clubs the Geelong Cats and Hawthorn, as well as Gary Ablett’s Gold Coast Suns, to the Adelaide Oval.

The Crows will rack up the frequent flyer points next year, with five trips to Melbourne, two trips each to south-east Queensland and Sydney, as well as one to Perth to take on West Coast in Round 15.

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Brisbane
Double-up against: Adelaide Crows, Carlton, Gold Coast Suns, North Melbourne, Western Bulldogs.

Pros
* Avoid the SCG for the second consecutive year.
* Host Port Adelaide at the Gabba for the first time since 2011.
* Play likely strugglers the Western Bulldogs twice.

Cons
* Won’t welcome Joel Patfull and the Greater Western Sydney Giants to the Gabba.
* No home game against Hawthorn for the seventh year running, with their Round 22 meeting to take place in Launceston for the seventh time in eight meetings.
* Only four games on Channel Seven, and only one at home (their season opener against Collingwood).
* No Friday night matches.
* Play at the MCG only once (against Melbourne in Round 16).

Verdict
A dream draw for Lions fans, with home games scheduled against the Sydney Swans, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide and Richmond, however once again they have missed out on a home game against Hawthorn.

Their 15th-placing means they won’t feature in the premium Friday night timeslot in 2015, and their season-opening clash against Collingwood will be the only time all season that Channel Seven’s cameras will be used in Queensland.

Carlton
Double-up against: Brisbane Lions, Collingwood, GWS Giants, Hawthorn, Richmond.

Pros
* Avoid the Adelaide Oval altogether.
* Six Friday night matches in 2015 among the fourteen games on Channel Seven.
* Play traditional rivals Collingwood, Hawthorn and Richmond twice.
* Only one twilight match all year (against GWS in Round 7)

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Cons
* Meet Essendon only once, but it’s a home game.
* Must travel to Sydney and Perth twice each.
* Face the West Coast Eagles in the west in Round 2 in what is likely to be Chris Judd’s final game against his old club.

Verdict
Despite a poor 2014 season, Carlton have again proven popular with the AFL, featuring in six Friday night matches with another eight matches (possibly nine) receiving free-to-air exposure, including their two matches in Sydney.

Coach Mick Malthouse will break the all-time games coaching record against his old club Collingwood in Round 5, one of two occasions when the Blues will face off against their long-time rivals. The other time is in Round 19.

Collingwood
Double-up against: Carlton, Essendon, Geelong Cats, Melbourne, Richmond.

Pros
* Play Essendon, Richmond, Carlton and the Geelong Cats twice.
* Fifteen matches on Channel Seven, and six Friday night matches.
* Play at the SCG for the first time since 2000.

Cons
* Must face Dayne Beams and the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in Round 1.
* No home games against either the Lions, Gold Coast Suns or Sydney Swans.
* Face GWS and St Kilda only once each, but both are home games.

Verdict
Another dream draw for Collingwood who will start their season outside of Melbourne for the first time in many years at the Gabba in Round 1.

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Their mandatory double-dates with Essendon and Carlton remain, while they will also face Geelong twice. They have the added bonus of two meetings against Melbourne, both of which should guarantee eight premiership points.

Essendon
Double-up against: Collingwood, Hawthorn, North Melbourne, Richmond, St Kilda.

Pros
* Same as Carlton; avoid Adelaide altogether.
* Two meetings against Hawthorn, both at the MCG.
* Seventeen games in Melbourne.

Cons
* No home games against any of Fremantle, the West Coast Eagles, Sydney Swans, GWS Giants or Gold Coast Suns.
* No home game against Fremantle for the fifth year running.
* Meet Carlton only once and it’s an away game.
* Only two Friday night games in 2015, both against North Melbourne.
* Open their season with two straight matches against last year’s grand finalists.

Verdict
A nightmare draw for Essendon who will restart the James Hird era with back-to-back matches against last year’s grand finalists, the Sydney Swans and Hawthorn, in Rounds 1 and 2 respectively.

But as with Carlton, they will also avoid the Adelaide Oval altogether and will double-up against traditional rivals Collingwood and Hawthorn, while also getting two shots at St Kilda.

Fremantle
Double-up against: Melbourne, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Richmond, West Coast Eagles.

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Pros
* Only cross the Barassi Line once (to face the Gold Coast Suns in Round 11).
* Avoid playing Essendon in Melbourne for the fifth straight year.
* Thursday night blockbuster against Collingwood in the middle of the season.
* Play Melbourne twice.

Cons
* Only three matches on Channel Seven, and only one Friday night match.
* Make the dreaded trips to Geelong (Round 2) and Launceston (Round 15) for their only meetings against the Cats and Hawks respectively.
* Travel to the Adelaide Oval twice, including in the final round of the regular season.

Verdict
A tough start to the season sees Fremantle kick off their 21st season in the AFL against Port Adelaide, the team that came from behind to knock them out of last year’s finals.

In addition to their mandatory double-date with the West Coast Eagles, they will also get two shots at North Melbourne and Richmond, as well as against Melbourne, but only one shot at each of the other top four teams from last year (the Geelong Cats, Hawthorn and Sydney Swans).

They will also get only one shot at St Kilda, who inflicted a 58-point loss on the Dockers in their only clash this year. As was the case in 2014, Fremantle will once again be the away team for their date with the wooden spooners in 2015.

Part II will cover the Geelong Cats, Gold Coast Suns, GWS Giants, Hawthorn, Melbourne and North Melbourne.

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