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The matches you must not miss in 2016

Roar Guru
4th November, 2015
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Lachie Henderson during his time with Carlton (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Roar Guru
4th November, 2015
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2115 Reads

The highly-anticipated draw for the 2016 AFL season was released last week, and there are some matches and special occasions that simply should be not missed.

Each club has now received their schedule for what is expected to be another blockbuster of a season, each varying in difficulty depending on how your team fared last year.

The fixture was formed on the basis of the 18 teams’ finishing positions from 2015, from which a formula was developed to determine which teams meet twice.

And of course, there will be winners and losers from the 2016 fixture, which will see a brief return to Sunday night football when Melbourne and Richmond meet on the eve of Anzac Day.

Let’s look at a few of the matches or occasions that you must not miss in 2016.

1. The opening round
As is the case at the beginning of every season, the opening round is one that must not be missed.

Richmond and Carlton will once again kick off the season in their own right, while Hawthorn will open its premiership defence, and its bid for a record-equalling four-peat, in its traditional Easter Monday showdown against bitter rivals the Geelong Cats.

But wait, there’s more.

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John Worsfold will make his Essendon coaching debut when the Bombers descend onto the Gold Coast to face the Suns in what promises to be a first-round beauty, after the Suns won a thriller by two points when they last met in Round 21 last season.

It will usher in a new era of sorts for the Bombers, as the club looks to move on from the continuing ASADA controversy, and the mid-season resignation of favourite son James Hird.

One of the biggest names to switch clubs during the recent trade period, Adam Treloar will make his Collingwood debut, coincidentally, in the city where he established himself as one of the AFL’s emerging superstars, when the Pies tackle the Sydney Swans at ANZ Stadium in the feature match on Saturday night.

In other matches, the Western Bulldogs will face Fremantle, the last team to beat the Dogs at Etihad Stadium, while St Kilda and the Brisbane Lions are in for tough road trips to Adelaide and Perth to tackle Port Adelaide and the West Coast Eagles respectively.

2. Round 2
If you thought Round 1 would be huge, then think again because Round 2 will be even bigger.

A Friday night blockbuster between Collingwood and Richmond, a free-to-air Showdown, a clash of two grand final coaches a decade after one of the classics, Nick Riewoldt’s 300th, Stevie J and Harley Bennell against their old clubs, and the grand final rematch are among those to watch out for.

A decade after the West Coast Eagles won their most recent premiership against the Swans, the two respective coaches, John Worsfold and Paul Roos, will face off at the MCG for the first time since then when Essendon and Melbourne clash on Saturday afternoon.

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One of the club’s most decorated players in modern history, St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt should bring up his 300th game when the Saints face the Western Bulldogs, the club against whom they came from 55 points down to win by seven in the corresponding match last year, on the Saturday night.

Also on Saturday night, Harley Bennell will come up against his old club when Fremantle hosts the Gold Coast Suns in Perth, while Steve Johnson will be out to prove his old club wrong when the GWS Giants host the Geelong Cats in Canberra on the Sunday afternoon.

These two players will then return to their old stomping grounds later in the season, in Rounds 18 and 11 at Metricon Stadium and Simonds Stadium respectively.

Oh, and there’s also the grand final rematch to look forward to on the Sunday, when Hawthorn will unfurl the 2015 premiership flag against the team they annihilated in October to win their 13th premiership – and third consecutive – the West Coast Eagles, at the MCG.

3. Anzac Round
This year’s edition of the Anzac Day Round promises to be one of the biggest yet, with the round kicking off between Hawthorn and the Adelaide Crows on the Friday night in a rematch of last year’s semi-final, which the Hawks won by 74 points.

The Jetta-Sinclair Cup will take place on the Saturday afternoon when the West Coast Eagles fly into the SCG for the first time since 2010 to take on the Sydney Swans.

Eagles new recruit, Lewis Jetta, will face the club with whom he won the 2012 premiership, and perhaps be out to show them exactly what they could be missing in 2016. Conversely, new Swans ruckman Callum Sinclair will be out to shine against his old club, in particular the Eagles’ number one ruckman Nic Naitanui.

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Once again, the two clubs will compete for the HMAS Sydney II trophy and for the Eagles it will represent their best chance yet to end a long losing run at the SCG which dates all the way back to 1999.

After five years, Adam Simpson’s men have lost the hosting rights to this match, possibly in part due to the disgraceful booing episode involving Adam Goodes when the Eagles defeated the Swans by 52 points in Perth last July.

It means the Swans’ only trip to Perth will be to take on Fremantle in Round 19.

The Anzac Eve match between Melbourne and Richmond will continue this year, and that of course will serve as the prelude to the main event between Collingwood and Essendon, which this season will fall on a Monday afternoon.

4. GWS Giants versus Hawthorn, Round 6
The GWS Giants will be out to repeat the dose when they welcome Hawthorn back to Spotless Stadium for the club’s first home game in Sydney for the season.

Last season, Alastair Clarkson’s men stepped foot into the Showgrounds, which is unavailable for the first five rounds due to the Sydney Royal Easter Show, expecting to claim a cakewalk victory over the AFL’s youngest club.

Instead, the Hawks, who were missing suspended pair Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis, as well as injured defenders Brian Lake and James Frawley, were left stunned by a ten-point defeat as the Giants claimed arguably their greatest victory in their short history.

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The Giants’ win was set up by seven goals from Jeremy Cameron, who would finish behind only Josh Kennedy in the race for the Coleman Medal, as well as strong second and fourth quarters.

5. Super Saturday, Round 7
Super Saturday in Round 7 promises to be huge for a variety of reasons, with six matches to be played.

It kicks off with traditional rivals Collingwood and Carlton meeting at the MCG in the free-to-air match, and concludes with Fremantle hosting the GWS Giants at Domain Stadium in a match that is sure to have some feeling.

In between, Scott Selwood will be up against his old side when the Geelong Cats welcome the West Coast Eagles to Simonds Stadium for just the second time since 2010, the Sydney Swans clash with Essendon at ANZ Stadium, the Gold Coast Suns host Melbourne at Metricon Stadium, and the Western Bulldogs will face the Adelaide Crows in a rematch of this year’s elimination final.

The Bombers’ match against the Swans will see Craig Bird oppose his former premiership teammates for the first time since he was traded out of the Harbour City as part of the deal which saw Jake Carlisle move from Essendon to St Kilda.

The Bulldogs and Crows will face off for the first time since last September’s elimination final, which saw the Crows come from behind to upset the Bulldogs by seven points at the MCG.

Once again, Luke Beveridge’s men will have the hosting rights, though this time at Etihad Stadium. This will be the last in a string of seven straight matches at Docklands in which the Bulldogs will start the 2016 season.

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The trade episode involving Cam McCarthy, in which his request for a trade to Fremantle was relentlessly turned down by the GWS Giants, is set to serve as a major subplot to the two teams’ meeting in the west to round out the day.

6. Round 8: the Patrick Dangerfield Cup and the James Aish Cup
Round 8 will see two matches in which Patrick Dangerfield and James Aish will face their old clubs after leaving them for contrasting reasons.

All eyes will be on the Adelaide Oval on Friday the 13th in May when the Adelaide Crows welcome Dangerfield and the Geelong Cats to the Adelaide Oval to kick off Round 8.

It won’t, however, be the Cats’ first trip to the City of Churches for the season, with Port Adelaide having ‘won’ the rights to first welcome Dangerfield back to the South Australian capital three rounds earlier in Round 5.

There were two stories that overshadowed the Adelaide Crows’ 2015 season – the tragic mid-season death of Phil Walsh, and speculation surrounding the future of Dangerfield, who had been linked with a return to Geelong all year.

Eventually, after the Crows’ season ended with a semi-final loss to Hawthorn in September, Dangerfield informed the Crows that he would leave the club and in October was officially traded to the Geelong Cats.

Thus, the clash between the Crows and Cats at the Oval will be a must-watch for any AFL fan, and will also have some extra significance added to it as the corresponding match last season was cancelled due to the death of Phil Walsh.

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On the Saturday night, James Aish will be in for a baptism of fire when he and the Collingwood Magpies face the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.

After being starved of regular senior opportunities in 2015, Aish made clear his intentions to be traded out of the Lions, who then refused to meet his demands, instead offering him a new contract to remain in the Sunshine capital.

Eventually, he was traded to the Pies during the trade period and now, Lions fans will be out to boo and jeer him all they like in front of what is expected to be a bumper crowd at the Gabba.

Lion Dayne Beams, who finished joint best-and-fairest in his first season in Brisbane, will also come up against his old club, further adding fuel to the fire. Sadly, it won’t be the free-to-air game, that luxury instead going to Richmond and the Sydney Swans at the MCG on the same night.

7. The Jake Carlisle Cup, Rounds 9 and 16
A round later, another grudge match will take place when Jake Carlisle faces his old club Essendon in a twilight match at Etihad Stadium on the Sunday.

Following another season plagued by the ASADA controversy, Carlisle decided that enough was enough at Windy Hill and subsequently announced that he wanted to be traded out of Essendon at the end of the season.

He then nominated St Kilda as his club of choice and was eventually traded to the Saints, but it wouldn’t come without controversy as a video of him allegedly snorting a white powder was aired on Channel Nine’s “A Current Affair” on the same day.

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As the Round 9 match will be St Kilda’s home game, Carlisle will probably have the pro-St Kilda crowd on his side, but the return match seven rounds later – an Essendon home game, also in the same timeslot at the same venue – will give the majority of Bombers fans the chance to make their feelings heavily clear.

Also this round, Hawthorn and the Sydney Swans will renew hostilities on the Friday night, while Collingwood and the Geelong Cats will face off in a Saturday afternoon blockbuster. Both games will be played at the MCG.

8. Sir Doug Nicholls Round
For the third consecutive year, the Sydney Swans will have the honour of opening Indigenous Round, which has been renamed Sir Doug Nicholls Round, when they welcome North Melbourne to the SCG to kick off Round 10.

It will be the first meeting between the Swans and Roos since last year’s semi-final, which saw the Roos reverse their 71-point humiliation from the 2014 preliminary final and send the Swans crashing out of September in straight sets.

There will of course be more matches this round to look forward to, such as Hawthorn’s first visit to the Gabba for more than eight years, and the annual Dreamtime at the G clash between Essendon and Richmond.

And after being denied a joint Round 1 clash at the MCG, Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs will meet in this round, at the venue for the first time since 2011 with the last four meetings having taken place at Etihad Stadium.

9. Friday night in Hobart, Round 11
Friday night football will enter unheralded territory in the middle of the season when North Melbourne, for the second year running, takes their home game against Richmond to Blundstone Arena in Hobart.

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It will be the second of three matches Brad Scott’s men will play in the Tasmanian capital, the first being in Round 3 against Melbourne and then later on in the season against the Sydney Swans in Round 22.

The match will bring the Roos and Tigers together for the first time since last year’s elimination final, in which the Roos came from behind to shatter Richmond’s finals hopes at the MCG in front of over 90,000 fans.

Both clubs will again be expected to contend for not only the upper half of the ladder, but also the upper half of the eight. Thus, this Friday night match in the Apple Isle will serve as a litmus test to their finals and premiership credentials.

10. The GWS Giants’ century, Round 12
Round 12 will see the GWS Giants bring up their 100th premiership match when they host the Sydney Swans in the tenth edition of the Sydney Derby at Spotless Stadium.

The Giants played their ever first premiership match against the Swans in Round 1 2012, and 99 matches later, they will bring up their first major milestone once again facing their bigger brothers.

A major challenge will be that the match is played in the graveyard Sunday twilight timeslot, but with Round 12 being the Queen’s Birthday long weekend a bumper crowd will be expected.

The Giants have come a long way since losing rather unashamedly to the Swans by 63 points at ANZ Stadium on March 24, 2012, and it’s widely expected that the club will continue to contend for a maiden finals berth in season 2016.

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There will be no excuses for Leon Cameron’s men going forward, especially with the arrival of Geelong pair Steve Johnson and Dawson Simpson, as well as the expected return to full fitness of Shane Mumford and Johnathan Patton and the continued consistency from full-forward Jeremy Cameron.

In the same round, Jeremy Howe will face his old teammates when Collingwood faces Melbourne in the annual Queen’s Birthday match on the Monday. It will be their second meeting for the year after also facing off in Round 4.

11. Paul Roos returns to the SCG, Round 13
The Round 13 match between the Sydney Swans and Melbourne will see 2005 premiership coach Paul Roos return to the SCG for the first time since leaving the Swans at the end of the 2010 season.

He left the club having made a huge impact both as a player and coach. He first joined the Swans while they were struggling on the field, and was instrumental in them climbing the ladder and ultimately reaching the grand final in 1996.

Then, as coach, he took over in 2002 following the mid-season dismissal of Rodney Eade, and immediately sought to turn the club’s fortunes around, eventually taking them to a drought-breaking premiership in 2005.

When he left the Swans at the end of 2010, he left them in a better state than when he found them. In fact, the club has continued to go from strength to strength under John Longmire, winning the premiership in 2012.

His ability to single-handedly turn a club around was what led him to become Melbourne coach in 2014 following a relentless pursuit from the club’s CEO, Peter Jackson. He had been a huge target since Mark Neeld was sacked in mid-2013.

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Since taking over as Melbourne coach, the club has made some slow but gradual progress, going from two wins and 54.07per cent in 2013 to four wins and 68.4per cent in 2014 and seven wins and 77 per cent last season.

The improvement is there, but 2016 shapes as the year where the Demons need to start showing some consistent form on a regular basis ahead of Simon Goodwin’s takeover as coach in 2017.

In the meantime, Roos will coach against the Swans at the SCG for the only time, and it remains to be seen what reaction he will receive from the Swans crowd who grew to like and admire him as a player and coach during his days at the club.

12. GWS versus GWS, Round 14
Up to six former Giants could face their former employers when Carlton ventures to Spotless Stadium to face the GWS Giants in Round 14.

One of the biggest moves during the trade period was pulled off when Jed Lamb, Andrew Phillips, Liam Sumner and Lachie Plowman were traded from the GWS Giants to Carlton in exchange for a range of draft picks.

Only one man could have proved instrumental in that – Stephen Silvagni, the former Giants list manager who helped to build the club into the emerging force they are today and who has since returned to Carlton, serving in the same role.

The foursome join Kristian Jaksch and Mark Whiley as ex-Giants currently donning the navy blue, who are widely tipped to struggle in 2016 as they endure upon their long-term rebuild under new coach Brendon Bolton.

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The Giants, meanwhile, will be keen to show the Blues no mercy as they look to reach the finals for the first time.

13. John Worsfold coaches against West Coast, Round 15
The second in a string of four mid-season Thursday night fixtures will see John Worsfold and the Essendon Bombers fly across the Nullarbor to face last year’s grand finalists, the West Coast Eagles, at Domain Stadium.

The match will have some added significance as it will be the first time Worsfold opposes the club which he captained to two premierships in 1992 and 1994, and coached to the 2006 premiership.

After a two-year break from coaching following his resignation as Eagles coach at the end of 2013, Worsfold faces several challenges at Essendon, one of which is attempting to re-energise the club’s love for playing football.

The Bombers’ trip to Perth will be their second in four matches, they will have already played Fremantle (for a sixth straight time in Perth) in the west in Round 11. Both these matches will be given free-to-air exposure.

In the same round, Sydney Swans recruit Michael Talia will come up against his old club, the Western Bulldogs, at the SCG, the scene of the visitors’ stunning upset victory in Round 5 last season.

14. The Adam Treloar Cup, Round 16
Tensions are set to simmer when Adam Treloar returns to Spotless Stadium in Collingwood colours on Saturday July 9.

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Speculation surrounding his future cast a huge cloud over the Giants’ 2015 season but it did not deter him from producing some impressive individual performances for the club, most notably against St Kilda in Round 1 and Carlton in Round 22.

However, the lure of returning home was what led him to end up in black and white during the trade period, and his presence in those colours will be sure to infuriate Giants fans who grew to love him as a player in his four years in western Sydney.

The Giants will be out to ensure that his homecoming won’t be a happy one as they attempt to defeat the Pies for the first time in five attempts.

15. Brendon Bolton versus Hawthorn, Round 19
A NAB Challenge match aside, new Carlton coach and Tasmanian Brendon Bolton will have to wait until Round 19 to come up against his mentor, Alastair Clarkson, when the Blues venture down to Aurora Stadium to face the Hawks.

Bolton has been tasked with rebuilding the Blues after they suffered a horrific 2015 season, of which the lowlights included the sacking of Mick Malthouse after Round 8, several seriously uncompetitive efforts and a fourth wooden spoon this millennium.

He had previously served a stint as caretaker Hawthorn coach when Clarkson was struck down with illness midway through the 2014 season, coaching five matches for five wins.

It now remains to be seen what kind of magic he will weave at the Carlton Football Club. Despite their horrid few years on and off the field, their visit to Aurora Stadium is set to attract a bumper crowd.

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16. The Pride Match, Round 21
St Kilda and the Sydney Swans will take part in the inaugural Pride Match towards the end of the season, following a successful trial during this year’s NAB Challenge match between the Sydney Swans and Fremantle at Drummoyne Oval.

The match is set to celebrate diversity, gay marriage and other such issues, with the 50-metre arcs on the field to be painted in rainbow colours to celebrate the occasion.

The Seven Network, which will televise this match nationally (except in Adelaide which will instead receive Port Adelaide versus Melbourne), will also look to air some educational videos addressing these issues during the pre-game and at half-time.

As far as on-field matters are concerned, the Saints will be keen to put in a better effort than the 97-point humiliation they copped in the corresponding match last season which was their heaviest for the 2015 season.

That being said, the club will be expected to continue making progress under Alan Richardson and this match will well and truly test where they are really at.

17. All the intra-state derbies
And of course, there will be at least eight intra-state derbies that must not be missed in 2016, with two each of the QClashes, Sydney Derbies, Showdowns and Western Derbies to take place during the season.

The Gold Coast Suns will play the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in Round 4, and at Metricon Stadium in Round 16.

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Once again the Sydney Swans will have hosting rights to the first Sydney Derby in Round 3, while the GWS Giants will host the return match in Round 12, also doubling as their 100th AFL premiership match.

The two Showdowns between Adelaide and Port Adelaide will take place in Rounds 2 and 22, while the two Western Derbies will take place in Rounds 3 and 20, with the latter likely shaping as Matthew Pavlich’s final Western Derby appearance.

Those are some of the matches and grudge showdowns that you will not want to miss in 2016.

For many AFL fans, the countdown has already begun to Thursday, March 24, 2016, when the season will open between Richmond and Carlton at the MCG.

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