THERE are things in life that are almost impossible.

 

Nuclear physics, understanding the opposite sex and deciphering the lyrics to Australian Crawl songs, to name a few.

 

Then there are things that are impossible. Delivering an AFL fixture that satisfies everybody is one of them.

 

Surprise, surprise, the 2015 fixture released on Thursday attracted its share of complaints.

 

The Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions would have liked more Victorian games than the five they were each scheduled – the Swans' frustration no doubt heightened by the fact their fledgling crosstown rival Greater Western Sydney will play six games in Melbourne in 2015.

 

Geelong was understandably disappointed to go from five night games at Simonds Stadium this year to just one next season.

 

Similarly, North Melbourne could have expected to maintain the Friday night presence it enjoyed in 2014 – especially after climbing from 10th to fourth this year – but its number of games in the premier timeslot will slip from five to two in 2015.

 

The Roos are entitled to be bemused too that their banishment from prime time has coincided with: eighth-placed Richmond increasing their Friday night presence from four games in 2014 to seven next season; and with 13th-placed Carlton maintaining its six-game Friday night allotment next year.

 

If you count their season-opening Thursday night clash against Richmond, the Blues, somewhat surprisingly, have five marquee games in the opening nine rounds, two of them at the MCG.

By contrast, Adelaide, the Lions, Port Adelaide and West Coast will play at the home of the Grand Final just once in the 2015 home and away season.

 

Of course, the AFL has again had to schedule 22 games each for 18 teams across 23 rounds, all the while hamstrung by non-negotiable intrastate derbies and traditional – money-spinning – rivalries.

 

Oh, and there is the small matter of keeping the game's broadcasters happy.

 

In this landscape, fixturing quirks are as unavoidable as death, taxes and reality TV shows.

 

If we can accept this, the 2015 fixture can be seen for what it is – a reward for the true believers on one hand, and a commitment to keep taking the game forward on the other.

 

The AFL's push to appease heartland supporters disillusioned by unfriendly Sunday night and Monday night games had been foreshadowed by League CEO Gillon McLachlan. Predictably, it is the centrepiece of the 2015 fixture.

 

Weekend afternoon games in Victoria will increase from 34 in 2014 to 47 next season.

 

The blockbuster has returned with a vengeance to the traditional Saturday afternoon timeslot too, with big-name Victorian clubs Carlton, Essendon, Collingwood, Richmond, Geelong and reigning premier Hawthorn set to feature prominently in this timeslot.

 

The move to start Saturday night matches in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland 20 minutes earlier at 7.20pm is another initiative aimed at putting more bums on seats next season.

 

The AFL has also listened to Swans fans who want to see big-game clashes at their spiritual home ground, the SCG.

 

Next year, they will be able to cheer, cheer from the Bill O'Reilly Stand as the Bloods play Carlton, Richmond and Collingwood – for the first time at the venue in 15 years – in Friday night games, and Port Adelaide in a Thursday night clash.

 

Although the fixture is largely aimed at bringing grassroots supporters back into AFL stadiums, it does not turn its back on recent innovations that have worked.

 

So the Thursday night experiment will continue next season, with five games scheduled, including four in consecutive weeks from rounds 12-15.

 

McLachlan also toyed with scheduling a double-header on the Friday night of the Mother's Day weekend – most likely featuring Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval and a subsequent game at Patersons Stadium in Perth – with the aim of creating a standalone blockbuster on the Sunday.

 

McLachlan said it had been "too complicated" to coordinate the double-header with the AFL's broadcasting partners, but we suspect those complications could be resolved in time for the 2016 fixture.

 

So, as much as possible in an impossible AFL landscape, the League has delivered a fixture that better preserves the game's traditions while continuing to explore new possibilities.

 

For their efforts, McLachlan and his team will be content if the long-time supporters that stayed home this year dust off their scarves and beanies and take a seat in the outer rather than on the couch.