This is a result of a recent survey of more than 1200 fans on afl.com.au in which supporters were asked on their views on a range of fixturing issues as the league begins preparing the 2006 draw.
And the message was clear that fans want a draw that is more equitable for all 16 clubs both in terms of who plays who each season and more importantly when.
On the key issue of Friday night matches many of the suggestions were consistent.
- all teams to have an equal amount of Friday night games.
- an even distribution of games
- every Victorian-based team should play at least two Friday night games during the season.
This season Collingwood, St Kilda and Geelong all feature in six Friday night matches while Essendon has five but the Cats and the Saints only received an increase after reaching the preliminary finals last year while the Magpies still received the equal most number of prime-time due to their huge appeal.
Amongst the consistent suggestions from fans on the issue of non-Victorian games were:
- Collingwood to travel more
- increased travel by Essendon, Carlton and Collingwood to Perth.
- every team to travel at least once to each state and all teams should play in Perth at some stage.
This season Collingwood travels outside Victoria just four times and Essendon five while the Kangaroos travel eight times while the Bulldogs and Hawthorn travel seven times although those clubs do all elect to play "home" games on interstate soil for financial reasons.
And fans also don't want their team to have to play interstate two weeks in a row as the Kangaroos did in Adelaide earlier this season while Sydney and Brisbane's Melbourne based fans want to see their clubs play in Victoria more often.
When it came to the issue of which teams should play on the treasured Anzac Day and Queen's Birthday public holidays, some fans wanted Collingwood's hold on these days to be broken while others wanted these games retained as they are.
The league usually only schedules Collingwood v Essendon on Anzac Day and Melbourne v Collingwood on Queen's Birthday but other suggestions included:
- allocating those days to matches between the top sides from the previous year.
- Queen's Birthday to be set aside for a re-match between the grand finalists of the previous year.
- And Richmond fans believe it's time for their club to be featured in so0me blockbuster games.
However there was also support for the current fixtures to remain in place such has been their success.
Other key issues to come out of the fixture survey included:
- fans were split over the issue of Good Friday football.
- fans did not want Monday night games unless they fell before a public holiday but felt if the league did decide to sanction them then the Western Bulldogs should be involved.
- fans wanted more Saturday afternoon games at the expense of Sunday afternoons with Richmond, Hawthorn, Essendon and Fremantle supporters most in favour of that.
Some fans also suggested a 30 round season, which would ensure all teams play each twice, but that has been previously ruled out by the AFL - which will continue with 22 rounds.
However in that case the fans had a clear message for the AFL when devising a fixture in which each club only plays seven of its 15 rivals twice each season.
And that message was: "That producing a draw fair to all 16 clubs should be more important than producing a draw designed to attract the biggest crowds and to gain the most money."
