DESPITE having to travel across the Nullarbor in round one, the Crows will be buoyed by their draw for the start of the 2010 season.
Adelaide plays just two of 2009’s top eight sides, the Western Bulldogs and Carlton, in the opening eight rounds and will need to capitalise on this favourable start if it is to be a genuine top-four contender.
The Crows face only three of this season's finalists twice next year - the Bulldogs, St Kilda and the Brisbane Lions.
Adelaide will play cross-town rivals Port Adelaide twice, with Showdowns scheduled for rounds six and 17.
The Crows’ travel itinerary includes six trips to Melbourne, two to WA and one each to Launceston and the Gabba, while Neil Craig’s charges will avoid stopovers at the SCG and Skilled Stadium.
Brisbane Lions
THE new-look Brisbane Lions will kick off their 2010 premiership campaign with a home match against the West Coast Eagles on the first Saturday night of the new season. It will be the first opportunity Lions fans will have to see prized recruit Brendan Fevola in action live with the Gabba unavailable for NAB Cup duties.
The official draw gives the Lions an opportunity to start strongly with three of their first four matches on home turf. Round two sees Fevola's old team, Carlton, come to town for a showpiece Easter Thursday night encounter.
Michael Voss's men will face four fellow finalists from 2009 twice, including reigning premiers Geelong. Their season opens with eight night games before an early Sunday start against the Crows in Adelaide.
Their travel schedule kicks off in the third week of the season with a trip to AAMI Stadium to take on Port Adelaide. It's the first of the customary 11 road trips the club will make for the home-and-away series including six visits to Victoria.
Carlton
CARLTON will be given every opportunity to excel on the big stage in 2010 with the Blues taking part in eight showpiece games in prime Thursday, Friday or Monday timeslots.
For the third year in succession the eyes of the football world will be on Carlton as the premiership season gets underway with a clash against traditional rivals Richmond at the MCG on Thursday, March 25.
Blues fans won't have to wait long for the highly-anticipated match-up against former club favourite Brendan Fevola and the Brisbane Lions, with the first of two encounters for the season set down for Easter Thursday to kick off round two at the Gabba.
The second clash with the Lions will also be on a Thursday with both clubs having had the second weekend of the split round off to prepare for the round 14 game at Etihad Stadium.
Carlton will travel interstate five times in total with the remaining trips divided between Perth and Adelaide where the Blues will take on both teams from each city.
Collingwood
PLENTY of blockbusters and tough match-ups - that seems the early analysis when assessing Collingwood’s draw following the release of the 2010 AFL season fixture.
The Magpies play each of the top three from 2009 twice next season, with Mick Malthouse’s side seemingly drawing the short straw compared to some of their rivals.
Collingwood meets five of last year’s top eight twice - Geelong, St Kilda, the Western Bulldogs, Carlton and Essendon.
The Pies also meet 2008 premier Hawthorn twice, with Melbourne the other team Collingwood is scheduled to meet on two occasions next season.
“On first appearance, it looks daunting,” Malthouse told collingwoodfc.com.au.
Collingwood will play 18 matches in Victoria, with 14 of those being at the MCG.
Significantly, the Pies’ final seven matches of the year will be on their home ground.
Essendon
ESSENDON faces a tough road back to the finals after being handed a challenging draw for the 2010 Toyota AFL Premiership season.
The Bombers played finals after four years in the wilderness last season and must successfully negotiate a draw that sees them play last year's top four teams twice if they are to taste September action once again in 2010.
The Dons season kicks off with the toughest challenge in football, an encounter against reigning premiers Geelong on Friday, March 26, at the MCG.
The annual centrepiece of the Bombers' draw, the Anzac Day clash against Collingwood, takes place in round five although the day will be shared with two other matches because it falls on a Sunday in 2010.
Dreamtime at the 'G versus Richmond is in round nine next year, with the MCG clash slated for a Saturday night.
Essendon's first road trip is to Subiaco to play West Coast in round four and it is one of only three interstate trips the team will make. A round 11 match at the SCG to play the Sydney Swans and a round 14 clash with the Adelaide Crows at AAMI Stadium round out the light travel schedule.
Fremantle
FREMANTLE will launch its 2010 campaign on home soil, taking on the Adelaide Crows in a Sunday twilight fixture at Subiaco Oval.
As was the case in 2009, Fremantle will play 12 games at Subiaco Oval, including two blockbuster derbies against cross-town rival West Coast - round six (away) and 18 (home).
However, the burden of six-day breaks has not been eased on one of the AFL's most travelled teams.
For the second straight season Fremantle will have a six-day recovery period on five occasions, with four of those occurring when it is the travelling side.
The good news for Fremantle is it will face just three of last year's finalists twice (St Kilda, Adelaide and Carlton).
Hawthorn
HAWTHORN has a tough start to the year, playing top-four sides Geelong, the Western Bulldogs and Collingwood in the first month.
The Hawks have 12 games at the MCG, up from 10 last year. Seven of the 12 will be home matches against high-drawing opponents including Collingwood and Essendon.
The Hawks will be playing four home games at Aurora Stadium, up from three in 2009. The game against North Melbourne could be the biggest drawing of the lot as it will fall on Anzac Day and will also mark Josh Gibson’s first game against his old side.
In addition to the four Tasmania games, the Hawks will travel interstate three times to Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.
Hawthorn’s hardest run comes from round 14 when it takes on the Bulldogs, Cats, Brisbane Lions and St Kilda in successive weeks.
Of last season’s eight finalists, the Hawks will have two games against the Cats, Bulldogs, Collingwood and Essendon.
Geelong
THE TWO main challengers to Geelong’s flag defence will not have much chance to get familiar with the Cats in 2010.
The reigning premiers face their grand final rivals St Kilda only once, in round 13 in the first of three games in the second week of the split round.
Meanwhile the Western Bulldogs will have to wait until round 20 before they meet the Cats at Etihad Stadium.
Geelong meets four of last season’s finalists twice and its toughest patch comes late in the season when it plays Hawthorn, Adelaide, the Brisbane Lions, Sydney Swans, Collingwood and the Bulldogs in successive weeks.
Melbourne
MELBOURNE will play 14 matches at the MCG next season, including the first five rounds to start the year.
Of the Dees' 15 MCG games, 10 are home matches with one home match to be played in Darwin at TIO Stadium.
Melbourne will play 11 of its 22 home-and-away matches on Sunday, with a mixture of early, afternoon and twilight matches. Five of the Sunday games are home games.
With three Northern Territorians on its list - Aaron Davey, Liam Jurrah and Austin Wonaeamirri - Melbourne will host its first 'home' match at TIO Stadium against Port Adelaide in round nine.
Including its trip to Darwin, Melbourne will travel interstate five times, with two clashes at AAMI Stadium (rounds 13 and 21), one at Subiaco Oval (round 16) and one at the Gabba (round 18).
North Melbourne
NORTH Melbourne's hopes of rebounding from a disappointing 2009 have been boosted by confirmation it will play just two of this year's finalists on two occasions.
Matches against St Kilda (rounds two and 20) and the Western Bulldogs (nine and 18) will make up four of North's 12 games at Etihad Stadium next year.
A favourable travel draw will also see the Roos play more than half of their interstate matches before the mid-season break.
After six trips this year, with the first of those not until round 12, they will only hit the road five times in 2010.
The season will start against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium before clashes with Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium (round five), Fremantle at Subiaco (10), the Sydney Swans at the SCG (15) and a second trip to the west to meet the Eagles (21).
Port Adelaide
THE POWER could not capitalise on what was considered a favourable draw in 2009 but will be given every opportunity to return to the eight again next year.
Port Adelaide will meet only two of this season’s finalists, St Kilda and Adelaide, twice and for the first time in club history won’t play back-to-back games away from AAMI Stadium.
The Power will however make trips to Melbourne and Perth either side of the split round and will be given a chance to build on their Darwin following with two away games at TIO Stadium (Melbourne in round nine and the Western Bulldogs in round 16).
Prior to taking on the Dogs in Darwin, Port Adelaide will host preliminary finalists Collingwood in a Friday night blockbuster at AAMI Stadium.
Richmond
RICHMOND will play Carlton in the first game of the season for the third straight year in a Thursday night blockbuster at the MCG.
The Tigers will back up with a second big home match the following week against the Western Bulldogs, also at the MCG, in the first Melbourne twilight game of the year.
Their traditional 'Dreamtime at the G' clash with Essendon is in round nine, although it will be the Bombers' home game.
The Tigers' only Friday night match for the season will see them host St Kilda in round 11 at the MCG. They meet the grand finalists for a rematch in round 21.
Richmond plays Geelong just once, at Skilled Stadium in round six.
St Kilda, Adelaide and Carlton are the only 2009 finalists the Tigers meet twice.
St Kilda
ST KILDA will become accustomed to the Friday night lights in 2010, with last season's runner-up to play seven of its home and away games in the prime time spot.
But the Saints will not open the season against its September conquerors Geelong, after the AFL opted against its recent practice of fixturing the grand final rematch for round one.
Instead, St Kilda will head to ANZ Stadium to take on the Sydney Swans in what will be the club’s one and only away game in the opening month of the season.
Saints’ fans will have to wait until at least round 13 to avenge the grand final loss to Geelong, with the two sides set to meet in a blockbuster at the MCG in week two of the split round. It will be the only time the reigning grand finalists meet in the minor rounds.
The Saints will also meet preliminary finalists the Western Bulldogs just once, but will come up against Collingwood twice.
Sydney Swans
SYDNEY Swans fans will have to wait until the penultimate round of the 2010 season to welcome former favourite Barry Hall back to the SCG.
The Swans play Hall and his new teammates at the Western Bulldogs at Manuka Oval in Canberra in round eight before a keenly anticipated return bout at the SCG in round 21.
Other highlights include a season opener against St Kilda at ANZ Stadium, a marquee clash against Collingwood in the split round and more Saturday afternoon football at the SCG.
In a schedule that should please the club’s football department, the Swans play just three of last year’s finalists twice - Geelong, the Bulldogs and the Brisbane Lions.
Four of the Swans’ first six games are in Sydney, giving the club every chance to make a strong start to its 2010 campaign.
The club’s quota of games at ANZ Stadium has been reduced from four to three in 2010, with the clash against fierce rival West Coast being played at the SCG in round five on a Saturday afternoon.
West Coast
THE EAGLES' travel-heavy fixture will be assisted in 2010 by a significant reduction in six-day breaks. West Coast endured eight six-day recovery periods in 2009, but that has been halved to four.
Importantly, the club will not travel on a six-day break in 2010, after doing so on six occasions last season.
West Coast will again play 12 games at Subiaco Oval, including two blockbuster western derbies against cross-town rival Fremantle - round six (home) and round 18 (away).
The club will travel to Victoria on seven occasions, with four matches at Etihad Stadium, two at the MCG and one against Geelong at Skilled Stadium to round out the home and away campaign.
Western Bulldogs
THE WESTERN Bulldogs will celebrate Brad Johnson's 350th milestone in round one with a blockbuster clash against fellow 2009 preliminary finalist Collingwood at Etihad Stadium.
The Dogs will kick off their season with the first of 13 games at the Docklands venue on Sunday afternoon.
Throughout the year they'll avoid playing at Etihad Stadium more than four times in a row, as requested, will not face back-to-back interstate trips and will grace the MCG three times.
Their two interstate home games are scheduled for round eight (versus the Swans at Canberra's Manuka Oval) and round 16 (versus Port Adelaide at Darwin's TIO Stadium).
Fans will be treated to four big home games in the first six rounds against Collingwood, Hawthorn, Adelaide and St Kilda.
The Bulldogs meet each of the 2009 grand finalists only once - in round six against St Kilda, and Geelong in round 20.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
