From a football perspective, we feel that it’s both a good and fair fixture for us. We play two top-eight teams twice (North Melbourne and Geelong), as well as Gold Coast, Melbourne and the Bulldogs. In terms of travel and the toll it takes on our players, the fixture is a good outcome. We only have one ‘double travel’ in Rounds 17 and 18, and there is an 8-day break between games in this instance. Our trip to Perth also falls directly after the Bye, which, for the longest trip in the country, is the best possible outcome.
Commercially, we are very happy with the decision to schedule a Friday night game against Collingwood at the Gabba - it will be only the third Friday match in the past decade. We will also be hosting some teams that traditionally draw good crowds, like Carlton and Geelong, as well as the second QClash for the year against the Gold Coast in Round 16.
The one disappointment is that we will only play five games in Victoria, not six in Melbourne, as we had lobbied for.
What did the Club’s fixture request to the AFL look like?
We certainly asked for a balanced fixture to meet both football (travel) needs and commercial. We also requested to play six games in Victoria and we will continue to do this every year.
As with all other Clubs, we always seek a fixture that is in the best interests of our players’ fitness and welfare -as few 6-day breaks as possible and reasonable travel. When travelling, it is best from a preparation perspective to fly back immediately after a game, rather than staying interstate overnight. Therefore we ask for our away games to be held in the afternoon or at twilight to allow us time to catch a flight.
Why did the Club not receive the six Melbourne matches it requested?
The AFL landscape has fundamentally changed since the merger agreement was signed in 1996. The merger agreement itself refers to grounds, such as “Optus Oval” and “Waverley”, that, as we know, no longer host AFL Premiership matches. The AFL flagged two key points for us. 1 - Hawthorn and Melbourne have commercial deals which see them sell games interstate, which in our case, has resulted in games in Darwin and Launceston, instead of Melbourne. And 2 - the introduction of GWS and the Gold Coast. The introduction of more teams into expansion markets mean ‘away’ games are somewhat more diluted away from Melbourne with these two expansion sides. The Sydney Swans, for example, are in a similar position to us, in that they will only have five games in Victoria this year as well.
Like all of our Victorian members, the Club is disappointed by this outcome, but we will now work towards over-delivering for them with our membership offerings for 2013. We understand that there will be significant disappointment among our Melbourne members and supporters, however, I hope you’ll be able to understand our position and rest assured we will continue to lobby the AFL for six matches in Melbourne again in 2014.
One of the positives of our scheduled games in Victoria is that three of the five (with Round 23 still to be scheduled) are in afternoon timeslots, which means that the Club will be able to facilitate post-match functions for our Victorian members before the team flies home.
Will Victorian memberships go down in price as a result?
Our price for the Victorian memberships will obviously reduce overall and we’re looking at ways to increase value for our members. We worked hard to secure a NAB Cup game against Collingwood in 2013 and admission to that game will be a big part of Victorian memberships. What a great way to start the year - Collingwood in the last round of the NAB Cup and the opening round clash against the Bulldogs. Our Victorian members have and always will be a very important part of our Club and I think we’ve shown that over the past couple of years - most notably with our inaugural Hall of Fame event last year.
How many Free to Air games will we be able to see?
The Club will have four national Free to Air games in 2013, which is up from just two in 2012. It is an improvement but we will continue to lobby the AFL for more in the future.
Queensland viewers will still be able to see all games live on 7 mate, and of course Fox Footy will play all games live in HD. AFL.com also has a subscription service where viewers can watch every game live from computer, tablet, or smartphone. And of course, we will be continuing to host LionsTV through lions.com.au, with more exclusive and behind-the-scenes content than ever before.
Why did the Club miss out on the regular Easter Thursday blockbuster?
Due to the timing of Easter this year, it was impossible to have access to the Gabba for Round 1 due to cricket scheduling. We understand that this is somewhat unavoidable, but nevertheless requested an alternative ‘blockbuster’ game to ensure the best outcome for the Club and its fans. We are very satisfied with the AFL’s decision to schedule Collingwood here at the Gabba on a Friday night in Round 10 and feel that we’ve achieved the best outcome possible. It’s just the third time in the past decade that we have played host to a Friday night game. It will be a massive game and great timing considering we are celebrating the ten-year anniversary of our three-peat of premierships.
When do memberships go on sale?
Membership will be on sale from next Monday (5 November). Keep an eye on lions.com.au and your inboxes for more detail!
