ADELAIDE:

Their first 19 matches are either in their home state or in Victoria, with their first big trip coming in round 19 when they face Brisbane at the Gabba.

They are scheduled to have a bye in rounds two and 16 with the Crows only having to face two teams coming off byes of their own.

Three Friday night games will also give much needed exposure with round 17 and 18 giving them back-to-back starts to the weekend.

POSITIVES:

• Five of the first seven games are at AAMI Stadium

• Play the Gold Coast Suns twice

NEGATIVES:

• Only play one game at the MCG all year

• First bye is in the second round

CLUB SAYS:

"Commercially we are really pleased. We have four games at home in our two preferred timeslots against teams that traditionally draw strong crowds at AAMI Stadium." - Chief executive Steven Trigg

BRISBANE:

Brisbane will play 12 games at the Gabba this year with five of their first eight matches scheduled for their home ground.

The Lions only have to play the top four teams of last year once each, with each match spread out throughout the 24 rounds.

Only one trip each scheduled for Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and Sydney.

POSITIVES:

• Will be the away team at the Gabba in round seven against the Gold Coast.

• Six requested matches in Victoria as well as Easter Thursday blockbuster at the Gabba.

NEGATIVES:

• Not one Friday night match for the year.

• Will once again have to travel every second week.

CLUB SAYS:

"Our new rivalry with the Gold Coast Suns will kick off in round 7 with the return match in round 21. Both games are at the Gabba and we look forward to giving a strong Brisbane welcome to our South Coast adversaries." - CEO Steven Wright.

CARLTON:

Once again the Blues kick off the season with their customary night match against Richmond at the MCG.

Carlton will play against the Gold Coast in the Suns AFL debut match at the Gabba in the second week of competition.

The Blues have three straight at Etihad mid-season all against interstate teams: Brisbane, Sydney and West Coast.

POSITIVES:

• Only four interstate games against Suns, Swans, Power and Dockers.

• Games from round 12-20 are either at MCG or Etihad.

NEGATIVES:

• Have a tough last three games against Fremantle (away), Hawthorn and St Kilda.

CLUB SAYS:

"We are comfortable with where our byes have been allocated, and our four interstate matches are spread evenly throughout the season, with nine matches in a row in Melbourne during the middle of the season." - Chief Executive Greg Swann

COLLINGWOOD:

Collingwood will unfurl their premiership flag at the round three Friday night blockbuster against arch-rivals Carlton.

The Pies and St Kilda will meet twice, firstly in round 11 at the MCG and again in round 21 at Etihad Stadium.

The ANZAC day blockbuster against Essendon is scheduled again with the clash being followed by another game in the west.

POSITIVES:

• Plays its first eleven games either at the MCG or Etihad.

• Only four games interstate.

• In first three months only meets four of last year's finalists.

NEGATIVES:

• No worries for the reigning premiers

CLUB SAYS:

"Maintaining a fixture of 18 games in Melbourne is fantastic. for the club and I'm sure the Magpie Army will enjoy the fact that no interstate games in the first half of the season means they will be able to maintain their energy from last year's Premiership win," CEO Gary Pert.

ESSENDON:

Nine of Essendon's first 11 matches are in Victoria with the load spread between the MCG and Etihad.

The ANZAC day blockbuster against Collingwood is scheduled again with the clash being followed by another game in the west.

A tough initiation for debutant coach James Hird, with his first five games scheduled against Western Bulldogs, Sydney, St Kilda, Carlton and Collingwood.

POSITIVES:

• Home games against Collingwood, Carlton, Richmond and Melbourne

NEGATIVES:

• Back-to-back six day breaks between rounds 12 and 14

CLUB SAYS:

"Our view as a club is that all good sides in this competition should be prepared to play any team, at any ground and at any time." - General Manager of football operations Paul Hamilton.

FREMANTLE:

Fremantle will begin the season with three of its first five games taking place at Patersons Stadium.

Two Friday night games allow for vital exposure to the Victorian market before a possible second consecutive finals series.

POSITIVES:

• Has three matches at the MCG next season

• Avoids a trip to Tasmania and only one trip to Queensland in round 1

NEGATIVES:

• Tough run into the finals with matches against North Melbourne, Western Bulldogs and Collingwood.

• Six games against last year's top four opponents

CLUB SAYS:

"With seven blockbuster home games, including matches against Collingwood, St Kilda and Geelong plus a derby, now is a good time to be a Fremantle Dockers member with a reserved seat at Patersons Stadium." - Chief executive officer Steve Rosich.

GEELONG:

Geelong will open their season with a Friday night blockbuster against last year's grand finalist St Kilda.

Geelong coach Chris Scott will coach against his brother for the first time at Skilled Stadium in round seven.

Round 10 will see Gary Ablett face his former team when the Gold Coast Suns play Geelong at Gold Coast Stadium.

POSITIVES:

• Has a streak of eight games from round 14-21 against teams that did not make the finals last year.

• Plays six games at the MCG leading up to finals

NEGATIVES:

• Only two games at Skilled Stadium in opening rounds

• Two six-day breaks and travel back-to-back from rounds 14-17

CLUB SAYS:

"While we have received a fixture that is generally sound, our remaining point of contention is that for the second year in a row, the Club has been given only seven home games at Skilled Stadium instead of the requested eight." - Acting Chief Executive, Rob Threlfall.

GOLD COAST:

The Suns will play their inaugural AFL game against Carlton in round two after having a bye in the first round.

The Suns will face rival Brisbane twice with games scheduled for round 7 and 21.

Round 10 will see star recruit Gary Ablett face his former team when the Gold Coast Suns play Geelong at Gold Coast Stadium.

POSITIVES:

• First nine rounds include five games against non-finals teams from 2010

• Eight games in the last 15 weeks at Carrara

NEGATIVES:

• Two road trips to Perth is not ideal

• Two away games in Adelaide will also be a tough ask for a young side

CLUB SAYS:

"We're extremely pleased with our draw in our very first season in the AFL. In essence we've got exactly what we would have liked," - CEO Travis Auld

HAWTHORN:

Hawthorn will hope to get off to a strong start to the 2011 season with their first four matches against non-finalist teams.

The Hawks will only play 13 games in Melbourne with four of their home games scheduled for Tasmania.

The two breaks are scheduled perfectly for the 2008 premiers with a bye in round 6 and round 17.

POSITIVES:

• Four games at Aurora Stadium against West Coast, Gold Coast, North Melbourne, Brisbane

• 15 matches on free to air

NEGATIVES:

• Forced to travel nine times

• Six games against last year's top four teams

CLUB SAYS:

"We are pleased that we can continue to service our members across two markets with seven home games at the MCG and four at Launceston's Aurora Stadium. The Club will now look to finalise four further make-up games for Hawthorn members at the MCG." - Chief Executive Stuart Fox.

NORTH MELBOURNE:

North Melbourne will have to travel interstate six times throughout the season with two of those trips taking place in their first three games.

After being one of the pioneer teams of Friday night games, once again North Melbourne has been ignored with only one game scheduled under lights for the start of the weekend.

North Melbourne coach Brad Scott will make history by coaching against his identical brother in round seven when the Kangaroos take on Geelong at Skilled Stadium.

POSITIVES:

• Six of the last 7 games are at Etihad

• 14 games at Etihad Stadium

NEGATIVES:

• Two of their first three games are in Perth

• 11 games against 2010 finalists

CLUB SAYS:

"Playing Collingwood in our first home game of the year is a fantastic result and is a strong incentive for our members to join up early and see us take on the reigning premiers," - Chief Executive Eugene Arocca.

MELBOURNE:

The Demons only play six of last year's top eight once which can be described as a minor miracle.

Melbourne's last four games will give them a great chance of clinching a finals birth with matches against Richmond, Port Adelaide, Gold Coast and West Coast.

The Queen's Birthday clash is once again on the cards with Melbourne hosting reigning premiers Collingwood.

POSITIVES:

• First three games at the MCG

• Only three road trips with a game in Darwin also scheduled

NEGATIVES:

• Play three teams coming off byes

• Tough 3 games from rounds 18-20 (Hawthorn, Geelong and Carlton)

CLUB SAYS:

"There are many positive aspects in the 2011 fixture for the Melbourne Football Club. We are particularly pleased with 13 games at the MCG overall and three at the beginning of the season. Another very pleasing aspect of the fixture is the increase in Free to Air coverage. We have 14 FTA games in 2011, an increase of 55% on last year." - CEO, Cameron Schwab.

PORT ADELAIDE:

Port Adelaide will open their 2011 season against the reigning premier at Etihad Stadium. In what is sure to be a big game for both teams with Matthew Primus making his official debut as senior coach and Collingwood keen to start the season the way they finished 2010.

The power will face Melbourne twice in the last seven rounds as both teams will be no doubt searching for that elusive finals position.

The last four games will be tough with matches against Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs, Melbourne and Essendon leading up to the finals.

POSITIVES:

• Big drawing home games against Collingwood and St Kilda

• Two ‘Showdowns' for the Adelaide fans

NEGATIVES:

• In between rounds 7-17 they play all over the country

• Only one Friday night game

CLUB SAYS:

We're really upbeat about the fixture; we think it serves us well from both a football and a commercial perspective. In a football sense, we are very happy with where our byes are placed (rounds 12 and 18), and we also don't have many six-day breaks." - Chief Executive Mark Haysman.

RICHMOND:

Richmond will start the 2011 season with a Thursday night match against cross town rivals Carton in what will hopefully be a more competitive performance from the Tigers.

The Tigers will have their backs against the wall for the first eight rounds with a horror draw pitting them against six of last year's finalists in the first two months.

The last for rounds will also be tough with games against Sydney, Melbourne, North Melbourne and an away game to Adelaide.

POSITIVES:

• Thursday and Friday night games in three of the first four rounds

• Seven of the first nine games at the MCG

NEGATIVES:

• Three interstate trips in a row with a bye in between

• Six interstate in all will make for weary legs come the end of the season

CLUB SAYS:

"It is a challenging draw from a football perspective, but while our young team is evolving, they will benefit from playing in some big games, particularly early in the season. We think it is a really good fixture for our members, supporters and corporate partners, given the fact that we play a large number of games at the MCG, and have more Friday night and Saturday games, which our fans will appreciate." - CEO Brendon Gale

ST KILDA:

St Kilda will open their 2011 premiership hunt with a cracker of a game against 2009 premier Geelong, in what promises to be a must see game.

The Saints have been dealt a horror draw with six round trips including back-to-back interstate flights to Brisbane in round five and Adelaide in round six.

St Kilda will get two cracks at Collingwood before the 2011 finals series gets under way. Round 11 is the date that must be pencilled in as Collingwood play host to the Saints at the MCG.

POSITIVES:

• Plays 15 games on free to air TV

• At least six Friday night games are scheduled

NEGATIVES:

• Takes on Geelong and reigning premiers twice

• Faces the Gold Coast only once

CLUB SAYS:

"The 2011 Fixture is a powerful fixture for both our interstate and Victorian based members and is appropriate recognition of the performance that has been delivered by the playing group over the last three years, with the club having played in a preliminary final in 2008 and two consecutive Grand Finals, including a Grand Final Replay in 2010." - CEO Michael Nettlefold

SYDNEY:

John Longmire will have his first outing as coach against Melbourne at the MCG on the last Sunday in March. No doubt the debutant coach will be looking for a good start with matches against West Coast and Essendon to follow round one.

Longmire will have every chance to get his side into a strong position come September with the Swans last four games throwing up a mixture of winnable games. Richmond, St. Kilda, Geelong and Brisbane will be the task for Longmire and his men.

POSITIVES:

• Only play St Kilda and Collingwood once with both games at ANZ Stadium

• Only one trip each to Perth and Adelaide

NEGATIVES:

• Three back-to-back interstate trips

• Only one Friday night match

CLUB SAYS:

"We were very keen to get a Friday night game and we're happy it's against Carlton who we had such a great match against in the elimination final this year. There's a good mixture of games on Saturdays, Sundays and then the Friday night so we hope that will suit all our different fans." - Chief executive Andrew Ireland

WEST COAST:

West Coast will start and finish the 2011 home and away season in Perth against North Melbourne and Adelaide. They also have their bye's perfectly spaced in round five and fifteen.

Two Friday night games at home will give the West Australian team much needed prime time coverage - Melbourne and Geelong will make the trip to Perth in round six and sixteen respectively.

POSITIVES:

• Only face two finalists in first seven games

• Final five games against non-finalists

NEGATIVES:

• On the road every second week

• Road trip to Aurora Stadium in round four

CLUB SAYS:

"We had requested to play Richmond in round one as part of our 25th year, but this has not been possible. However, we can be satisfied with just two night matches away, which will assist our heavy travel load. The timing of the byes in rounds five and 15 is also pleasing." - CEO Trevor Nisbett.

WESERN BULLDOGS:

The Western Bulldogs have managed to obtain a share in the ANZAC day action with a game in Perth against Fremantle on 25th of April. The match is a twilight fixture that will take place after the traditional Collingwood v Melbourne game.

The Bulldogs also play last year's final four counterparts only once throughout the season, a revelation no doubt for Rodney Eade and his men.

POSITIVES:

• First three games at Etihad against Essendon, Brisbane and the Gold Coast

• 13 games at home ground Etihad Stadium

NEGATIVES:

• Byes spread to far apart (round 4 and 20)

• Five games interstate

CLUB SAYS:

"We have lost a couple of Friday night games compared to the 2010 Season but we will be playing more games on Saturday, which I am sure will please our fans. From a commercial perspective it is not a strong as we would have hoped for but we will work hard to maximise our opportunities." - CEO Campbell Rose.