We only play Pies once.
Where did you see that?
Blues, Tigers, Bombers set to play twice Jake Niall
The Age
October 19, 2012 CARLTON, Richmond and Essendon are all set to play one another twice, on the Victorian blockbuster circuit next year, but the Tigers and Collingwood have been deprived of their request for two games in 2013.
Collingwood also will play Carlton and Anzac Day opponent Essendon twice - a routine that has been not been broken since 1991.
The Magpies are also set to play another Victorian powerhouse, Hawthorn, twice, but are understood to play 2011 grand final opponent Geelong only once in next year's fixture.
The AFL's guidelines for matching teams up on the basis of ladder position makes it easier for the Bombers, Blues and Tigers to play each other twice next year.
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All three missed the final eight; under the AFL's preferred format, teams in the top eight play three matches against this year's finalists and those outside the eight (bottom 10) play two against the eight.
That Essendon, Carlton and Richmond missed the eight means they can play one another twice and leave one more ''double up'' against a bottom-10 club. On the same basis, Collingwood's perennial two games against Carlton and Essendon mean the Pies cannot play Richmond twice next year - because they can only play two teams from outside the top eight twice.
Geelong is set to play Hawthorn twice in what has become one of the game's most keenly anticipated clashes, with the first meeting on Easter Monday. However, the Cats will not get a second meeting with the Pies.
Geelong will play under the newly installed lights at Simonds Stadium on at least three occasions, with the historic first night game scheduled against the Gold Coast, probably on June 1.
The Tigers are expected to play Collingwood in round four, on the weekend before Anzac Day; Essendon meets St Kilda in round four, before the Saints play their historic Anzac Day match against the Swans in Wellington, New Zealand.
The AFL has scheduled North Melbourne to play Collingwood on Easter Sunday at Etihad Stadium in round one.
Essendon and Adelaide have the season-opener at AAMI Stadium, Carlton and Richmond play their now customary round-one Thursday night game on March 28, while the round closes out again with Geelong against Hawthorn on Easter Monday. The Perth and Sydney teams play one another in the opening round. The Western Bulldogs play the Brisbane Lions at Etihad on Saturday, Melbourne plays Port Adelaide at the MCG on Easter Sunday and St Kilda plays the Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium.
The AFL has decreed that none of the top four will play the bottom four - the two expansion teams, plus Melbourne and the Bulldogs - twice in 2013, with the exception of Sydney, but the league will seek to ensure that the Swans' draw is offset by that apparent advantage.
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