Richmond to play 14 home and away games at MCG in 2015 Caroline Wilson
The Age
October 23, 2014 - 6:42PM Richmond will be a major beneficiary of the AFL's guaranteed supporter-friendly fixture with 14 games at the MCG next season and up to six home Saturday afternoons at its preferred home ground in a return to traditional weekend football.
In a commercially beneficial draw the Tigers are also expected to play Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon twice in 2015, opening the season in an away game against the Blues on Thursday, April 2, and returning – according to current planning – to the MCG the following week to host the Western Bulldogs in round two.
Richmond and Melbourne also appear to have been successful in their joint push to play each other on the eve of Anzac Day, with the Tigers hosting what both clubs hope will become a regular fixture on the night of April 24. Next year that game falls on a Friday night.
The Tigers have pushed to play all 11 home games at the MCG since abandoning their home game in Cairns two years ago. Next year the AFL has at this stage scheduled Richmond for 10 home games at the 'G and just one – against North Melbourne – at Etihad Stadium, which could take place in the last home-and-away round of the season.
Richmond's fixture is also understood to have improved significantly in a commercial sense since its nine-game winning streak catapulted the club into an – albeit shortlived – unexpected finals campaign. The Tigers' dreadful opening half of the season had seen diminished crowds and an expectation of vastly less attractive 2015 game schedule.
Fourteen of 22 games at the MCG has Richmond level with Collingwood in terms of appearances at football's traditional home. This is an increase of two from 2014, with the extra benefit of just one trip to Perth which is expected to take place against Fremantle.
While the fixture will not be released until next Thursday, the current AFL draft has the Tigers hosting as many as six Saturday afternoon games – double this year's number – and two Friday night clashes, along with the now regular Dreamtime game against Essendon on a Saturday night in May.
The AFL's poorly received experimental fixture this year was designed to appease its broadcasters but saw attendances fall in Victoria. The backlash provoked a pledge from new chief Gillon McLachlan to rethink next year's draw with more big blockbuster games on Saturday afternoons at the MCG and the abandoning of Sunday night games and most Monday nights.
The AFL will also bring forward Saturday night start times in Melbourne by 20 minutes to 7.20pm to attract more families and supporters from outside of the city. The AFL has also promised to simplify its ticketing processes and improve the so-called match-day experience at its two Melbourne venues and also Geelong's Simonds Stadium.
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