2008 AFL Fixture: Club reaction

Robson. "We will continue to work hard with our colleagues at the AFL as we continue to strive to have these strong features within our fixturing as we move forward. The broadcasters and the AFL have shown a degree of confidence in the future prospects of the team by the scheduling of 12 matches into free-to-air timeslots, a 50 per cent increase compared to the previous season."

Kangaroos:
"We are very happy with the draw," said Kangaroos CEO Rick Aylett. "The commercial aspects of our fixture are excellent and provide additional exposure and sponsorship opportunities as well as some strong drawing home games. As we promised in September our fourth home game on the Gold Coast for 2008 did not come at the expense of a Victorian game. At the end of the day we have managed to turn one of our away interstate games into a home game on the Gold Coast. This draw has benefits for all facets of our football club. It's good commercially, good from a player conditioning point of view and returns the club to being involved in exciting blockbuster matches which is great for our members and supporters."

Melbourne:
"We're quite happy with the competitive aspects of the 2008 fixture. Commercially it has some pluses, but quite a few minuses," said Demons CEO Steve Harris. "We are pleased to have the AFL recognise our arguments and deliver 10 home games at the MCG - the most since 2003 - and no home games at the Dome. And for the first time in a long time, we don't have anything less than six-day breaks. The big 'flavour' of 2008 will be Sundays, where the AFL has us playing 70 per cent of our games, including 12 out of 13 from Round Five onwards. Having seven out of 10 MCG home games on that day will be challenging from a commercial aspect. It is again disappointing that Melbourne and Richmond - co-tenants of the MCG and in 2008 celebrating 150th and 100th birthday milestones respectively - have their first match at the Dome, and don't meet at the MCG until the last day of the season. In 2008, we need nothing less than our members and supporters to get out there and attend our home matches. There is no doubt sub-optimal team performance can obviously have a negative impact on a favourable fixture, but so too can sub-optimal