“On balance, we are overall happy with our fixture for next season. The AFL has provided most of our requests from the ‘wish list’ we submitted,” Vale told kangaroos.com.au.
Click here to view North Melbourne's full 2013 fixture
“Next year we will play three Friday night games, two of them home matches against Carlton and Geelong. In addition to this, we will also play a second game at the MCG. Six of our 9 Etihad home games are against Melbourne teams”
“Opening the season with a home match is always excellent but to play a team like Collingwood is a fantastic result, especially from a commercial perspective. We will be hoping for a sell-out crowd with plenty of members and supporters reserving a seat to avoid missing out on a great match. Although the time slot is not ideal, being twilight on Easter Sunday, we hope the Magpies will still help draw a big audience.
“It will be a challenging first game for our players but they will enjoy being able to test themselves in a big game from the opening round.”
“Last season our two matches in Hobart at Blundstone Arena were a huge success with one sell out and a really imposing home game atmosphere. Next season will be great to see the reigning Premiers the Swans and then Port Adelaide in Hobart.
"Our members in Melbourne and Tassie have been extremely supportive of our games in Hobart and we’re really excited to continue grow and bring quality AFL football to the south of the state."
Click here to view kangaroos.com.au's analysis of the fixture
With no back to back interstate travel scheduled and 15 games in Melbourne in total, Vale is optimistic about the season ahead while acknowledging there is no perfect fixture.
“Unfortunately three of our home matches are scheduled for Sunday twilight which raises a significant challenge for the club commercially and our feedback from members is particularly strong that this is a difficult time slot to attend, but we will work hard to make it a positive outcome for the club.
"While we expected more free-to-air games, we are happy to continue to build on our great relationship with Foxtel which has gone from strength to strength over the past few seasons."
“Overall it’s a good draw however it definitely presents a strong challenge football-wise. The only bottom four side we play twice is Brisbane but we play team’s like Geelong, Adelaide, Collingwood and Hawthorn twice.
“But after making finals this season we have to be ready to step up and compete against opposition like that. Brad Scott and his players have certainly proved themselves and will relish the opportunity to achieve more success in 2013.”
