Firstly I would like to acknowledge that the fixture is a challenging process for the AFL, and we believe they did their best in taking our requests into account when compiling the draw.

Five of our first seven games are home matches and our first eleven games of the year are in Melbourne. This should give us a strong start to the season in Melbourne and will provide opportunities to capitalise on our membership growth achieved this year.

We have a number of blockbuster home games against strong Victorian clubs early in the season, including the reigning Premiers Hawthorn in Round 3, the Archer-Hird Medal game against Essendon in Round 4, the Anzac night match against Richmond in Round 5 and Collingwood on a Friday night in Round 6.  On any view, this is a great start to the year.

Playing these games in succession and being scheduled for ten Sunday games will have an impact on our corporate hospitality revenue and we will look at innovative ways in which to manage this challenge. 

While playing all of our matches in Melbourne in the first half of the year will provide a number of opportunities for us on and off the field, our football department will have to meet the demands of playing interstate six times in the last eleven games of the season.  This is not ideal, however we are confident that the team will be up for the challenge.

Next season will be the first in over a decade in which we will play 11 home games in Melbourne and sixteen in Victoria. Out of nine games in Melbourne against Victorian teams, eight will be North Melbourne home games, which will give us the opportunity to improve game attendances and match receipts.

We are working hard to tailor our membership packages to give our supporters every possible opportunity of getting value for money, particularly at a time when household budgets are under pressure due to the wider economic climate.