Winners and losers from AFL fixture

Which clubs will be happy and which ones will be up against it in 2022?

SUBSCRIBER | December 9, 2021 - 2:31pm

The AFL fixture has dropped and immediately fans are looking at how their club has faired. The fixture is of course not truly equal and therefore there are always some clubs that will be happier than others.

With teams playing only five teams twice throughout the season, these double-ups are crucial to how a teams season is judged before a ball is kicked in anger.

GEELONG, AUSTRALIA - JULY 02: Nikolas Cox (left) and Harrison Jones of the Bombers look dejected after a loss during the 2021 AFL Round 16 match between the Geelong Cats and the Essendon Bombers at GMHBA Stadium on July 2, 2021 in Geelong, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

We take a look at some of the big winners and losers from the 2022 fixture.

Winners

Brisbane comes out as big winners from the 2022 edition of the draw with the Gabba playing host to some massive blockbusters. They host Collingwood on Easter Thursday, before welcoming Carlton, Essendon and Melbourne respectively throughout the season.

They face three finalists from last year twice, two of them are GWS and Essendon.

Carlton are gifted a very nice draw but will need to bank wins before a very challenging run home. They face West Coast away, Geelong, GWS, back-to-back road trips to Adelaide and Brisbane, before facing Melbourne and Collingwood on the run home.

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Carlton's finals hopes pend on their results surrounding the bye with a number of winnable games on either side of the break. The only top-six team they play twice is GWS.

West Coast are keen to bounce back into the top eight next year and get four double-ups against teams that finished below them. Those double-ups are Fremantle, Richmond, Adelaide and Gold Coast.

Losers

St Kilda's theory of being a cursed club shows no signs of dissipating after they were dealt a brutal draw. Their double-ups include contenders Geelong and Brisbane as well as Sydney.

HOBART, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 22: Jack Steele of the Saints leads the team out during the 2021 AFL Round 23 match between the St Kilda Saints and the Fremantle Dockers at Blundstone Arena on August 22, 2021 in Hobart, Australia. (Photo by Grant Viney/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

A year after facing an incredibly difficult draw which may have cost the finals, they are again done no favours by AFL House.

Melbourne, despite being premiers have a very difficult draw as they take on all three of their fellow top-four opponents twice throughout the season. They also face the Western Bulldogs on two occasions including the season opener.

GWS have been dealt a difficult hand with them facing the Western Bulldogs, Brisbane and Sydney twice. They get to face one bottom six team twice and that happens to be Carlton who are probably the top of the group.

Essendon, just like GWS, has been rewarded for a finals appearance with a tough go of it in 2022. The Bombers face Brisbane and Port Adelaide twice and also take on Richmond twice, with the Tigers set to be much better than they were last season.