Carlton Supporters Club

Carlton will head to Brisbane in 2024’s Opening Round, as confirmed by the AFL this morning.

In a league first, Carlton will be one of four Victorian teams heading to the northern states for Opening Round, with the Blues’ preliminary final rematch against the Lions to take place on Friday 8 March from 6:50pm local time (7:50pm AEDT).

It has also been confirmed that the Blues will kick off proceedings in Melbourne the following week in Round 1 when hosting the traditional clash with the Tigers.

Farken joke! We are one the biggest clubs in the land with almost 100K members and we have to go to crapsville to play the Bears rnd one. I couldn't give a toss about opening the season, but to schedule us interstate rnd one is a slap in the face to us members.
Here's a thought for rnd 1:
Thurs Night Bris v GC
Frid Night Syd v GWS
Sat Day early WC v Freo  early arvo Melb time Coll v Ess
Sat Night Carl v Rich
Sun Day PA v Ade, StKilda v Melb
Sun Night Geel v Haw
Monday Night NM v Foots
Rotate the opener around every year, everyplays at home in front of their fans.
Its not that farken hard AFL you imbeciles.

I was thinking along the same lines G2C, every team playing in their home state would be a great way to start the season.

We don’t need gimmicks to boost crowds or TV audiences, just evenly matched teams, consistent umpiring and knowledgeable, calm commentators.

its utter garbage mate. Lets be clear, Im all for “anyone, anytime, anywhere”but round 1 is all about fans wanting their game back after 6mnths of trading, drafting and preseasons. I just forked out over 3k for membership and cant
Use it for the first game (without forking out another 2 to 3k for tickets,flights and accom). Absolutely atrocious scheduling by the AFL.

Farken joke! We are one the biggest clubs in the land with almost 100K members and we have to go to crapsville to play the Bears rnd one. I couldn't give a toss about opening the season, but to schedule us interstate rnd one is a slap in the face to us members.
Here's a thought for rnd 1:
Thurs Night Bris v GC
Frid Night Syd v GWS
Sat Day early WC v Freo  early arvo Melb time Coll v Ess
Sat Night Carl v Rich
Sun Day PA v Ade, StKilda v Melb
Sun Night Geel v Haw
Monday Night NM v Foots
Rotate the opener around every year, everyplays at home in front of their fans.
Its not that farken hard AFL you imbeciles.

Great schedule, GTC old son, especially for those who attend games. However... the AFL has a major consideration - TV / streaming audience numbers (ratings) and giving advertisers bang for their buck.

Your Thur and Fri schedule would be terrific for local fans but the TV / streaming audience nationally (particularly Vic, SA & WA) would be a few goats, the odd ferret and easily amused crickets - a ratings disaster.

Unfortunately, the commercial reality is TV / streaming ratings are king for the AFL.

   
When is an 'opening' round not round 1 ?