So been doing some work on the fixtures list working out who has good or bad draws early etc.
In the first 7 rounds
GC & North have difficult starts facing 5 of the top 8 teams from last year.
North however have 5 games at home with the 2 away trips being Fremantle at Domain & Geelong @ Etihad (Essentially a home game)
Carlton has the easiest start with only 1 top 8 side in the first 7 rounds, followed by Geelong, Essendon, Melbourne & Brisbane with 2
In rounds 8-16
Bulldogs have the hard mid season run with 5 top 8 teams and the other 2 mid table teams.
Norths tough start turns around and they only face 1 team inn the top 8 & 2 in total for the rest of the year.
Rounds 17-23
Gold Coast have a super weak end of season run with only 1 top 8 team and an average opponent rank of 13.28
North good run of opponents continue, but only have 2 matches at home n the last 7 rounds
Carlton have the hardest run home with only 3 home games & 5 against top 8 opponents.
GWS, Hawthorn & Geelong all have difficult runs home.
Total
North only face top 8 opponents 8 times across the year, the easiest draw amongst all teams. Closely followed by Richmond
Of the other top 8 sides, West Coast and Adelaide have good runs.
As expected Essendon, Brisbane & Carlton have fairly good draws.
GWS have the toughest draw with 11 top 8 matches and an average opponent rank of 8.5
Western Bulldogs don't fare much better.
Saints, Collingwood and Fremantle have difficult schedules compared to where they finished.
Double Up Games
The 4 teams with the hardest double up games are
GWS
Hawthorn
Sydney
Western Bulldogs
The easiest 4 are
Essendon
Brisbane
Richmond
North
From the bottom 8 last year the Saints have the hardest double up games with the 5th hardest
From the top 8 North have the easiest with the 4th easiest. Much easier than any other top 8 side.