The Draw has been announced for the 2012 Footy Season . GWS joins the competition , making it an 18 team fixture , with more interstate matches , and a bye period of rest breaks , for all teams.

crows

All Clubs are required to travel interstate at least five times . Collingwood , Hawthorn and Geelong , the top three finishers in 2011 have big games scheduled. The  AFL hopes these games can draw large crowds ,  will provide great entertainment , and  help to consolidate these teams ,  and footy's popularity .

Geelong unfurls its premiership flag in round 4 , and the Saints face Freo in their first game since the coach poaching saga  .The Blues play six games on Friday night , and North Melbourne  make the most interstate trips with Games scheduled in Hobart .

north

Queensland Clubs , the Lions and Suns , play the most games in the Saturday afternoon twilight timeslot , and the Cats and Magpies meet twice in GF replays in rounds 8 & 16 .

Big Games will continue with the  Magpies playing the Bombers on Anzac Day, Freo versus Carlton in the annual Len Hall Tribute Match , Demons tackling the Magpies on Queen's Birthday Monday, Essendon and Richmond clashing in the 'Dreamtime at the 'G' match in round eight, and St Kilda hosting Carlton on a Monday night match.

tigers

Interstate teams will continue to play each other in the two 'Derbies' between Fremantle and West Coast, two 'Showdowns' between Adelaide and Port Adelaide, two Brisbane Lions- Gold Coast 'Q-Clashes' and, for the first time, two all-Sydney clashes between the Giants and Swans.

carlton

The 2012 AFL fixture promises much.  Football fans will be along to watch , wearing their   football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys .

Both the Eagles and the Blues have blue in their team colours . Who will wear blue jumpers on Saturday nights , twilight , AFL Semi Final Game , in WA ?

white carlton jumper

away wce jumper

The Blues travelling interstate , will surely favour their traditional style , navy blue with white logo football jumper , jersey , guernsey .

The host team , the West Coast Eagles , have a home style jumper of dark blue , yellow and white . Will they wear this ? or be forced to adopt a white style  , clash football jumper ?

The question arises , who will wear what coloured footy jumper on  saturday  night ?

wce home

Carlton blue jumper

AFL Weekend results were a mixed bag , with games providing fiercely contested battles , and  some surprise results .

Saints outclassed

The Crows were very good against Geelong in Adelaide , with the Cats scraping a narrow win by only 11 points . The Swans  in a shock 43 point loss to the  under-performing Tigers have placed their finals chances in jeopardy . This loss allows Fremantle and North Melbourne to keep their finals dream alive .

Carlton , Hawthorn , Collingwood , Geelong and the West Coast Eagles continue to win , broadening the gap  between the top five , and the next three contenders , for places in the eight .  The Lions won the  battle of the Queenslanders , and the Bombers ended the Bulldogs hopes of playing in the Finals  . St Kilda , couldn't make it seven wins in a row , and were simply outclassed by the silky skills of the Magpies .

wce = winners

Blues are winners

Its a  fierce  battle , between five teams , for the last three spots in the eight . Loyal fans , wearing their football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys , will be treated to some fine footy action in the three weeks of home and away matches , as the season draws to a close . 

The AFL labelled last weekend's footy matches , the Indigenous Round , to honour past and present , indigenous footy players.

Traditional Tigers Jumper

The Richmond Tigers, wore jumpers with a local indigenous artists painting , replacing the yellow of their traditional sash strip . It was  a bold move that paid off  as this new style jumper , jersey , guernsey ,  proved a match winner for them in their game against the Bombers .

Geelong, managed a two point win over a fast finishing Carlton Blues side , in a fitting tribute to  Club Legend , Bob Davis , who passed away , earlier in the week .

Carlton

Two closely contested games were played out on Easter Saturday . In a thrilling finish the Gold Coast Suns defeated Port Power in Adelaide . The Gold Coast Captain , Gary Ablett , played a pivotal part in their win and has perhaps , now , silenced criticism , for staying in Melbourne for 2 extra days after their last defeat.

Carlton were successful against Adelaide , snatching victory by one goal . The beleaguered coach of the Crows , Neil Craig , will be under increasing scrutiny , as his team has had a poor start to the Season .
The eveness of the teams in the competition are reflected in the close results of all matches played so far .
The Anzac Day blockbuster between Collingwood and Essendon , and the following days Geelong Vs Hawthorn match , promise much for eager footy fans .

Lions were beaten on Thursday

Last weekend saw mixed results , for all afl football teams . Collingwood , continued its winning streak , the Saints eked out a draw against Richmond , but lost Lenny Hayes , for the rest of the season to injury . The Gold Coast Suns , playing their first AFL game , were thrashed by the Blues , and West Coast upset the Power at home to win . Geelong scraped home against Freo , whilst a strong Sydney team beat the revitalised Bombers . Hawthorn and the Bulldogs beat their opponents , the Demons and the Lions respectively .

Fans supported their team , by wearing their football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys ,

Baby Magpies

to watch the Game .

Who can stop Collingwood ?How many games will the Suns lose ? When will the Bombers win again ?

All questions to be answered at the next round of matches . Its fun , its exciting , its AFL football , and fans wearing their football jumpers are along for the ride .!

Kangas to bounce back

Footy' s Back

The NAB Cup kicks off its 2011 season, in Adelaide , on Friday February 11 .

Its a new format , with three teams playing three games , on the one night .

More Games will be played, around the country , over the remainder of the weekend , and the following weekend .

Finals footy ,will be played amongst the successful teams , with the ultimate victor taking out , the coveted,  NAB Cup .

2 for the price of 1 in tiger cubs

Tickets are reasonably priced .Those fans who are under 18 years of age , who register their details online , are given free entry .

Proceeds are going towards helping community football clubs, affected by the floods.

Dust off your  football jumper , jersey , guernsey,  and wear it to the Game , or buy a new one .

Tickets , for the NAB Cup ,  are on sale from the 31st January 2011.

Carlton Blues

The Saints to wear the Clash Strip

St Kilda , in beating the Western Bulldogs , on Saturday night at the MCG , advanced to the Grand Final . They will play the Collingwood Magpies ,who were successful in their preliminary final match, on Friday , against the Geelong Cats .

Last night, the Bronlow Medal was awarded to Chris Judd , the Carlton Blues Captain .He is a second time winner , having last won it in 2004 , when playing for the West Coast Eagles.

Three questions were asked last night .

Is Gary Ablett moving to the Gold Coast Suns?

Will James Hird be the new coach of  the Essendon Bombers ?

Are the wedding preparations for the Twigley / Judd , Nuptials finished?

Judd was at West Coast in 2004

All remain unanswered and all parties complain off being asked the question too frequently ? Perhaps if they  answered , it would stop the speculation . In not answering are they using a clever marketing ploy to gain them even more media exposure ?

Melbourne is awash with Finals Fever ! Fans are dressed for the Game, in their football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys ,and are adorning their homes , cars, family and pets with their teams colours .

Tickets to the match are sold out with all available seating being exhausted .

Many will watch the epic struggle between these two great clubs, both with a proud history . One has Finals success ,  one has a distinct lack of it .

Collingwood's Jumper

Will it finally be the turn of the underdog to win ? St Kilda has recent Grand Final experience  , Collingwood does not . Can one of the least successful clubs in the AFL Competition beat the strength of one of the most popular ?

Melbourne , the home of AFL football, is experiencing it's coldest winter for many years . A recent June day, was the coldest for two years , with temperatures only reaching 7 degrees Celsius, at midday.

Devoted fans, wearing their football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys, will still come out to watch their teams play, despite the extreme weather conditions .

The AFL, scheduled three of the last round of matches , to be played at Etihad Stadium . Its got a closable roof , bright lights , comfortable seats , and ensures fans are warm , dry , can see and are comfy on these cold ,wet , winter nights .

The MCG , despite having a much larger crowd capacity , and having recently undergone a costly renovation, is less comfortable .

Fans , and teams of the modern AFL game , require a certain standard of comfort .

Interestingly, the  Brisbane Lions lost,  to the  Carlton Blues , at Etihad Stadium, in Thursday night's Clash .

Can the Lions , hailing form sunny temperate Brisbane , blame their loss on the weather ?

Too cold for Lions ?

Its Victorian school holidays.

In a clever marketing ploy ,the AFL , has scheduled a Thursday night Match , so that junior fans can attend .

Carlton Blues , play Brisbane Lions,  under a closed stadium roof , at Etihad Stadium, Docklands.

Will Lions win on Thursday night at Etihad?

The rest of the fixture is played out over Friday night ,  Saturday , Saturday night , Sunday and even a twilight game, late on Sunday afternoon.

A wide spread of matches . The AFL , has used every opportunity, to schedule as many games as possible, this weekend . All , are  in different locations , on different days , and time slots . It hopes to attract, the broadest exposure,  for all its matches , by  extending the weekend playing schedule .

Following  last weekends split round, and mid season break, football starved supporters , are keen to attend the footy , in their teams jumpers , jerseys , guernseys .

Even media giants , Channel 9 , acquiesced to the AFL scheduling, by bringing their infamous Footy Show , foward to Wednesday night, instead of its traditional , thursday night,  time slot.

Clever marketers in the AFL,  are ensuring the game,  gets maximum publicity , and media exposure , to attract fans to the Game .

See the Blues in Action on Thursday Night at Etihad Stadium