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Collingwood News - Anna Carew-Reid
Collingwood will play 14 matches at the MCG in 2019, nine of which have been fixtured as home games, including the Queen’s Birthday clash against Melbourne.
Released on Thursday, the AFL fixture also has the Pies playing three games at Marvel Stadium as well as five interstate matches in Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide.
Season 2019 will mark Collingwood’s return to Thursday football with three matches scheduled, including a Good Friday Eve clash with Brisbane at the Gabba.
Collingwood CEO Mark Anderson said the club was pleased with the outcome of the draw.
“The fixture is as we expected,” Anderson said.
“Finishing second, we knew that we would be playing more of the top-six teams twice. And this is how it has played out, with us meeting West Coast, Richmond and Melbourne twice next year.
“We’ll face the Lions in Brisbane on Easter Thursday in the first of our five interstate games.
"This match is a great opportunity for our fans to travel to Queensland to support the team and stay on for the Easter long weekend.
“We have some marquee matches to look forward to and the season kicks off in a big way, with our first four matches being Thursday, Friday and Saturday night games at the MCG prior to ANZAC Day.
"We’re delighted to be hosting the Queen’s Birthday match for the first time since 1999 and we’ll continue to work with Melbourne in our joint and committed support of Neale Daniher’s Fight MND campaign."
“It is a fixture which will support big Collingwood crowds and great television coverage, so I am confident that our members and fans will be pleased with the outcome as we all look forward to season 2019.”
AFL - Riley Beveridge
COLLINGWOOD will be the darlings of prime time next year, with the Magpies handed 11 blockbusters matches following the release of the official 2019 AFL Toyota Premiership Season Fixture.
In addition to the annual Anzac Day and Queen's Birthday matches, the Pies will feature in two Thursday night games and seven Friday night games throughout next season.
It comes as the AFL announces a fixture with eight Thursday night matches, one more than last season, with an emphasis on last year's big entertainers getting more games in primetime television slots.
There will be five Thursday night games in the first five rounds of the season and a further three during the bye rounds.
ABC
The AFL has rewarded Collingwood for its rapid rise up
the ladder in 2018 by making it one of the headline acts of the 2019
fixture.
The Pies will play nine games on Thursday or Friday night
in 2019, the traditional Anzac Day blockbuster on a Thursday afternoon
and Queen's Birthday clash on a Monday, taking its number of marquee
games up to 11.Collingwood's rise from 13th to the grand final this year was somewhat of a surprise, but the league seems to be banking on a similar jump from Essendon, which has also been rewarded with a primetime-heavy fixture.
The Bombers have seven games on Thursday or Friday nights, on top of the Anzac Day match on a Thursday afternoon.
It is a choice that seems a direct reaction to the criticism the AFL received in 2018 for a draw that placed a number of struggling teams in highly sought-after positions.
Herald - Sun - Ben Higgins
Collingwood is confident it can replicate its 2018 despite a tougher draw next year.
According to Champion Data, the Magpies face the toughest draw in 2019 as they play West Coast, Richmond, Melbourne, Essendon and the Western Bulldogs twice.
However, Magpies CEO Mark Anderson said it was a draw that fans would be pleased with.
“Finishing second, we knew that we would be playing more of the top-six teams twice," he said.
“We have some marquee matches to look forward to and the season kicks off in a big way, with our first four matches being Thursday, Friday and Saturday night games at the MCG prior to ANZAC Day.
“We’re delighted to be hosting the Queen’s Birthday match for the first time since 1999 and we’ll continue to work with Melbourne in our joint and committed support of Neale Daniher’s Fight MND campaign.
“It is a fixture which will support big Collingwood crowds and great television coverage, so I am confident that our members and fans will be pleased with the outcome as we all look forward to season 2019.”
The Age - Michael Gleeson
The AFL has turned to its powerhouse clubs Essendon and Collingwood to rescue the highest-profile, marquee slots on Thursday and Friday nights after disastrous fixturing in 2018.
After crowds stayed away for lowly pair St Kilda and Carlton last season, those clubs have have been banished from the prime slots in 2019.
Collingwood play nine Thursday or Friday night games as well as Anzac Day and Queen's Birthday.
Having
been runner up in the grand final Collingwood's draw might be
high-profile but it is also tougher than last season, when they were
coming off a low finish in 2017 and so had a soft bottom third of the
ladder draw.According to Champion Data, the Magpies face the toughest draw in 2019 as they play West Coast, Richmond, Melbourne, Essendon and the Western Bulldogs twice.
However, Magpies CEO Mark Anderson said it was a draw that fans would be pleased with.
“Finishing second, we knew that we would be playing more of the top-six teams twice," he said.
“We have some marquee matches to look forward to and the season kicks off in a big way, with our first four matches being Thursday, Friday and Saturday night games at the MCG prior to ANZAC Day.
“We’re delighted to be hosting the Queen’s Birthday match for the first time since 1999 and we’ll continue to work with Melbourne in our joint and committed support of Neale Daniher’s Fight MND campaign.
“It is a fixture which will support big Collingwood crowds and great television coverage, so I am confident that our members and fans will be pleased with the outcome as we all look forward to season 2019.”
The Age - Michael Gleeson
The AFL has turned to its powerhouse clubs Essendon and Collingwood to rescue the highest-profile, marquee slots on Thursday and Friday nights after disastrous fixturing in 2018.
After crowds stayed away for lowly pair St Kilda and Carlton last season, those clubs have have been banished from the prime slots in 2019.
Collingwood play nine Thursday or Friday night games as well as Anzac Day and Queen's Birthday.
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