The Western Bulldogs fell drastically in their Round 13 clash with Brisbane, underperforming in their 43-point loss at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.
While the Dogs were outplayed throughout the game, questions regarding the fixture within the 2024 season have surfaced once again, potentially playing a part in the Bulldogs’ poor performance.
The Lions entered the clash off the back of their second bye of the season (Round 2 and Round 12), whilst the Bulldogs are yet to have a bye, not rostered for the break until Round 15.
THE FIXTURE “DISTORTION” THAT THE AFL MUST FIX
Western Bulldogs CEO Ameet Bains has expressed his concerns surrounding the fixtures, questioning the fairness and equity for teams around the league.
“We know how hard a job the AFL fixturing process is”, Bains told SEN’s Whateley.
“But clearly, we would have preferred not to be in the situation that we have had.
“Different teams have different concerns about the equity of fixtures, so we know that this, in isolation, is not the only issue when it comes to fairness.
“Clearly, it’s been troublesome, Friday night highlighted that to some degree, albeit the Lions completely outplayed us from the first bounce.”
The issues surrounding the fixtures have come as a result of Opening Round, seeing several clubs endure multiple byes while others are yet to have the break.
Brisbane, Sydney and GWS have all had two bye rounds through 13 rounds, while West Coast, Adelaide, the Bulldogs, Hawthorn and St Kilda have featured in all 13 weeks following Opening Round.
“It wasn’t the reason we lost, but I think it is something that needs to be looked at,” he said.
“Not only on our behalf, but a few other clubs who have found themselves in the same position.”
The Bulldogs are set to take on Fremantle this Saturday in their final game before their only rostered bye.