Collingwood Football Club submitted a request to the AFL recently to swap two of its late-season fixtures, but the league rejected it.
SEN.com.au can reveal the Magpies asked the AFL if their Round 18 match against Fremantle could be switched from the MCG to Marvel Stadium.
Additionally, they wanted the club’s Round 23 game against Brisbane at Marvel Stadium to move to the MCG.
The swap would have maximised the crowd between two likely top four teams on the penultimate Friday night of the home and away season.
It’s understood Carlton may have been involved in the fixture swap if Collingwood got its way, with the Blues’ Round 18 match against Port Adelaide shifted to the MCG to accommodate the Magpies v Dockers game at Marvel Stadium on the same afternoon.
However Collingwood’s ambition never got as far as Ikon Park given the league’s swift rejection of the plan.
Carlton has a contract with Marvel Stadium to play six of its 11 home games at the roofed venue. The Port Power match is one of its three remaining matches at Docklands to fulfill that arrangement in 2023.
Blues sources said had the AFL requested their match shift from Marvel Stadium to the MCG on Saturday, July 15 - and Port agreed to a fixture change - they would have been open to the discussion.
But the topic was never broached with Carlton because the AFL told Collingwood it would not entertain its request.
When contacted by SEN.com.au, Collingwood confirmed the club had approached the league to swap venues for its Round 18 and 23 games.
“Collingwood confirms it had discussions with the AFL requesting to swap venues for our home games against Fremantle and the Brisbane Lions to allow for the maximum number of Collingwood members and supporters to attend those matches,” a Pies spokesperson said on Monday morning.
“Unfortunately, the AFL informed us it was not something that was going to be possible. The club thanks every single member of the Magpie army for showing up week in, week out and we will continue to work towards ensuring the best possible access for all fans across the country.”
The AFL preached flexibility and adaptability during the pandemic, regularly shifting games and times to accommodate clubs.
But in July last year, the AFL confirmed it would ditch the floating fixture for the first 15 rounds of the 2023 season.
Previously the AFL had released venues and days in smaller blocks, which maximised TV ratings but frustrated fans who prefer to have most of the year locked in for planning and ticketing purposes.
An AFL spokesperson said at the time: “We have committed to delivering the first 15 rounds of the 2023 fixture, and then potentially a block of six rounds (rounds 17 to 22), leaving Round 23 (now Round 24) as the floating fixture – which has worked really well in the last few years in having finals positions come down to the very last match of the season.”
The league’s current view is that while sometimes there are match timings that don’t fully optimise crowds or TV audiences, broadly speaking fixtures have never been fluid outside of pandemic years in the game’s history.
The AFL also does not want to set a precedent where it is answering weekly requests from clubs to shift matches.
The Collingwood perspective is that the entire point of separating the fixture into two blocks - as the AFL has done in 2023 - allows flexibility, so why not extend this to venue changes as well?
If the Pies’ had been successful, it would have handed Brisbane s third game at the MCG, in addition the two already scheduled matches there this season.
The Lions have lost 13 of their last 14 games at the MCG, including an upset on Saturday against Hawthorn.