True AFL fixture 2025 winners, losers revealed after Scott Pendlebury Alastair Clarkson outburst
North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson set the cat among the pigeons in the AFL world on Saturday night when he dropped a fixture swipe in the middle of his post-match press conference.
Since round 5 Clarkson's Roos have played in the Barossa Valley, Docklands, Adelaide Oval, Hobart, the MCG, Bunbury and Optus Stadium.
READ THE FULL FIXTURE WINNERS AND LOSERS AT CODE SPORTS
Alastair Clarkson raised eyebrows with a jab at the Pies last week. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images
Although two of those games were home fixtures sold by the club, in a deal with the WA government to net North $2.5m, the frequent flyer miles were not lost on the coach.
Especially when comparing it to rival Collingwood who has travelled outside of Melbourne three times.
'I would like to be like the Pies and play at the MCG most weeks,' Clarkson said.
'I ran into Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood captain) on the plane when I came back from the Hall of Fame on Wednesday.
'He was laughing about the amount we have had to travel compared to the gifts they get playing at the MCG on a regular basis. The Collingwood side are able to generate revenue from crowds and North aren't in that position at this current time.
'We need to get on the road and play our games in Tassie, in this case WA and we are happy to do so. If we don't it puts the competition and our club in a perilous state if we can't balance the books.
'It's an important part of any organisation and we are happy to do so and if we had got all the things right in our game we would have won this game of footy and we just didn't get there.'
The Bombers have been smashed by footy's 2025 fixture. Picture:But are the Roos really the biggest losers in the AFL fixture?
Through an analysis of travel distance, opponent injury luck and draw difficulty, the real AFL fixture loser can be revealed as Essendon.
Hit by injuries as hard as any side, Essendon has had no luck going its way.
So far this year, opponents have entered games against the Bombers with an average of 6.1 players out injured, the lowest number in the league.
Basically, that means the Bombers have been playing against sides closer to full strength than any other team.
In tallying up travel time, only Hawthorn will spend more time in the air than Essendon in 2025.
Where does your club's luck rank? CODE SPORTS has broken down the full fixture wins, losses and quirks for every club.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Training partners Patrick and Michelle Payne claim a winning quartet at Flemington on Saturday
Jimmy The Bear delivered a landmark Flemington four-timer for sibling co-trainers Patrick and Michelle Payne with victory in The David Bourke (1620m). The consistent gelding made amends for a last start Flemington defeat with a strong performance under rising star apprentice jockey Tom Prebble, who sealed a running treble with the win. Michelle Payne hailed the Flemington milestone as 'a huge team effort'. 'Patrick has worked so hard at home with everybody, it's a huge team effort,' Payne said. ' Jimmy is the stable favourite, so beautiful to do it with him.' Earlier on the card, Payne saddled winners Buccleuch, Stop The Rock and Bold Soul. Patrick Payne trained four provincial winners previously at Mildura in 2022. The four-timer bettered Michelle Payne's best efforts in the saddle before she turned her hand to training. 'I nearly rode the quaddie legs at Bendigo one day,' Payne laughed. 'I got pipped on the post, so three sadly.' Payne praised the 'beautiful' rides of Billy Egan (Buccleuch and Stop The Rock) and nephew Tom Prebble (Bold Soul and Jimmy The Bear) at Flemington. Prebble rated Jimmy The Bear nicely three back the rail but needed galloping room in the straight. 'Beautiful ride by Tom, he didn't panic,' Payne said. 'Obviously he had to guide him through a tight run and the horse just did the rest.' Jimmy The Bear is set to advance to the Listed Winter Championship Series Final (1600m) at Flemington on July 5. 'All going well, I can't see why not,' Payne said. 'He's training on beautifully and today was a really effortless win.' Prebble enjoyed riding another winner for the family. 'He put his best foot forward today and he was super,' Prebble said. 'He's a big horse, I knew he would be able to push his way out if I needed to, but had to wait for the race to unfold, Flemington is a beautiful track and usually every horse does gets its chance.' Casino Seventeen, the 2024 Perth Cup winner, finished off well to run second in The David Bourke at his first start in Melbourne for Cranbourne trainer Gavin Bedggood. Holymanz and Pounding rounded out the top four. Earlier, Payne enjoyed the win of progressive three-year-old Stop The Rock. 'He's a lovely horse, he's a real sleeper actually,' Payne said. 'All of his trials before he raced were pretty moderate and Patrick put the blinkers on his first start and he won at good odds at Warrnambool, he just seems to step up to the mark on race day.'
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Chaos in Darwin!' Wheel goes flying
Supercars: Australian Jack Le Brocq's left front wheel was torn off and bounced over the wall following a crash during a safety car restart in first Supercars race of the weekend in Darwin.
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
'That's their Melbourne Cup': Dolan delivers on Oughton in Eye Liner
Robbie Dolan has already won a miracle Melbourne Cup but he declared Saturday's Eye Liner Stakes triumph was like winning a Melbourne Cup for trainer Melissa Kelly. Dolan, who won last year's Melbourne Cup aboard Queensland bolter Knight's Choice, has been telling anyone who will listen that Oughton would be tough to beat in the Listed Eye Liner at Ipswich. Oughton, who at one stage spent a stint racing in Hong Kong, was sent out $8 and Dolan powered the gelding home over Sha Of Gomer ($20) which had looked like winning until the final strides. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Dolan was front and centre at Ipswich last November when he ventured there to ride only two days after his famous Melbourne Cup win. The Irishman spent almost as much time signing autographs, posing for pictures and talking to the media that day than he did riding horses. But it was all business on Saturday and Dolan felt like he had a golden chance on Oughton after his effort to finish fifth behind Front Page in the Group 2 Moreton Cup. He overcame some headaches in the run to score on Oughton but was tickled pink for Gold Coast trainer Kelly. 'That means a lot to this stable - that's their Melbourne Cup,' Dolan said. 'He's had a lot of problems over the years, this horse. 'He came back from Hong Kong and it didn't go to plan in the race today. 'I got smashed coming out of the barriers and so I needed luck and I got it. 'I ended up down the rail, but I could see (favourite) Warnie down in front of me and I had my eyes set on him. 'To be honest, once I got to the outside, albeit he wanted to lay in, he found the line very good.' Warne, the $2.45 Ciaron-Maher trained favourite, was coasting in the run under Regan Bayliss. But he never got clear air at a vital time and went to the line with plenty of petrol in the tank, finishing fifth to be beaten two lengths. Kelly said Oughton would have enjoyed the win just as much as she did. READ: 'He's found his home': Flash Aah springs Ipswich Cup upset 'He gets a little bit cocky this horse,' Kelly said. 'He knows when he's run and when he's run a good race and when he has won. 'Before his last run he was just a little bit soft because he was a month between runs and he just knocked up. 'We knew he was going in a lot fitter today.' Jeff Dunn, who trained runner-up Sha Of Gomer, almost conjured the win and it would have been a fairytale as his partner Rikki Jamieson was riding. Sha Of Gomer was formerly trained by Chris Waller but was having his fourth run for Dunn who trains at Beaudesert.
