WHO says the winter is gone, the sun has come out and it’s time to forget about the footy?
Not us!
The AFL has just released the fixture for round one in season 2016 and while it is still five months until Richmond and Carlton will compete at the first bounce on March 24, our mates over at sportsbet.com.au have already taken the step of releasing odds on all of the matches that will kick off the new season’s play.
While they have been chopped from all Friday night fixtures after their abysmal performances in 2015, the Carlton Blues will still kick off the season in their now traditional clash with Richmond on Good Friday Eve.
And the sportsbet.com.au crew think it’s going to be another long year for the wooden spooners, installing them as a $4.30 outsider against the Tigers’ $1.21.
“We’re obviously still a long way out, but some things in footy never change, like the punters love, or lack thereof, for Carlton,” the bookie’s Rich Hummerston said.
The Blues have made plenty of moves in the off season – most of it shipping out elite talent like Lachie Henderson and Chris Yarran, not getting much else back other than draft picks.
Translation there is that there is going to be plenty more pain for supporters, before they see any gain.
The Blues’ played six Friday night games and were smashed by an average of 75 points across those matches.
They have met the Friday night footy ‘ban’ with concern, but the reality is it practically makes the AFL’s premier time slot watchable again.
Chief executive officer Steven Trigg called the move “an almighty back hander”.
“We don’t like it and it’s an almighty backhander,” Trigg told the club’s website.
“It’s fair to say what we served up on Friday night fixtures last season didn’t help.
“We were expecting some sort of change but to have zero is in stark contrast to the year before.
“There is some context, I’m told there are five or six teams above us (on the ladder) with no Thursday or Friday night fixtures either.
“So, it’s not the sole territory of the Blues.”
Despite only having lost to Gold Coast once before, Essendon are $2.50 outsiders to notch up a win against the Suns at $1.51 on Easter Saturday.
The Bombers have a new coach in former West Coast Eagles mentor John Worsfold, but still have the supplements saga hanging over their heads for a third preseason in a row.
“From a person standing back from afar, I’ve felt for the Essendon players that they probably haven’t had that love of the game as much as what they should have,” Worsfold said.
“That’s certainly an aim — to make sure they love turning up to training, they love playing the game and they love representing the Essendon Football Club.
“We are, obviously, hopeful that we would have a clear end to all of the ASADA stuff fairly soon but, disregarding that, that is not a focus of mine to talk to the players about too much of that.
“They are pretty keen to get back into training and start getting ready to improve.”
A former Bomber also ran into some serious controversy of his own – on the day he was traded to St Kilda.
Video of key position gun Jake Carlisle snorting some type of white substance surfaced on the day he was named a new Saint.
His addition has not helped the Saints ($3.80), according to punters, as they have been slapped with a -26.5 point line against Port Adelaide ($1.26) on Easter Sunday.
Carlisle has had his contract rewritten in the wake of the scandal and he will be put on notice by the Saints’ leadership group, led by legend Nick Reiwoldt.
Carlisle’s contract is for four years with a trigger for a fifth and understood to be worth up to $600,000 a season.
This incident will either make or break Carlisle, who has had questions asked of his character in the past year.
We hate to harp on about scandal, but the reigning premier Hawthorn had a little gloss taken off their third premiership in a row with the revelation a grand final star was being investigated for rape.
The Hawks are $1.53 favourites to knock over their bitter rival Geelong on Easter Monday, which is $2.45, despite a productive off season that netted several elite players.
Adelaide superstar Patrick Dangerfield is the jewel in the crown of that considerable haul and, after the Cats finished ninth last year, will be champing at the bit to kick off round one with a bang against the legendary back-to-back-to-back premiers.
The Hawks lost premiership players Brian Lake and David Hale, while Matthew Suckling left the nest for the Western Bulldogs’ kennel, but the Hawks have the depth to cover those losses.
These two teams have squared off on Easter Monday in each of the the past four seasons and the Hawks have won five of the past six meetings between them.
They whacked the Cats by 10 goals in the corresponding fixture last year and made it two from two in round 20 with a six goal win.
Greater Western Sydney ($1.61) will be hoping it can replicate its early season form of 2015 by defeating Melbourne ($2.25).
Vanquished preliminary finalist North Melbourne is $1.55 to get past a post-Dangerfield Adelaide Crows.
In any other off season, you’d say the Crows have done a good job, with a forward line boasting the addition of live wire Daniel Menzel to support the likes of Tex Walker, Eddie Betts, Josh Jenkins and Charlie Cameron.
That’s about as potent a forward line as any club possesses and they also welcomed talented youth in Paul Seedsman, Curtly Hampton and Dean Gore, but the loss of Dangerfield leaves them with a big fat donut in the guts that simply cannot be filled.
Sydney ($1.55) will hope they can arrest last season’s late slide and will also hope Lance Franklin is right to go from round one as they kick off the post Adam Goodes era against Collingwood ($2.40)
2016 AFL Premiership season round one odds
Richmond vs Carlton
$1.21 Richmond
$4.30 Carlton
Melbourne vs Greater Western Sydney
$1.61 Greater Western Sydney
Gold Coast vs Essendon
$1.51 Gold Coast
$2.50 Essendon
North Melbourne vs Adelaide
$1.55 North Melbourne
$2.40 Adelaide
Sydney vs Collingwood
$1.55 Sydney
Western Bulldogs vs Fremantle
$1.61 Fremantle
$2.25 Western Bulldogs
Port Adelaide vs St Kilda
$1.26 Port Adelaide
$3.80 St Kilda
West Coast vs Brisbane
$1.14 West Coast
$5.40 Brisbane
Geelong vs Hawthorn
$1.53 Hawthorn
$2.45 Geelong
Odds provided by sportsbet.com.au
2016 AFL Premiership winner markets
Hawthorn Hawks ($4.25)
West Coast Eagles ($5.50)
Port Adelaide Power ($9)
Geelong Cats ($10)
Sydney Swans ($10)
North Melbourne Kangaroos ($14)
Richmond Tigers ($14)
Collingwood Magpies ($21)
Western Bulldogs ($23)
Adelaide Crows ($26)
Greater Western Sydney Giants ($41)
Essendon Bombers ($67)
Gold Coast Suns ($67)
Melbourne Demons ($151)
St Kilda Saints ($151)
Brisbane Lions ($251)
Carlton Blues ($501)
