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The draw for the 2010 AFL Premiership Season is not a random selection of matches, but rather is planned by the AFL. It is intended to produce a balanced draw while also providing the fans and television networks with blockbuster games. In a competition with 16 teams and 22 rounds, it is not possible for all teams to play each other twice. These factors combine to create some of the following anomalies
six of the teams play each other for the first time in round 21;
of the Victorian based teams St Kilda play six games interstate while Essendon only need to travel three times;
of the six games Fremantle play in Melbourne none are at the MCG, while Geelong will play seven games at the MCG despite not being one of the tenants at this ground;
For the third consecutive year Richmond and Carlton played a Thursday Night match to open the season. It was also the fourth year in a row those two teams played each other in the opening round.
2009 AFL Premiers Geelong started their title defence against Essendon. This a departure from the previous three seasons, when the two teams that had contested the grand final played each other in round 1.
Brad Johnson played his 350th match for the Western Bulldogs in their match against Collingwood.
For the third year in succession St Kilda and Sydney clashed in the opening round as did Brisbane and West Coast.
Fremantle won its first fixture of the season for the first time since 2005. The win was also the largest in the club's history against Adelaide, and saw them in second position on the AFL Ladder for the first time in the club's history.
Melbourne and Sydney both lost their fifth-straight Round 1 fixture, the Western Bulldogs lost a Round 1 fixture for the first time since 2004, and Brisbane won its first home game of the season for the twelfth consecutive year.
Mature age Fremantle rookie Michael Barlow had 33 possessions on debut against Adelaide, the highest number for a debutant since Dean Greig's record of 39 in 1991.
Brisbane's Brendan Fevola and Fremantle's Adam McPhee each celebrated victories against their old sides after switching teams during the off-season.
Sydney defeated Adelaide for the first time since 10 July 2004, ending a six-game losing streak against the Crows. The game was also the first time since 2001 that Sydney defeated Adelaide} at AAMI Stadium.
St Kilda's 104 point win set a new record winning margin for St Kilda over North Melbourne.
Fremantle defeated Essendon for the first time at Etihad Stadium, having lost the previous eight such encounters. It was also the club's first win in Melbourne since 2007 and the first time since 1997 that they had won their first two games of a season.
Warren Tredrea played his 250th game for Port Adelaide, while Brad Green played his 200th game for Melbourne.
For the first time in Fremantle history, the club won the three opening fixtures of an AFL season. The crowd of 38,762 was also the largest crowd between Fremantle and Geelong, and it was the first time Fremantle beat Geelong since Round 10, 2005. It was also only the second time in 55 matches that Geelong had lost after leading at three quarter time. It was also Geelong's first loss at Subiaco Oval since round 2, 2005.
For the first time since 1989 West Coast lost its first three games of the year.
Melbourne won one of the first three games of the year for the first time since 2005, thus ending a run of 4 consecutive years of being 0-3 after 3 weeks.
Richmond won the final quarter of its game against Sydney, ending a streak of nineteen consecutive quarters lost, dating back to Round 21, 2009. This was the longest streak of quarters lost since St Kilda lost twenty-two in a row in 1897.
Sydney beat North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium for the first time in three attempts. It was also the Swans' first win over the Kangaroos in Melbourne for more than ten years.
Carlton defeated Adelaide for the first time since 5 June 2004, ending a seven-game losing streak against the Crows.
Brisbane Lions were undefeated for the first four games of the season for the first time since 2002.
Collingwood broke a four-game losing streak against Hawthorn, defeating them for the first time since 2006.
Melbourne won three games in a row for the first time since late 2006.
St Kilda lost its first interstate match since Round 17, 2008.
The Fremantle and Richmond game with 38,010 and the Melbourne and Brisbane game with 36,396 were the largest attendences for matches between these teams. While the crowd of 90,070 on the Anzac Day match between Collingwood and Essendon was the ninth largest VFL/AFL Home and Away crowd in history.
Adelaide lost its first six matches of the year, its worst ever start to a season.
North Melbourne won its seventh straight match over Melbourne, while Fremantle won its sixth straight Western Derby against the West Coast Eagles.
Travis Johnstone played his 200th game, comprising 160 with Melbourne and 40 with his current club Brisbane.
The combined total of 95 points scored from the St. Kilda and Western Bulldogs game was the lowest aggregate score ever at etihad stadium in over 500 games. It was also the first time the combined scores was less than 100 at that ground.
Port Adelaide continued its dominance of Essendon, having only lost once against that opposition since 2001.
By defeating Brisbane, Fremantle won its first game at the Gabba since joining the AFL and beat Brisbane for the first time since 22 May 2004.
Geelong has now won a record 26 consecutive home games and also extended its winning streak over Sydney to seven games.
Richmond's seven consecutive losses and percentage of 49.5% is statistically the worst start to a season by any team since 1955.
Carlton's win over St Kilda was its first against that opposition since 2001, ending the AFL's worst active losing streak for any club over a particular opposition (twelve games).
Collingwoods home game against Geelong was a new record crowd for a home and away match between the Magpies and the Cats and the largest ever home and away crowd for a match involving Geelong. Cameron Mooney played the 200th game of his career in Geelong's 36 point win.
Melbourne's win in Darwin was Dean Bailey's first victory outside Victoria as Melbourne's head coach, was Melbourne's first win outside of Victoria since the 8th of July, 2006, and was Melbourne's first win away from the MCG since the 11th of August, 2007.
Saturday night's game between Essendon and Richmond was the 6th Dreamtime at the 'G clash. The game is a celebration and tribute to the Indigenous contribution to Australian Rules football. Each team has now won 3 of these matches.
Essendon beat the Bulldogs for the first time since 29 May 2005.
Geelong won its 20th consecutive match at Skilled Stadium.
In winning the second quarter of its game, Geelong won its eighteenth consecutive quarter, breaking the previous record of seventeen set by St Kilda in 2005. The streak would eventually end the following week at twenty-one. In the game, Richmond laid a record 142 tackles.
Richmond broke a 14 game losing streak with a 47-point victory over Port Adelaide in horrendous weather. This win was Damien Hardwick's first victory as Richmond's head coach.
Fremantle's score of 10.4 in the third quarter equalled its best ever quarter.
Port Adelaide's score of 3.12 (30) is their lowest ever in the AFL.
Hawthorn defeated Essendon for the first time in three attempts.
Richmond continued its dominance of Brisbane at the Gabba, winning by 19 points.
St Kilda had a 24-point victory over the Cats. The match was a new record crowd for a home and away game between St Kilda and Geelong of 58,208, beating the previous record set in 2009. The Cats were held goalless in the second half for the first time since 2001. The game was notable for the spiteful clashes between Geelong forward Steve Johnson and St Kilda tagger Steven Baker; Johnson was twice cited for striking Baker, and was suspended for three weeks, while Baker was cited three times for striking Johnson and once for misconduct (deliberately punching Johnson in his broken hand), and was suspended for nine weeks.
Collingwood continued its dominance of Sydney, winning for the ninth consecutive time.
Adelaide beat Geelong for the first time since 2006.
Collingwoods home game against St Kilda was a new record home and away crowd for a match between the Magpies and the Saints and was a new record for the largest ever crowd for a home and away game involving St Kilda. Collingwood beat St Kilda for the first time in four attempts, and in doing so took top position on the ladder following Geelong's and St Kilda's losses.
Hawthorn's 75 point victory was their biggest ever defeat of Brisbane.
Mark LeCras kicked a personal best and ground record of 12.2 (74) in West Coast's win over Essendon at Etihad Stadium. The haul of 12 goals was the highest kicked by a player in a game since Scott Cummings, also playing for West Coast, kicked 14 goals in round 4 of the 2000 season.
West Coast's win over Essendon was played in front of the lowest crowd for a Bombers game at Etihad Stadium, with only 26,991 in attendance.
Melbourne played Sydney at the MCG for the first time since 2006.
St Kilda's home game against Hawthorn was a new record home and away crowd for a game between the Saints and the Hawks (49,373). The match finished in a draw, the second draw for the season. It was St Kilda's first draw since 2007 and Hawthorn's first since 1999.
Sydney suffered its worst loss under Paul Roos and its worst loss since 1999. It was the first time Melbourne had beaten Sydney since 2006 and the first time they had done so in Melbourne since 2000.
St Kilda lost its third consecutive game against Essendon, in a period over which the Saints had lost only seven games in total.
Sydney suffered its eighth consecutive loss against Geelong, and its fifth consecutive loss at Stadium Australia.
Melbourne recorded its first win at the Gabba since 2006, the first time under Dean Bailey that the Demons had defeated one of the six interstate teams at their home ground. The win also marked the first time Melbourne had defeated the same team twice in one season since beating Carlton twice in 2007.
Richmond defeated Adelaide for the first time since 2006.
Fremantle achieved its highest score and highest winning margin in a Western Derby to date.
Carlton defeated Essendon for the first time since Round 3, 2007, ending a six-match losing streak against the Bombers. It was Brett Ratten's first win as coach against Essendon, and Matthew Knights' first loss as coach against Carlton.
Geelong lost its first game as the home team since Round 21, 2007, ending a run of 30 consecutive wins as the home team (in home and away matches).
Brisbane won its fourth straight match against West Coast, its best ever winning run against the Eagles.
St Kilda recorded its highest ever score against Port Adelaide, beating the former record of 20.6 (126) from 1997, and set a new record winning margin against Port Adelaide of 94 points, beating the previous record set in 2009.
Brisbane hosted a daytime game at the Gabba for the first time since Round 9, 2008.
Collingwood recorded their second biggest win against Essendon ever, the biggest being 147 points in Round 14, 1971. Also Collingwood scored their highest score against Essendon since Round 3, 1977.
The crowd of 59,277 was the smallest crowd at an Essendon-Collingwood game since Round 16, 2005.
Sydney defeated Fremantle at Subiaco Oval for the first time since 1998.
Geelong recorded their biggest ever victory over the Bulldogs.
The crowd of 14,113 at the Port Adelaide-West Coast game was the lowest ever crowd for an AFL game at AAMI Stadium.
St Kilda defeated Richmond for the thirteenth consecutive time.
Fremantle returned to Aurora Stadium for the first time since the infamous siren controversy of 2006. Fremantle, having already confirmed a place in the finals, chose to rest seven of its regular senior players for the game, playing inexperienced youngsters in their place; as a result, the team suffered the worst loss of any team this season, going down by 116 points, and Fremantle attracted some criticism from commentators. By winning, Hawthorn clinched its own finals berth. Hawthorn's score and winning margin were each the highest ever for an AFL game played at Aurora Stadium.
Brisbane defeated Essendon in Melbourne for the first time in four attempts.
In a first for the league, the final round of the season was given a floating schedule, with the AFL to allocate the timeslots for the games six weeks out from the end of the season, in order to reduce the likelihood of a team playing the first week of the finals after a Sunday game in Round 22. The schedule was announced on July 12, 2010.
Fremantle's victory over Carlton secured its third ever home final.
Collingwood lost its Round 22 fixture for the fourth straight year, whilst St Kilda lost in Round 22 for the first time since 2003.
Adelaide ended a five game losing streak against the Saints, beating them for the first time since 2006 and at home for the first time since 2003.
North Melbourne extended its winning run against Melbourne to 8 consecutive games.
With Adelaide missing the finals for the first time since 2004, this meant that every club has now missed the finals at least twice since 2000.
Geelong and St Kilda played each other in a finals match for the third consecutive year, in the second qualifying final.
St Kilda defeated Geelong in a finals match for the first time to put it into a preliminary final for the third year in a row and fifth in seven years.
Subiaco Oval hosted a final for the first time since 2007, and its first elimination final since 2003. Fremantle played Hawthorn for the second time in three weeks. Fremantle's win was just its second ever finals victory (the first being their semi-final win over Melbourne in 2006).
Last year's losing preliminary finalists Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs played in the 1st qualifying final which Collingwood won by 62 points. It was the first time that Collingwood went directly to the Preliminary Final since their victory over Brisbane in 2003 and their first victory in a final against a Victorian team since 1990 (incidentally their last premiership-winning year).
Carlton played its first match at ANZ Stadium since round 1, 2003. They are yet to win a game at the stadium. Sydney played its first home final since 2008, and its first daytime finals match since the 2006 AFL Grand Final. Sydney also played its first ever day home final in Sydney.
For the third year in a row both elimination finals were played outside of Melbourne.
Fremantle played their first game at the MCG since Round 20, 2009. It was also Fremantle's first ever final in Melbourne.
The Western Bulldogs played Sydney in a semi-final at the MCG for the second time in 3 years.
Geelong's victory over Fremantle puts it in its fourth preliminary final in a row, fifth in seven years and will be their third against Collingwood in four years.
Both matches are rematches of last year's preliminary final matches.
The match between Collingwood and Geelong will be the third time in four years that the two teams have played each other in a preliminary final. The two previous meetings, in 2007 and 2009, were both won by Geelong.
The AFL Rising Star is awarded to the best player who, as of the beginning of the season, is under the age of 21 and has played fewer than 10 games. Each week one player is nominated and at the end of the season a selection panel votes to select the overall winner.
Sydney's Dan Hannebery won the award for 2010, with the maximum 45 votes awarded to him.
Broad, Ben (30 October 2009). "Luck of the draw". AFL Bigpond Network. Retrieved 12 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
