In one of the more pointless exercises in sport, AFL clubs have “reacted” to the issuing of the 2015 season fixtures.

The AFL on Thursday revealed when and where each team would play, prompting club chiefs to digest the news, formulate prosaic responses and pass them on to media managers for distribution.

It has been reported that in some cases club chiefs entrusted these media managers and other subordinates to formulate the responses for them, and merely gave them a cursory glance before declaring the quotes attributed to them “fine”.

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In all cases club bosses accepted their allotted fixtures with good grace, knowing that failure to do so may lead their 2016 schedule to be “nightmarish”.

Few AFL coaches weighed in on their side’s fortunes, leaving it instead to CEOs to absorb the news that they would have to play 22 games in the regular season – some of them at home, some of them away.

Some clubs “welcomed” the news (Gold Coast, Port Adelaide), others were “pleased” (Geelong) and one – St Kilda – saw their “seven home games against traditional Victorian clubs” as a “major positive”.

St Kilda are also pumped about their first-up clash with the Giants.

“The round one home clash with GWS will excite our passionate fans as it will showcase two emerging, young lists and we also welcome the chance to return to Hobart and play an away game against North Melbourne in Round 20 as we have a large and loyal fan base there,” Saints CEO Matt Finnis said.

Carlton, Fremantle and Sydney were all thrilled to be starting their seasons with “blockbusters”.

St Kilda coach Alan Richardson was one of the few coaches who took the trouble to comment on the fixtures.

“From a football sense, this is a good fixture for the Saints,” he said.

Below we present all the big news from club chiefs:-

Carlton CEO Steven Trigg: “This fixture is a great result for our team and we believe the AFL has struck the right balance of big games and supporter friendly timeslots.” 

Geelong CEO Brian Cook: “Overall we are very happy with the fixture.” 

Sydney CEO Andrew Ireland: “This is a great fixture for fans, with so many big matches played at both the SCG and ANZ Stadium.” 

Brisbane CEO Greg Swann: “From a footy perspective, it’s pretty fair. Three of our first four games are at home then we go down the highway to play the Suns, so travel won’t be an issue as we look to make a big start to the season.”

Adelaide CEO Andrew Fagan: “Every club would always like more elements weighted in its favour, but in this case we have positives from an on-field and commercial perspective, as well as fan friendly elements.” 

Collingwood CEO Gary Pert: “We’re happy with the 2015 fixture and pleased that our members and fans have been considered a high priority.” 

Hawthorn CEO Stuart Fox: “Overall we are pleased with the 2015 fixture, both from a football and commercial perspective.” 

Fremantle CEO Steve Rosich: “The AFL always has a difficult job striking the right balance in an 18-team competition played over 23 rounds but our members and supporters have a lot to look forward to with regard to blockbuster home games at Patersons Stadium in 2015.” 

Saints CEO Matt Finnis: “St Kilda will place a strong focus on bringing to life the Sunday afternoon football experience at Etihad Stadium in 2015 and we look forward to a number of big clashes – including against long-term rivals Richmond and Hawthorn – which will be great games to attend.” 

GWS CEO David Matthews: “We are very pleased with the balance of games across Western Sydney and the ACT. We also have big clubs coming to play at Spotless Stadium in Sydney.”

Gold Coast CEO Andrew Travis: “The release of the 2015 fixture delivers significant wins to our members and fans, with Metricon Stadium set to host all of our home games next year on a Saturday.”

Esendon CEO Xavier Campbell: “Overall, we are pleased with our fixture for 2015.” 

Western Bulldogs CEO Simon Garlick: “We believe it is a positive fixture for our Club.” 

Port Adelaide CEO Keith Thomas: “Without doubt the 2015 AFL fixture presents our Members and supporters with a terrific opportunity to enjoy some more great Port Adelaide game-day experiences.” 

Richmond CEO Brendon Gale: “All things considered, I think it’s a very strong fixture for all fans and members of all footy clubs.” 

North Melbourne CEO Carl Dilena: “This year we drew bigger crowds and TV audiences, and as a result we’ve received a better fixture.” 

Of course, there’s always a fly in the ointment somewhere.

This year it came courtesy of Melbourne. According to the AFL website, Melbourne CEO Peter Jackson had this blunt response: “The fixture is reflective of where we are at as a club.”

West Coast football manager Craig Vozzo was another who strayed from the pack: “We’ve got four of the last five at home, so that will help us, travel is always a massive thing for the WA clubs,” he said on the AFL website.

“That’s offset a little by the fact we have seven six-day breaks this year which are always tough to come back from so we need to carefully plan for those. It’s also disappointing for our Melbourne-based fans to only have four games there.”