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Hawks, Tigers win in dual-bye 2016 AFL fixture

AFL premiers Hawthorn and improvers Richmond will each play six prime-time Friday night matches in 2016 after the league unveiled next year’s fixture.

The Hawks are seeking an incredible slice of football history as they attempt to win four premierships in a row for the first time since Collingwood achieved the feat in 1930.

And Alastair Clarkson’s side will have no shortage of exposure in their ambitious quest.

The Tigers also won in the fixture, while well-supported Collingwood and North Melbourne will play five Friday night fixtures each.

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Embattled club Western Bulldogs were desperate for more exposure this season and were given three matches on Friday nights.

A total of six clubs were shut out from the timeslot, including 2015 wooden-spooners Carlton.

Brisbane, Greater Western Sydney, Gold Coast, Melbourne and St Kilda are also without Friday fixtures.

The AFL announced there would be five Thursday night matches in 2016 while a second bye round – between the regular season and finals – is a key component of the fixture.

Round 23 was struck by controversy this season after a number of teams pulled out their best players in preparation for finals.

“The AFL has introduced a bye week before the finals so that those clubs playing in September can have the best possible lead-in and preparation for the most important matches of our season,” AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said on Thursday.

Fremantle and North Melbourne both opted to rest more than a third of their side in the final round this year, with the Kangaroos’ decision virtually dashing Adelaide’s top-six hopes.

It wasn’t the first time matches at the end of the season had deteriorated into chaos.

The Dockers have a history of employing the controversial tactic. In 2010 they rested eight players for a round 22 match against Hawthorn and were beaten by 116, while in 2013 they also rested 11 players in a final-round fixture.

The AFL is yet to decide how it will use the gap weekend before the finals, however there is some suggestions the Brownlow Medal could be moved forward.

Meanwhile, the grand final is again a week later than normal, this time to be played on October 1, with the AFL seemingly abandoning the last-Saturday-in-September tradition.

The season will begin with the traditional Richmond-Carlton clash at the MCG on Thursday, March 24.

Other fixture highlights include the Grand Final rematch between Hawthorn and West Coast coming in Round 2 at the MCG.

Despite the success of the Anzac Day clash, Collingwood will meet Essendon just once, while, as previously announced, the Indigenous Round will be re-named the Sir Doug Nicholls Round and will take place in Round 10.

The round, as ever, is headlined by the Saturday evening ‘Dreamtime at the ‘G’ clash between Richmond and Essendon.

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