Contenders for the finals receive a scheduling boon with matchups against teams at the bottom of the ladder.
Only three clubs have secured four games against the bottom trio of West Coast, Hawthorn, and North Melbourne in 2024, and two of them are already on course for the finals.
Geelong and Gold Coast stand to significantly bolster their win-loss records this season, with the opportunity to claim 16 points against teams currently occupying the lowest ladder positions.
Geelong, having recently trounced North by 75 points, is set to face the Roos again in round 20, following a victory over the Hawks on Easter Monday.
Meanwhile, Gold Coast, currently in eighth place after dominating Hawthorn last Saturday, still has two matches each against the struggling Roos and West Coast.
North Melbourne’s best prospects for victories lie against fellow cellar-dwellers Hawthorn and West Coast, facing each club twice this season, although West Coast’s recent victory over Richmond suggests a potential turnaround.
In contrast, Brisbane, Sydney, and Port Adelaide, all finalists last year, will only encounter the bottom trio once each this season.
The fixture’s double-up matchups are partly determined by teams’ ladder positions from the previous season. Both Gold Coast and North Melbourne finished in the bottom third last year, while Geelong, despite injury setbacks, ended up in the middle third.
