Download a pdf version of the 2011 Fixture
The draw includes a Friday night game against Carlton at the SCG in round 6 - the Swans haven’t played a home and away game at the SCG on a Friday night since 2003 and Ireland says it will be a feature match.
“We were very keen to get a Friday night game and we’re happy it’s against Calton who we had such a great match against in the Elimination Final this year,’’ Ireland said.
Another feature match at the SCG will be the round 4 game against Geelong, on Saturday April 16 at 7.10pm.
The last time the Swans played Geelong at the SCG was the famous 2005 semi-final, when Nick Davis kicked four goals in the last quarter to propel the Swans towards the premiership.
The team will play three games at ANZ Stadium - against Essendon (round 2), Collingwood (round 14) and St Kilda (round 22).
The round 2 and round 22 games will be on Sunday afternoon at the Homebush venue. “ANZ management was keen to trial a couple of Sunday afternoon games in 2011 after the success of the Sunday afternoon final against Carlton, which saw more than 40,000 people attend,’’ Ireland said.
There will be eight games at the SCG including clashes against Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs, and six games in Victoria.
The Swans meet newcomers Gold Coast Suns in round 16 on Satuday July 9 at 7.10pm.
The Swans play six teams twice - the Western Bulldogs, Geelong, Carlton, Essendon, Brisbane Lions and Richmond - and the other 16 teams once in the 24 week fixture.
Byes are scheduled for round 5, over Easter, and round 19 in late July.
Ireland said the Club felt there was a good mix of games. “There’s a good mixture of games on Saturdays, Sundays and then the Friday night so we hope that will suit all our different fans,’’ Ireland said.
“We had very healthy crowds this season in Sydney and we believe this fixture will allow us to build on those.
“The byes are well-placed in a football sense, and all in all we’re very pleased with the draw we’ve been given. Most of our requests were met.’’
The season begins on March 27, with a match against Melbourne on Sunday afternoon at the MCG. The last home and away match is on the weekend of September 3, but is a “floating’’ game against Brisbane, with the details not announced until during the season.
