The Lions are set for a fiery season-opener with Collingwood heading to the Gabba for a Round 1 blockbuster on April 4. The Easter Saturday clash will see Lions new recruit, Dayne Beams, face his old side just six months after making the move North.
Victorian supporters won’t have to wait long for their taste of the action, with the side then heading to Melbourne to take on North Melbourne in Round 2.
The Lions will travel to Melbourne three times within the first eight rounds of the season and will play a total of six games in Victoria in 2015.
Following the AFL’s release of the 2015 fixture, Lions’ highlights include:
• Season opener against Collingwood at the Gabba (Round 1)
• Victorian opener against North Melbourne (Round 2)
• Back-to-back home blockbusters against Gold Coast and Carlton at the Gabba in Rounds 19 and 20
• QClash 9 (Round 5) against Gold Coast to be held at Metricon – the Lions’ will host QClash 10 at the Gabba in Round 19
Lions CEO Greg Swann welcomed the release of the fixture, saying:
“From a footy perspective, it’s pretty fair. If we play the way we want to play then the fixture provides the opportunity to win our fair share of games.
"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.
“The teams we play twice are North, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Carlton and the Bulldogs. Like us, they are all teams building to higher goals - some a little more advanced - but they are the kind of teams we have to beat if we want to make our mark.
“Crowds at the Gabba will be in for a real feast starting with the blockbuster against the Pies in the opening round on Easter Saturday night.
"We also host Carlton and Richmond, as well as last season’s prelim finalists North Melbourne and Port Adelaide, and grand finalists Sydney - not to mention the return bout of the QClash against the Gold Coast in Round 19.
“The scheduling of our home games is also pleasing, with four Saturday night games plus four twilight games, which proved really popular with the Brisbane fans last season.
“For our Victorian fans, it will be great to play in Melbourne nice and early against North in Round 2, a big improvement on having to wait until Round 9 last season - in fact, we play three of our first eight, and four of our first 11 games, in Melbourne.
"In total we have 6 games in Victoria, including one at Simonds Stadium. I can assure our Victorian members that the Club is committed to using the large number of games in Melbourne in the front half of the year to provide plenty of opportunities for fans to interact with the team.”
Every Lions’ match will again be broadcast live on 7mate in Brisbane and regional Queensland and nationally on Foxtel.
Brisbane Lions Victorian Memberships are now on sale following the release of the fixture. Visit membership.lions.com.au
1 Saturday, April 4 Collingwood The Gabba Home 6.20pm
2 Sunday, April 12 North Melbourne Etihad Stadium Away 4.40pm
3 Saturday, April 18 Richmond The Gabba Home 7.20pm
4 Sunday, April 26 West Coast Eagles The Gabba Home 1.10pm
5 Saturday, May 2 Gold Coast SUNS Metricon Stadium Away 4.35pm
6 Sunday, May 10 Carlton Etihad Stadium Away 3.20pm
7 Sunday, May 17 Port Adelaide The Gabba Home 4.40pm
8 Sunday, May 24 Essendon Etihad Stadium Away 1.10pm
9 Sunday, May 31 St Kilda The Gabba Home 1.10pm
10 Sunday, June 7 GWS GIANTS Spotless Stadium Away 1.10pm
11 Bye
12 Saturday, June 20 Western Bulldogs Etihad Stadium Away 7.20pm
13 Saturday, June 27 Adelaide Crows The Gabba Home 4.35pm
14 Sunday, July 5 Fremantle Patersons Stadium Away 2.40pm
15 Sunday, July 12 Sydney Swans The Gabba Home 4.40pm
16 Sunday, July 19 Melbourne MCG Away 1.10pm
17 Saturday, July 25 North Melbourne The Gabba Home 7.20pm
18 Saturday, August 1 Geelong Cats Simonds Stadium Away 1.45pm
19 Saturday, August 8 Gold Coast SUNS The Gabba Home 4.35pm
20 Saturday, August 15 Carlton The Gabba Home 7.20pm
21 Saturday, August 22 Adelaide Crows Adelaide Oval Away 7.10pm
22 Saturday, August 29 Hawthorn Aurora Stadium Away 2.10pm
23 TBC Western Bulldogs The Gabba TBC
