Forget 'Opening Round', the first clash of season 2024 is between ...

This year’s grand finalists teased their fans ahead of the fixture release time with some simple tweets – such as “ready for something a bit cheesy?“. Hours earlier, they posted a photo of a sumptuous-looking cheese board, accompanied by the words “the taste of 2024 dropping soon”. So, low and behold, when the club pressed send on their fixture details it was cast as a full guide to the season “on a platter”. Their video outlining their matches was the slow build of a cheese board, starting with some berries for the first match against Carlton. “Expect a berry good contest,” they punned.

Yes, that’s cheesy. But nice work.

The Bluebaggers sold it as a “fixture reveal party”. In their catchy video (below), the cake is cut for the round one game against Richmond. But make sure you stay with the vid’ at least until the round seven game against Geelong for some early sniping between the clubs and an activity reserved for kids’ parties. A food theme runs through it, with party pies getting a run for the Collingwood clash and another cheeseboard for the game against, ahem, Melbourne.

You can do what you want when you’re the reigning premiers. Collingwood tapped into their sponsors – or certainly a potential sponsor – by publishing the fixture as if it was an Ikea catalogue. Cult figure Brayden Maynard features on the cover.

They had a simple and easy way to deliver the message for 2024: “New season, same great products.”

They were a tad more understated at Bomberland. Given the way the club fell away late in this year’s home-and-away season, maybe the focus is simply on pre-season training. There’s a terrific graphical representation of the club’s opponents from round one (yes, the real round one) up until round 24.

The Fremantle staff, like other clubs, have had a busy week. The Dockers tapped into their supporters for some rapid-fire reactions about their round-by-round opponents. We’re not sure what to make of one fan’s comment about the round three clash against Adelaide at Optus Stadium. “Not Victorian,” the man said.

Time for an episode of Cats Idol at the Cattery. The club got busy tracking down some of their much-younger supporters to have a crack at the theme song of each opponent. Geelong may want to hope that none of those young fans actually get swayed to follow another team.

The handiwork from the AFL’s outfit in south-eastern Queensland doesn’t make for good viewing for those league types who are banking on Australian football taking off on the Gold Coast. The Suns took to the streets for some vox-popping to check in on the level of footy knowledge. Put it this way, there’s some room to grow.

To their credit, Gold Coast had no problem owning up to the fact that they’d borrowed the idea from an NFL team.

The AFL’s other expansion club are gaining a bit of a following for their social media exploits. I don’t even need to mention the Big, Big Sound. The product to showcase the club’s 2024 fixture comes in poem form. Player Cooper Hamilton sits in a chair and goes through the opponents round-by-round. This took a bit of work and preparation. Make sure you watch until the end.

Some creative flair here. The club convinced a couple of players to play charades as a way of identifying an opponent and then matching that to a specific round. It’s a nice reveal. But notice what footage they included for the round three match versus Geelong. Yes, it’s youth versus experience.

The Demons have hit the mark with an eye-catching video showing each opponent. The best bit? It’s old-school style. But some Melbourne fans haven’t at all forgotten about this year’s finals results, offering an obvious reference to the season’s exit with a September loss to the Blues. One pundit simply said in response to the video: “You forgot to trip over before the Carlton guy.” OUCH!

North Melbourne

It’s nice and simple at Arden Street, too. They’ve presented the fixture details as if it was a PlayStation video. More old-school trends here.

There’s an impressive video from the Alberton team. With a stick-figure on a bicycle gliding through the air, the theme for 2024 is “riding into 2024”. Good work.

The Tigers needed player co-operation, too. There’s a video of “Guess Who We’re Playing” to help fans find out the opponents. It’s a tad reminiscent of what happens during the Australian Open with the world’s elite tennis players. Take notice of how they reference their match against Gold Coast and Damien Hardwick ....

St Kilda’s offering came with a sharp message. Yes, about a specific timeslot that’s massively relevant to the Saints fraternity. They deserve some credits.

The Swans had a similar approach to Gold Coast. It’s all good fun, however, as tourists in Sydney are quizzed about their Australian Rules knowledge and how it relates to the club’s 2024 fixture.

Got to love a good vox pop.

This is great. You’ll remember Otto the Bulldog from 2015.

It’s a blast from the past as Otto goes on to reveal the club’s opponents, round by round. But make sure you watch the video until the end – there’s a delightful reference to the confusion as to when the Doggies play their first match.

It’s a standard approach in the far west with a graphical representation of who plays who and when. But, hey, like the Bombers, there might be a greater focus on turning around the club’s on-field fortunes.

Now that you’ve seen them all, tell us what you think. Vote below to say which club found the best and most creative way to pump up the fixture reveal.

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