Geelong have expressed their disappointment at a tentative 2017 fixture which has handed the club seven home games at its newly renovated Simonds Stadium – one less than the Cats specifically requested.
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Chief executive Brian Cook was meeting the AFL this week as the deadline to next year's schedule approached in a bid to convince head office to grant his club eight home games at the club's fortress over the final 13 rounds of the year.
The ground will be off limits until after the multi-million dollar redevelopment is finished on May 19 next year, the best part of two months after the season gets underway.
Meantime, Port Adelaide's match in China against the Gold Coast Suns next season could see both clubs have their bye the week after, several weeks before the rest of the competition.
The game in Shanghai in mid-May will be the first game for premiership points outside of Australia and New Zealand.
Due to the travel time to and from China, the AFL may choose to give both teams their week off straight after the clash, so that their respective opponents the following week aren't given an unfair advantage.
Alternatively, Port and the Suns could be made to play for two or three more weeks before joining everyone else in the bye rounds.
The Suns will kick off their season against cross-town rivals Brisbane, who will be given a much softer opening month in 2017 after last season's horror start.
In a year which ultimately saw the club sack coach Justin Leppitsch, the Lions began away to West Coast, at home to North Melbourne and then away at Geelong's fortress, Simonds Stadium.
In 2017, under new coach Chris Fagan, the draw has been much kinder to them.
After the opening round Q-clash, the Lions will host Essendon at the Gabba, followed by a trip to Etihad Stadium to face St Kilda and then a round four match at home to Richmond.
While Fagan's side may well still start as underdogs in all four games, the fixture is nowhere near the horror run that saw them lose 16 of their first 17 games this year.
Additionally, the first four weeks is hugely beneficial for the Lions in a financial sense.
Hosting two big Victorian clubs early on in Fagan's reign will maximise local crowds hoping that the Lions will improve under a new regime.
Under that new regime, Tom Rockliff is no guarantee to retain his captaincy, with the club indicating that they would conduct a thorough process in deciding its leadership group.
Rockliff met with Fagan and new footy boss David Noble during the trade period, after no other clubs expressed interest in acquiring his services.
