Carlton and Richmond has consistently been the opening fixture - disregarding the past two years of Opening Round - of the AFL season since the tradition began in 2008.
No matter the two clubs' final placing on the ladder the season prior, the pair of old rivals would be the first to touch the Sherrin in the new season in front of a packed out MCG on a Thursday evening in March.
That tradition, however, looks to be done and dusted with the AFL to reconfigure its Round 1 fixture after agreeing to end its widely criticised and publicly hated Opening Round system.
Ron Issko is the president of the AFL Fans Association committee and admits he is confused as to why the AFL would change the traditional first game fixture after recent strong Round 1 matches.
"Just reading some of the comments from fans (after news broke of the fixture's possible change), you've got the Richmond and Carlton fans, probably a bit disappointed then you've even got some neutral fans saying we got used to Carlton-Richmond being the first game just leave it alone," Issko told Zero Hanger.
"And when you think about it, the crowd, on average, was like 70-80,000. So even though in the last few years, Richmond haven't been so good, Carlton would be better. They're still drawing big crowds, so I'm just a little bit uncertain why (the AFL wants to change).
"The games Richmond and Carlton were playing weren't really that bad in fact they were close games a lot of the time. Even though at times Carlton had the edge over Richmond and Richmond had the edge over Carlton, they were still pretty close games.
"It depends what you are measuring. Are you measuring the number of fans going to the game? 70-80,000. You measure the ratings on TV? How you measure the quality of football, I'm not sure."
Seven News is reporting that despite Round 1 returning to be the season opener, the Blues and Tigers won't play the first match on the Wednesday or Thursday night. In fact, the two teams might have to wait until the Saturday or Sunday before they meet at the MCG.
The first couple of fixtures are expected to feature northern states teams Sydney, GWS, Gold Coast and Brisbane; keeping some elements of Opening Round.
Carlton and Richmond's fixture is reported to have been shunted down the pecking order due to concerns over the quality of match given the Tigers are again expected to be in the hunt for a wooden spoon.
The Blues are predicted to rise again under coach Josh Fraser in 2027, creating a gap in talent and performance between the two sides. But that hasn't stopped recent Round 1 matches between the two clubs from being engaging games with large crowds.
In 2026, Carlton limped over the line to win by four points in front of 74,313.
Twelve months prior, Richmond produced a historic upset with its abundance of youth to come from behind in a memorable 13-point victory over Carlton in front of 80,009.
Issko said the AFL Fans Association has an open dialogue with the league and looks to push the key issues that pertain to fans of Aussie rules. In particularly, the decision to strip Saturday free to air games away from the public and place them behind a pay wall.
"What do fans want from a Round 1 fixture? As much free to air TV as possible to see all the new kids their club is playing," Issko said.
"Round 1 for a lot of teams is (about) the draft and trades, like how good is Zak Butters going to go for Bulldogs? And your team's draft picks, are they playing their debut game? I think fans are excited to have that.
"We meet with the AFL on a regular basis, we also met with Craig Drummond the chair of the AFL Commission so the AFL Association meets the right people at the AFL. They know fans want to have a voice and the indications are they will listen to us.
"I know broadcasters bring in the biggest money for the game, but the fans are the biggest stakeholder in the game. You don't have fans, you don't have footy; and if you don't have broadcasters, you don't have money.
"We just want the AFL and the commission to get the balance right between how they favour the broadcasters and the fans. When you take away free to air footy on Saturday night, that's not a good move. That's the sort for things we talk to the AFL about."
Next year's Round 1 may be the only season opener for a while not to feature a bye round for one team, given Tasmania's entry into the league as the 19th club will make for an uneven schedule until a 20th team emerges.
