You have to earn respect in the AFL.

There is no team that has earned respect more than West Coast entering the 2019 home-and-away season.

Yet the always anticipated opening round has failed to acknowledge the premiers’ standing in the game.

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While the flag winners have featured in standalone blockbuster matches in each of the past four seasons — Richmond in their traditional Thursday night fixture against Carlton last year, the Western Bulldogs in a Friday night showdown with Collingwood in 2017 and Hawthorn twice on a Monday against Geelong in 2015 and 2016 — the Eagles will journey to the Gabba to confront a Brisbane outfit that finished 15th last season.

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Yes, the same Brisbane side which won only five matches last year.

It is a Saturday night match that clashes with the Western Bulldogs-Sydney contest at Marvel Stadium.

Play Video Duff and Quarters say that West Coast should rest Kennedy against Brisbane and play Oscar Allen instead. The West Australian Video Duff and Quarters say that West Coast should rest Kennedy against Brisbane and play Oscar Allen instead.

Interestingly, the battle between the Bulldogs and Swans is the one being broadcast free to air in the other States.

The team the Eagles edged in the grand final, Collingwood, have been rewarded with a blockbuster against Geelong at the MCG tomorrow night.

West Coast couldn’t play at home and unfurl the flag in round one because of the agreement that means Fremantle and the Eagles alternate who is afforded the right to host the season opener in Perth.

Having hosted Sydney in the historic first AFL match at Optus Stadium last year, the Eagles hand over to the Dockers this season.

But surely the AFL could have come up with a more prominent opener for a team that outperformed all others in 2018 and was part of one of the most dramatic grand finals in recent memory?

While they’ll get their share of centre-stage matches this season, they shouldn’t be off Broadway as they are in a round that sets the scene for the remainder of the year. The Lions might be on the up, but the average crowd at the Gabba last year was roughly 18,000.

West Coast players won’t care. In fact Jack Darling made the point that it’s good to get the Brisbane trip out of the way early while you’re fresh. But fans across the country deserve to see the best sides as much as possible.

Tonight, we begin again with the familiar Richmond-Carlton tussle, a fixture that has regularly been one-sided.

Carlton won the wooden spoon last year while Richmond were minor premiers, yet here we are again.

I understand the AFL loves to have two big Melbourne clubs step out in the opening match, but why couldn’t the Eagles have taken Carlton’s place?

I wouldn’t mind betting there would have been plenty of neutrals happy to buy tickets to that match. Part of the problem is probably that the AFL knows people will tune in regardless, simply because it’s the first game. But if we can do better, why don’t we?