Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has slammed the AFL's fixture for 2012, saying it was disrespectful of the Hawks.
In a letter to club members on Friday after the draw was released earlier in the day, Kennett heavily criticised the AFL for scheduling a significant number of Hawthorn games on Sunday against interstate opponents, saying it would hit the club's finances particularly hard.
"Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a perfect fixture," Kennett wrote on Hawthorn's official website.
"With it comes some great games for our members and supporters however it also comes with some glaring negatives for our great club to manage."
"The negatives (in my opinion) are disrespectful of our finishing position on the ladder in season 2011 and our work in carrying the AFL flag in Tasmania for the last 10 years."
"This includes playing five of our seven home games at the MCG against interstate teams, the majority of which will be on a Sunday, and all at varying times."
"The impact of this will be two-fold. Firstly; our attendances, which have averaged in excess of 50,000 at home games at the MCG will drop to around 30,000 at best."
"In short, this will be a reduction in people attending our home games at the MCG of approximately 100,000 over the season. This will also register in a reduction of the same number of AFL attendances for the year."
"Secondly; because either four of five of those games are to be played on Sunday, it will substantially reduce attendances at our corporate functions."
Kennett was also critical of the fact the Hawks would play just one Victorian-based opponent in North Melbourne at Launceston's Aurora Stadium throughout the season.
Their other opponents at their Tasmanian base will be Sydney, Fremantle and Port Adelaide.
"We want to showcase football by having Melbourne-based clubs play at Aurora," Kennett wrote.
"Hawthorn has been regularly asking, as has the Tasmanian Government, to rotate all Melbourne teams through Tasmania, to which the AFL has refused."
There were a couple of elements of the fixture that pleased Kennett, the president happy the club does not have to play any home matches at Etihad Stadium.
"The season opener against Collingwood and our Round 19 home game against Geelong will allow our members and supporters to fill the MCG with brown and gold," he said.
"Fifteen games in Melbourne gives our Victorian-based supporters the opportunity to see more footy than in 2011."