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Thursday night's alright for footy

Roar Guru
25th July, 2014
7

It may be a touch advantageous doing after a weekend when only five games were played and before only four games are played, but split rounds just do not work for football fans.

So if they do not work, being a solution-based columnist, the solution is multi-team byes.

It is a fine balancing act with multi-team byes, because take too brazen an approach and have too many of the strong supporting teams on bye on the same week and the possibility for viewer backlash rises.

The right number is either two or four teams, meaning that every week there are at least seven games of AFL football. Friday night can be covered, Saturday can be covered from lunch to late evening and Sunday can be covered from lunch to twilight.

Oh and of course multi team byes means the weekend can come a day early.

Yes, football could be played Thursday every single week.

Thursday night football realistically is the AFL’s last chance at nailing the next television rights. The AFL viewing public voted with their feet and eyes on Sunday and Monday night football with the feedback enough to cripple the AFL’s hopes of expanding the weekend and getting more dollars in the next media rights.

However the silver lining this season has been the moderately positive reaction to Thursday night football. Yes, in the AFL’s eyes, moderately positive is all it needs.

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Consider the following example of a 2015 season with Thursday night, Friday night and bye games to show just how simple it could be if byes were used throughout the season to maximise the extra day of the football weekend.

Round 1
Thursday: Gold Coast versus Sydney – Metricon Stadium
Friday: North Melbourne versus Collingwood – Etihad Stadium
Byes: Nil

Round 2
Thursday: Sydney versus Collingwood – ANZ Stadium
Friday: North Melbourne versus Richmond – Etihad Staidum
Byes: Adelaide, Carlton, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide

Round 3
Thursday: Carlton versus Adelaide – Etihad Stadium
Friday: Richmond versus Port Adelaide – Etihad Stadium
Bye: Brisbane, Collingwood, Melbourne, St Kilda

Round 4 (Easter)
Thursday: Brisbane versus Collingwood – GABBA
Friday: North Melbourne versus Western – Etihad Stadium
Bye: Essendon, West Coast

Round 5
Thursday: West Coast versus Essendon – Patersons Stadium
Friday: Collingwood versus Carlton – MCG
Bye: Fremantle, Geelong, GWS, Richmond

Round 6
Thursday: GWS versus Richmond – Skoda Stadium
Friday: Carlton versus Essendon – MCG
Bye: Gold Coast, North Melbourne

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Round 7 (ANZAC Day)
Thursday: Gold Coast versus North Melbourne – Metricon Stadium
Friday: Melbourne versus Richmond – MCG
Bye: Sydney, Western

Round 8
Thursday: Sydney versus Western – SCG
Friday: Hawthorn versus Essendon – MCG
Bye: Nil

Round 9 (Women’s Round)
Thursday: Essendon versus Sydney – Etihad Stadium
Friday: St Kilda versus Carlton – Etihad Stadium
Bye: Nil

Round 10
Thursday: St Kilda versus Sydney – Etihad Stadium
Friday: Collingwood versus Richmond – MCG
Bye: Geelong, GWS, Hawthorn, St Kilda

Round 11
Thursday: Hawthorn versus GWS – Aurora Stadium
Friday: Geelong versus Collingwood – MCG
Bye: Essendon, Fremantle, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide

Round 12 (WA Day)
Thursday: North Melbourne versus Port Adelaide – Blundstone Arena
Friday: Collingwood versus Hawthorn – MCG
Bye: Carlton, Gold Coast, Richmond, Western

Round 13 (Queens Birthday)
Thursday: Gold Coast versus Carlton – Metricon Stadium
Friday: Port Adelaide versus Hawthorn – Adelaide Oval
Bye: Adelaide, Sydney

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Round 14
Thursday: Adelaide versus Sydney – Adelaide Oval
Friday: Geelong versus Western – Simmonds Stadium
Bye: Brisbane, Collingwood, Melbourne, West Coast

Round 15 (Indigenous Round)
Thursday: Melbourne versus Brisbane – TIO Stadium
Friday: Port Adelaide versus Geelong – Adelaide Oval
Bye: Nil

Round 16
Thursday: Brisbane versus Port Adelaide – GABBA
Friday: Collingwood versus Fremantle – Etihad Stadium
Bye: Nil

Round 17
Thursday: Fremantle versus Brisbane – Patersons Stadium
Friday: Western versus Adelaide – Etihad Stadium
Bye: Geelong, GWS, Hawthorn, North Melbourne

Round 18
Thursday: GWS versus North Melbourne – Manuka Oval
Friday: West Coast versus Carlton – Patersons Stadium
Bye: Collingwood, Port Adelaide, Richmond, St Kilda

Round 19
Thursday: Collingwood versus St Kilda – Etihad Stadium
Friday: Essendon versus Melbourne – Etihad Stadium
Bye: Gold Coast, Sydney, West Coast, Western

Round 20
Thursday: Western Bulldogs versus Gold Coast – Cazaly’s Stadium
Friday: Sydney versus West Coast – SCG
Bye: Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton, Fremantle, Melbourne, Richmond

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Round 21
Thursday: Carlton versus Richmond – MCG
Friday: Adelaide versus Fremantle – Adelaide Oval
Bye: Nil

Round 22
Thursday: Adelaide versus Richmond – Adelaide Oval
Friday: Fremantle versus Port Adelaide – Patersons Stadium
Bye: Nil

Round 23
Thursday: Port Adelaide versus Adelaide – Adelaide Oval
Friday: Geelong versus Hawthorn – MCG
Bye: Nil

Round 24
Thursday: Geelong versus Port Adelaide – Simmonds Stadium
Friday: Fremantle versus Hawthorn – Patersons Stadium
Bye: Nil

Round 25
Thursday: Geelong versus Fremantle – Simmonds Stadium
Friday: Collingwood versus Essendon – MCG
Bye: Nil

So what works about this?

For fans it means Thursday night football every week of the year. The weekend can be extended but still have the round completed by Sunday dinner time.

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Each club barring a couple of exceptions only have one home Thursday night game. By sharing it among all clubs it makes it an easier sell to attending public, because it truly is a once off each year going to see your team play at home on a Thursday.

While playing week night and school night football has its drawbacks if it is only happening once a year that should suffice with most workers and parents.

There is a heavy weighting towards the northern markets four teams. Rugby is still number one north of the Murray and given that the NRL and Super Rugby rule on Friday through to Monday, the possibility of doing Thursday night football would mean taking the game to a market that these sports cannot compete with.

The northern state teams also have their own opportunities, for example playing Gold Coast and Brisbane games on the Thursday of a long weekend may be able to encourage higher crowds because of the travelling component.

It also allows the AFL to play in some of its smaller venues and limit crowd damage by having them in a Thursday night timeslot. Places like Darwin, Canberra and Hobart are likely to get similar crowds regardless of whether a game is played Thursday or Saturday.

It means that grounds with bigger capacities can be used in more prime time slots.

For those that argue that three byes is too many for each team, the reality is that this year every team had three byes.

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There was a split round in Round 1, each team had a bye in the middle of the year and now another split round has occurred in Round 18. It is still covering the same bulk of time, from mid March through to the start of September.

Finally this allows for all clubs to get a chance and building blockbuster matches. While everyone fights for Friday night coverage, the Thursday night game means you are doubling the ability to be on prime time television against a potential rival.

Let the weekend start a day early. You bet.

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