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The AFL takes a lot of heat for a long-held belief that they put the commercial elements of the fixture ahead of a fair and equitable fixture for the 18 AFL clubs.
However in sport, particularly a dynamic one like the AFL which involves a game each weekend, can there really be a fair and equitable fixture?
Could it be that the AFL is actually doing the best to maximise what is an impossible task of creating all teams equal?
Two of the most debated solutions to creating a fair fixture for all teams involve either reducing the season to 17 games, where every team would play each other once, or by extending the season to 34 games, where each team would play home and away against each opponent.
It is a popular belief that this would make a fair fixture for all. But in reality, would all fixtures be created equal?
Consider from the 2014 season. Would opposition rather have played Richmond in Round 14, when they slumped to third last, or in Round 23, when they were on an eight-game winning run? Would a team want to have played Gold Coast in Round 15, when Gary Ablett was in full flight, or two weeks later in Round 17, when Ablett’s season was over?
Would a team rather have played Hawthorn in Round 1, when they are still four weeks behind the competition in pre-season, or in Round 17, when they were starting a run towards the finals? Would a team have preferred to play Essendon in Round 9, when they were struggling with form and injury, or in Round 18, when Jake Carlisle had become a game changing forward?
It would be lucky or unlucky depending on your scenario but imagine team A played Hawthorn in Round 1, Essendon in Round 9, Richmond in Round 14, and Gold Coast in Round 17, while team B played Gold Coast in Round 15, Hawthorn in Round 17, Essendon in Round 18 and Richmond in Round 23.
For the top teams in the league the fixture would likely not have mattered, but for those teams near mid-table – like West Coast, Collingwood, Richmond and Essendon – this set of scenarios could have a massive impact on the season.
The point of the above exercise is to highlight that in a dynamic league where situations constantly change and where playing personnel and circumstances are different each week, there can be no level of fairness or equality.
Kudos to the AFL for making the most of a tough situation and at least ensuring the game can benefit financially from the unfair, inequitable fixture.
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