The Roar
The Roar

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Keeping the pre-finals bye is a good idea

Fremantle have let Anthony Morabito go, after a career cruelled by injury. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)
Roar Rookie
19th October, 2016
2

On Wednesday, the AFL announced that we will once again have a bye the week before the finals next year.

Despite it being the most polarising topic this side of Donald Trump, the AFL are sticking to their guns and giving the bye another shot.

As expected, this resulted in near instantaneous complaints from fans and commentators alike.

In reality this is likely the correct decision. For a number of reasons, it deserves another trial at the very least.

Firstly, it deserves a fair chance to work. After some putrid football in Round 23 last year, thanks to Ross Lyon and Brad Scott, the AFL took a stand.

However, from the second it was announced that it would be part of the 2016 season, it received near universal damnation from footy experts.

Claims that it would disadvantage those in the top four and ruin the finals series were heard before the season had even begun.

As a result we heard calls for it to be removed from the season before we were even able to see the impact it would have. How can we state unequivocally that it is a mistake without even seeing it in practice?

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This constant barrage of negativity effectively set the bye up for failure. Blinded by confirmation bias, anything short of our team winning a flag would deem the bye a failure.

Despite the fantastic football we bore witness to, all we heard about is how GWS and Geelong didn’t play on grand final Day. Thus any positive effect of the bye would never have been seen for the forest of negativity blanketing the newspapers.

Would it not make sense to analyse the outcome when we aren’t all calling for its head without any evidence? By repeating it the teams know what to expect, we don’t suffer the reflex to stand against change, and it can be analysed without an automatic agenda to find a reason to remove it.

Secondly, from a business perspective, it makes good sense. During the bye we all tuned in to watch the EJ Whitten legends match. Starved of our weekly fix, we would’ve watched a Dimboola C grade game just to satisfy the footy cravings.

As a result, the AFL got huge ratings for the All-Star game and viewership momentum boost for the impending AFL Women’s league, ultimately increasing the value of both products. It only makes sense that they do it again.

Finally, look at what it allowed to happen. The Bulldogs won a premiership for the first time in 61 years – a historic occasion that warmed the hearts of footy fans outside the Sydney area.

Heading into September, the boys from Whitten Oval were considered long shots to win a single final. After suffering an injury curse of near biblical proportions, the Dogs had to travel across the country to see the in-form Eagles.

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However, prior to the game, the Bulldogs returned five players to their match side, a boost that proved vital for their September campaign.

This would not have been possible had they not had an extra week to recover. Thus, instead of watching a team hobble into September, we saw a revitalised team that was ready to attack the finals series head on.

Ultimately claiming the biggest prize and showing themselves as the best team in the league.

The Bulldogs’ premiership alone should almost justify another pre-finals bye. Geelong and GWS can claim that they were at a disadvantage, but ultimately weren’t good enough in key moments in their respective prelim finals.

No one can state unequivocally that it is a good addition to the season, but nor can they state that it was all negative.

At the very least, it deserves a proper course of investigation over a number of trials.

Repeating this experiment is the correct decision, and Gil should be commended for not buckling under an avalanche of external pressure.

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