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After reading the article ‘17-5 amounts to fundamentally flawed fixturing‘ by mds1970, I was motivated to present an alternative to the 17-5 model currently under consideration by the AFL and clubs.
I totally understand the rationale behind trying to create a fairer fixture, as well as trying to keep the interest in the season for more teams, for longer, and to reduce the number of ‘meaningless’ games played by teams at the lower end of the ladder.
It makes sense therefore to consider some creative options – and for this reason, due diligence demands that the AFL and the clubs should at least consider the 17-5 model. It is important, however, that any new model adopted to improve the fixture doesn’t create unintended consequences that might in fact detract from the intended improvements, and create drawbacks that do not exist in the current fixturing.
The current format guarantees a certainty of fixturing and timing of games for 21 out of 22 rounds, and 11 home games for all 18 clubs, as rightly pointed out by mds1970. The fact that the 17-5 format cannot guarantee these, should weigh heavily in the debate. There is no point in introducing a fixture that solves some things, but creates new problems.
There is, I believe an alternative that could achieve a more even fixture – albeit over a longer time period than just one season. All it would require is some fairly minor tinkering to the existing arrangements, and the occasional extra game. It may not solve the issue of reducing ‘meaningless games’ but surely some improvement is better than none.
It is simply not plausible to ensure that every team plays each other team the same number of times in any given season. A 17-game season would be far too short, and a 34-game season could never be considered.
We are unlikely to ever see the competition expand to 23 teams, which is the only way to create the perfect scenario of a 22-round season where each team plays every other team the same number of times, just the once, in a season.
While we have 18 teams, however, we can actually devise a system that produces an even fixture over a three year period, but it would involve adding one extra round in two out of every three seasons. Under such a proposal, there would be 68 rounds over three years, meaning each team would play each other four times, ensuring the same number of both home and away games for every club.
Some things would have to be given up, such as some blockbuster games involving the same two clubs. Such games could not occur twice in each and every season, and could only occur twice in a season every third year. On the other hand, this should also serve to increase the interest in such games, if they only arise once in a particular season.
Such a model could also be adapted in the event of a new team or teams entering the AFL competition. If we had a 19-team competition, for example, an even fixture could be achieved over a four year period (90 rounds in total), with each team playing each other five times, with an extra round required in two of those four years. Under this scenario it would however take eight years for each team to have the same number of home and away games against each individual club.
If ever we got to 20 teams in the completion, then 114 games over five years would achieve an even fixture, with an extra round required in four out of every six years.
So let’s think a little bit outside the square and come up something that works for all – clubs, fans, sponsors and the AFL.
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