Recently, Gold Coast Suns coach Rodney Eade slammed the current format of the NAB Challenge, saying it was unfair that his side had to travel to the other side of the country to play the West Coast Eagles in a meaningless match.
Complicating matters further, the Suns will also have to travel to Perth twice within the first ten rounds of the premiership season, first to face Fremantle in Round 2, and then eight weeks later to face the Eagles again in Round 10.
Having also travelled to and from Burpengary for their first match against the Brisbane Lions, the long return trip to the west means the Suns will have racked up the second-most kilometres of travel by any side (9082 km), with only the Adelaide Crows (9382 km) racking up more time in the air throughout the NAB Challenge.
Therefore, in protest, Eade flew a weakened Gold Coast side, still missing their captain Gary Ablett Jr, to Joondalup for the clash against the Eagles, which the Suns lost by just three points after leading for the majority of the match.
It was a gutsy effort from the club and following on from their win over the Brisbane Lions last month, it appears as though the Suns are getting set to put behind a horrid 2015 season which saw them finish 16th on the ladder.
A season in which they were expected to contend for finals under Eade, who replaced foundation coach Guy McKenna at the end of 2014, instead turned to one of unrelenting disappointment as injuries and disciplinary issues involving key players plagued the club. Instead of going forwards, they went backwards.
Ablett Jr and recruit Nick Malceski missed too many matches between them due to injury, while Charlie Dixon and Harley Bennell were traded out of the club after both got caught up in controversy midway through the season.
However, the big name that has landed on the holiday strip is Matt Rosa, who was a part of the West Coast Eagles side that rose from wooden spooners in 2010 to preliminary finalists in 2011.
Essendon is another club that also has the right to complain about the current format of the NAB Challenge.
Last year, they had to travel to Sydney’s Olympic Park precinct three times: first for a NAB Challenge match against the GWS Giants at Spotless Stadium, second for their season opener against the Sydney Swans at the nearby ANZ Stadium, and then another trip to Spotless Stadium to again face the Giants.
This year, like the Suns, the Bombers also have to travel west three times. First for the NAB Challenge closer against the West Coast Eagles at Domain Stadium; they will then visit the ground again for their only meetings against both Fremantle and West Coast in Rounds 11 and 15 respectively.
As a matter of fact, season 2016 will be the second year in a row that the Bombers don’t play either the Dockers or Eagles in Melbourne, and the sixth in a row they’ve played the former team for the only time in the season in Perth.
Back on topic now, and under the NAB Challenge reform that Suns coach Rodney Eade has proposed, the two Queensland and two Sydney clubs would clash against each other. The two WA and two Adelaide clubs would also clash against each other; and the ten Victorian clubs would face their three opponents in regional areas.
“I just think it makes sense,” Eade said. “I don’t think the people who organise the NAB draw actually talk to the people who worked out the main AFL draw.”
If Eade gets his way, then this is what the 2017 fixture could look like.
Week 1
Game 1: Hawthorn versus Melbourne, Waverley Park
Game 2: Adelaide Crows versus Fremantle, Woodville Oval
Game 3: Carlton versus Collingwood, Ikon Park
Game 4: Sydney Swans versus Gold Coast Suns, Blacktown International Sportspark
Game 5: North Melbourne versus Richmond, Arden Street Oval
Game 6: Port Adelaide versus West Coast Eagles, Alberton Oval
Week 2
Game 7: St Kilda versus Western Bulldogs, Moorabbin Oval
Game 8: GWS Giants versus Brisbane Lions, StarTrack Oval
Game 9: Essendon versus Geelong Cats, Windy Hill Oval
Game 10: Melbourne versus North Melbourne, Casey Fields
Game 11: West Coast Eagles versus Adelaide Crows, HBF Arena, Joondalup
Game 12: Richmond versus Hawthorn, Punt Road Oval
Week 3
Game 13: Brisbane Lions versus Sydney Swans, Burpengary Regional Sports Park
Game 14: Geelong Cats versus Carlton, Simonds Stadium
Game 15: Fremantle versus Port Adelaide, Leederville Oval
Game 16: Western Bulldogs versus Essendon, Whitten Oval
Game 17: Gold Coast Suns versus GWS Giants, Metricon Stadium
Game 18: St Kilda versus Collingwood, Moorabbin Oval
Week 4
Game 19: Geelong Cats versus Collingwood, Simonds Stadium
Game 20: Gold Coast Suns versus Brisbane Lions, Metricon Stadium
Game 21: Western Bulldogs versus Richmond, Etihad Stadium
Game 22: North Melbourne versus Hawthorn, Blundstone Arena
Game 23: GWS Giants versus Sydney Swans, Spotless Stadium
Game 24: Adelaide Crows versus Port Adelaide, AAMI Stadium
Games 25 and 27: Etihad Stadium double header: Essendon versus Carlton followed by a three-hour break then Melbourne versus St Kilda
Game 26: West Coast Eagles versus Fremantle, Domain Stadium
Key points
* The NAB Challenge would last four weeks, with six matches in the first three weeks and a full, final week of nine matches.
* In the first two weeks, venues which don’t regularly host AFL matches will be used, as is always the case during the NAB Challenge.
* Some teams may play games on their own training grounds, or on those where they have a contract to play on (e.g. North Melbourne at Blundstone Arena).
* Each interstate team will play at least two games in their own state during the NAB Challenge.
* Simonds and Metricon Stadiums will be used in weeks three and four, and will each host two matches.
* Etihad Stadium will host three matches in the final week, including a double-header on the final day. Game 26, the Western Derby, will be played in between for television broadcasting purposes.
* Local derbies will be played in the final week, with Domain Stadium, AAMI Stadium, Metricon Stadium and Spotless Stadium to host them. This is to ease the season preparations for, in particular, the West Coast Eagles and Port Adelaide, who are due to start their seasons away in Round 1 of the 2017 AFL season.
* Final week matches will be played under the regular season rules, but will still retain the super-goal (worth nine points).
What do you think of Rodney Eade’s NAB Challenge proposal? Do you think it will work out? Or should it be scrapped altogether in favour of simply trial matches that some clubs can organise between themselves?
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