Yesterday’s AFL coaches survey produced some curious results, whilst showing there’s some fairly divided opinion about the direction Aussie Rules should go when Gold Coast and Greater West Sydney join the competition. In an interesting development, seven AFL coaches voted they felt a season of 17 rounds would be best when the league becomes an 18-team competition in 2012.
Six coaches wanted the season’s length to remain the same, while three voted for an increase in rounds of footy.
But given the current issue about player injuries and the speed and demands of the modern game, an increase in fixtures probably seems to be a move in the wrong direction.
Plus it would likely result in the death of the traditional Grand Final on the final Saturday of September, with the season being expanded into October, which is opposed by many.
On the other hand, retaining the status quo with 22 rounds of footy appears a fixturing nightmare, with clubs to play only five other teams twice.
Under such a system, though, a club’s draw could easily dictate the success of their season. Considering the AFL has a salary cap and a draft to ensure a level playing field, such a system would be appear quite contradictory.
So the logical solution, as suggested by the coaches (and the ever-opinionated Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett), is a season comprising of 17 rounds.
As pointed out on the AFL website, American Football’s NFL employs a similar season length, given the demands of their game. Plus it provides a level playing field with all clubs facing each other once.
The problem, though, would be the loss of footy matches, which ultimately generate a lot of the revenue made in the game.
Under the current system, the AFL has 185 matches per season, including the finals series.
Under a 17-round system in 2012 with 18 clubs and a top eight finals system, the AFL would have 162 games.
A loss of 23 games per season would be a major setback to the coffers of clubs around Australia as well as the AFL.
Clubs would host fewer games, memberships would have to be cheaper, TV deals reduced, etc.
So the most logical idea to try and limit the loss of games, would be an expanded finals series, effectively ending the top eight system’s existence.
At yesterday’s survey, one coach even suggested a finals series comprising 10 to 12 teams which appears ridiculously radical. The majority of the coaches (ten to be precise) said they wanted the top eight to remain.
Indeed, since the inception of McIntyre System in 2000, the top eight has developed into an excellent, fair and exciting method to ascertain the AFL’s premier club for a given year.
The Roar’s Luke D’Anello wrote a good piece last month reiterating that point, that the top eight must stay.
That’s not to say a top 10 or top 12 couldn’t develop an exciting format, but the concept of more than 50 per cent of the clubs making the finals seemed flawed. It rewards mediocrity and devalues the finals.
But with a logical 17-round season for 2012 and beyond, unfortunately an expanded finals series seems the only solution.
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