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Josh Gibson of North Melbourne and Jack Riewoldt of Richmond(L) react after a draw in the AFL Round 16 match between the Richmond Tigers and the North Melbourne Kangaroos at the MCG. Slattery Images
Richmond fans have had it tough this season, made worse by the squandering of a 43-point lead and having to share the points with the Kangaroos. The first draw of the season once again raises questions about the merits of extra time to decide matches, a question that deserves a proper debate.
According to Jade Rawlings, Richmond caretaker coach, “I would rather feel worse for losing or elated at winning than sitting there feeling nothing.”
The faces of the players and the MCG crowd showed that hollow feeling.
Draws in the AFL are infrequent and, perhaps as a result, truly unpleasant.
An AFL match is about hearing the victors club song after the final siren and the tribalism of the fans in the stands, celebrating or commiserating, not the emptiness of a non result, especially for Richmond and North Melbourne, neither of whom are in contention for the top eight.
They needed the experience of a win or defeat in a tight contest for their young squads, not to share two meaningless points.
What’s most disappointing is the lack of a proper debate on the merits of extra time.
The AFL intelligentsia are quick to shut down the debate by flying the flag of tradition in the face of the critics who want change.
But is it a tradition worth retaining? Why keep something that is so overwhelmingly disliked by those it impacts most, namely the teams involved and their fans?
If anything, the tradition surrounding draws is the outpouring of displeasure with the current system. The infrequency of AFL stalemates makes any arguments about fatigue or TV schedules seem irrelevant.
An extra ten minutes of play, two five-minute periods, or the like, is a simple yet effective means of deciding a match while adding extra drama to a tight contest.
Think of epic sporting contests, in a variety of codes, which have been decided in extra time. The intensity and pace of the game suits extra time. Meanwhile, comparisons with football (the round ball) home and away draws are facile.
In football, draws are a part of the fabric of the sport. They can be satisfying results for teams in a more defensively minded code and in home and away leagues that aren’t decided with a finals series, point’s accumulation takes on a different meaning.
They are two different sporting cultures.
The AFL needs a uniform way of deciding drawn matches, for home and away, finals and the Grand Final, not the current three unique ways with shared points in home and away, extra time in the first three weeks of the finals and a replay for the Grand Final.
The latter remains one of the most outdated and antiquated irregularities of Australian sport.
Tradition or not, in this professional age, to expect everyone to just turn up a week later for another go is ludicrous.
Imagine the logistical nightmare for an interstate team, not to mention for their fans.
AFL matches, especially a Grand Final, need to be decided on the day. Only then is it a proper contest.
Ask the fans who left the MCG Sunday evening and felt neither the joy of victory or the disappointment of defeat, and you’ll find overwhelming support for extra time.