Shaun Higgins of the Western Bulldogs marks in front of Nick Riewoldt of St Kilda. Slattery Images
Don’t get me wrong, I can not wait to watch some of the footy on offer in this upcoming Rivalry Round, but I just wonder if cramming a bunch of genuine blockbusters into 48 hours is the best way to go about it.
Talking to colleagues and friends this week and browsing online forums yesterday, people appear to be getting very excited about this weekend’s footy.
And so they should be. There’s some wonderful games of footy on.
The brilliant thing about the round is its attraction extends beyond localised derbies and rivalries, with genuine interest coming from all over the nation in some of the blockbusters such as Collingwood versus Carlton or the Western Bulldogs against St Kilda.
Also the AFL will celebrate the fact that Rivalry Round, which has formally existed since 2003, typically draws in massive crowds.
In fact, during last year’s Rivalry Round over 240,000 Melbournians (roughly six per cent of the city’s population) attended the footy within 48 hours.
That incredible statistic, though, reflects my point.
The fans genuinely want to attend these rivalry games, naturally to claim their bragging rights over their enemy first-hand and the day becomes quite the occasion.
But often on these occasions, a lot of the other fixtures get lost on us.
In effect, we’re spoilt for choice during Rivalry Round and tend to neglect some pretty decent matches. It seems a shame to waste such intriguing fixtures.
For example, this Saturday night will see a fixture clash of two genuine crackers with a fierce contest expected when Essendon play Hawthorn in Melbourne, while at the same time there’s a top of the table clash between Sydney and Brisbane with the added spice of Daniel Bradshaw facing the side he walked out on for the first time.
Sure, there’s timeslot clashes every week, but given it is Rivalry Round (essentially a round of blockbusters) maybe something could be done in advance.
On that note, Anzac Day last weekend offered up a rare treat from the AFL, with the scheduling of a triple header which would have delighted any armchair fan.
You wonder if there couldn’t be something similar applied to Rivalry Round to avoid these timeslot clashes given each game has genuine substance to it which makes footy fans across the nation keen to tune in.
Perhaps even a stand-alone Monday night fixture (ala the NRL) could do the trick.
Sure, it is hard to argue against the Rivalry Round crowds which are usually huge but isn’t the attraction of these games natural?
Indeed, I’m all for keeping the Rivalry Round as an annual weekend but rather than spoiling the fans for choice, wouldn’t it be nicer to spread it around and enjoy it all for what it’s worth?
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