Let’s be honest: the AFL season fixturing is unfair and a disgrace to the ideals of a fair and even competition. How can you fit 18 teams into the 22-24 round parameters preferred by the AFL and not have unevenness in the draw?
My fixture guide solves the problem and could be the way forward for the AFL.
We first have to understand the parameters when trying to come up with a new fixture. Obviously the fairest solution for all 18 clubs would be to have a play-once competition with 17 rounds or play-twice home-and-away competition with 34 rounds.
Unfortunately, both scenarios are not viable for the AFL who have expressed an unmovable desire to have a 22-24 game home-and-away regular season.
There are other factors that have to be addressed. The issue of big marquee games such as the yearly ANZAC clashes and various local derbies have to be retained as much as possible.
The current fixture system is currently unfair for a number of reasons. Some clubs get ‘easier’ draws by playing the lowly sides more often. Some clubs receive receive a disproportional number of interstate away matches. Meanwhile the whole tanking situation by the lower clubs adds yet another dilemma.
My AFL fixture provides a 23-game home-and-away regular season. The 23-game number begins with Stage One of the home-and-away season (rounds 1-17). During this period, every team plays each other once.
We then move on to Stage Two of a further six rounds of matches where teams play three games at home and three away to complete the end of the 23-game home and away regular season.
The contentious issue of who plays whom and where is finally resolved in my fixture.
As of this week, we have arrived at the end of round 18 in the AFL 2012 season.
In the below table all the clubs are listed in ladder order. They have been divided into four groups (top four; 5th-8th; 9th-14th; and bottom four).
1. Sydney
2. Hawthorn
3. Adelaide
4. Collingwood
5. West Coast
6. Geelong
7. Essendon
8. North Melbourne
9. Fremantle
10. St Kilda
11. Carlton
12. Richmond
13. Brisbane
14. Port Adelaide
15. Western Bulldogs
16. Melbourne
17. Gold Coast
18. GWS
The group represented at the bottom (teams 15-18 after round 17) become officially relegated for the remainder of the season and cannot make the finals.
These bottom four clubs proceed play to each other twice, once home and once away, for a total six games until they complete their 23-game season.
This scenario provides these clubs with valuable end-of-season competitive matches against each other. It also gives these clubs the chance to blood kids and the supporters six winnable matches to look forward to at the end of the season.
Pushing the bottom four clubs into their own round-robin fixture also protects the integrity of the competition as tanking would become a non-issue.
Clubs above them would not benefit unfairly by playing matches against bottom four clubs in their race for important top-eight positions on the ladder. Also, imagine the sheer excitement as we approach round 17 and we have several clubs desperately trying to avoid getting relegated.
For the rest of the competition, everyone is alive. Teams from first to 14th after the completion of round 17 will undergo an important ballot/lottery system of selecting their fixture list for the remaining six matches.
The idea is to ensure the most even fixture list for all clubs, thus matches played in those last 6 rounds are divided equally, with every team playing the same amount of matches against teams in the top four, fifth to eighth and ninth to 14th.
For the top four, the six remaining matches would look like this: one match against a fellow top-four team, two matches against any two of the 5th-8th placed team and three matches against any three of the teams from the 9th-14th group.
These six matches reward the top four team for finishing at the top by having to play only one more match in the season against a fellow top four side.
Obviously all the six matches in this phase of the season will be played at the venue opposite to the corresponding fixture earlier in the season.
For teams in the bottom half of the top eight after round 17, their remaining matches would involve two matches against any two of the top four, one match against another team in their group and three matches against any three out of the 9th-14th placed teams.
For the teams between ninth and 14th, their six matches will consist of two matches against any two of the top four teams and two matches against any two of the teams finishing fifth-eighth. They will alo play two matches against teams in their own group.
The advantage of this fixturing format is clear. It creates an extremely even competition for every club and provides the AFL with an exciting Stage Two of the regular season. Importantly for the league, it also provides the necessary amount of games (23).
The details and the exact method of lottery and selection of Stage Two fixtures will still need to be ironed out. There might perhaps even be the capacity to preselect preferences at this stage, giving preference for interstate teams to draw its derby rival at the ballot.
I can see it unfold in my mind’s eye.
It is Sunday night and the last match of round 17 in the AFL 2013 season has just finished. We cross live to a TV special where the ballot/lottery for Stage 2 of the AFL season will be held.
Every player, every coach, every club administrator and every fan will be on the edge of their seat as the draw is read out and teams find out who they are playing in the last six games of the season.
The excitement and suspense would thrill everyone but the main satisfaction would be the knowledge that finally the AFL regular season will be as fair and even as possible.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
Not a single Swan acknowledged Sam Wicks' second goal against Hawthorn on Sunday, with the apparent snub coming after he was left out of…
Former Adelaide captain Rory Sloane has been forced into immediate retirement by the threat of further eye damage. Sloane, 34, had a second bout…
"You can't push forward with Zac Williams in the short-term... you've got to set standards."
Kane Cornes has hit back at suggestions Aliir Aliir had some responsibility in being concussed in Jack Higgins' dangerous tackle, which saw the Saint…
The MRO handed the Bulldogs player a one-game suspension for rough conduct after his shepherd on Fremantle opponent Brandon Walker.
With the national competition, the premiership-winning coach says some games it was hard to feel the occasion such as ANZAC Round - and it's…
