While enjoying its status as the most popular sport in the country, the AFL is never stopping to admire its achievements – instead it is always striving forward in the hope of bigger and better things.
However, I believe there are certain areas where the AFL has gone down the wrong path, and thus changes need to made.
Here is my blueprint to improve the game:
1. Create a third stadium in Melbourne
Too much money is being wasted week after week by financially stricken Victorian clubs, such as the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne, who play every home game at Etihad Stadium.
This situation is detrimental to their already poor financial position as these two clubs in particular have very low crowds in comparison to the rest of the competition, and a terrible stadium deal – often resulting in a net loss for a home game.
More must be done to equalise the competition and creating a third Melbourne stadium of around 30,000 seats is perfect, and would also look much better on television than a match at Etihad Stadium which isn’t even half full.
However, I must emphasize it would be ideal if the third stadium was a redeveloped, current team training ground, such as Punt Rd or Visy Park – as mentioned in this week’s print media.
This would reduce the cost of creating the stadium, and allow the stadium to be ready for matches sooner.
2. Make a draft lottery
Over the past decade, a number of clubs have come under severe scrutiny for tanking matches late in the season in order to gain a stronger position at the national draft.
After the recent dramas involving the Demons’ tanking saga, where the club was fined $500,000 among other penalties however not convicted of tanking, the tanking issue remains a large barrier needing to be knocked on the head in order for the game’s integrity to remain strong.
My solution is to create a draft lottery, where all teams finishing outside the top eight participate, with each team having a higher or lower chance of drawing of the first three picks depending on where they finish.
Once a team is drawn they are removed from the lottery, increasing the chance for other teams to gain one of the first three picks.
After the first three picks have been drawn, the next six picks are given to the remaining six clubs (who all didn’t make the finals) based on where they finished, from highest to lowest.
The rest of the draft will continue as in previous years.
A draft lottery is a strong concept that will reduce the prevalence of tanking due to teams having no knowing advantage in the national draft, even if they finish of a low position on the ladder.
The system has worked in the NBA for a number of years now, and there is no reason why it can’t work in the AFL.
3. Expand into overseas markets
While much of Australia’s best young sporting talent are converted into AFL stars, not enough is being done to bring young athletes from overseas with enormous physical capabilities to our shores to play Australian Rules Football.
With Indonesia, China and India not far from our doorstep boasting a combined total of close to 3 billion people, the untapped talent out there is enormous and simply too good to ignore.
If the AFL wants to continue to improve the standard of the game then this is their best long term option – not to mention the massive marketing opportunities available to the league if top athletes from these countries are successful in the AFL.
INF Bell
Guest
This is a terrific blog! Keep on stating the figures, the growth and the passion, we are on a winner! INF Bell
Me Too
Guest
I'd set my sights a bit lower. Simply fix the 'draw' - make it a random draw with fairness given precedence over a system of maximizing profit - the current method simply rewards the bigger clubs both financially and in terms of match day advantage. As an example, not only did the biggest club get some 17 home games last year, they played seven of their last eight with at least a one day advantage over their opponents. And with all the rule meddling just revert the fifty metre penalty back to it fifteen - currently it's akin to getting caned by the headmaster for wearing a crooked tie.
Micky Mac
Guest
I'm intrigued to learn, Ray, that far north Queensland is AFL country. Is this 'AFL country' in the Balmain meaning of the term (supposedly 1500 juniors when there are actually much less than 200??) Given the constant stream of local League juniors who come into the NRL and Qld Cup each year as opposed to the paucity of juniors to the AFL, I'm wondering what evidence you have for this statement Ray.
Peter Wilson
Roar Guru
People in glass houses . . . http://www.theage.com.au/national/brumby-calls-talks-on-crowd-violence-20090406-9uv3.html There is violence in all sports in Australia and cricket actually has the most crowd trouble, drunken behaviour and arrests. It just depends on what the media wants to report and what angle they want to give it based on their sports bias. If channel nine and news limited want to make a front page, prime time story about someone throwing a plastic glass across a bar, then its a democracy and let them do it, but most of us understand why they do it.
The Link
Guest
Blinkers aside, incredible stats on the changes in unique attendance for sports like cricket and tennis that have decreased since in the last 15 years. Given success of Oz open tennis in that time though has tennis really gone backwards this much? Considering RL was the only sport to tear itself asunder in that period that it had any increase is not such a bad result
Nostradamus
Guest
I note the code revenue story only was a paragraph on page 25 of the Sydney herald (3rd page of business) today showing they know where their bread is buttered....
Phelpsy
Guest
I'm in qld and there is hardly any nrl ... I don't have fox
micka
Guest
Wonder if this one will pop up over on the soccer page... news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/03/25/14/36/soccer-hooligans-terrorise-restaurant So passionate about the game!!!
Australian Rules
Guest
That article is extraordinary. AFL had more revenue than the 3 other football codes combined.
Floreat Pica
Guest
Keep the number of rounds the same- just gradually add more teams. Tassie, Canberra, WA 3 for starters, NT sadly will have to wait for population growth.
Floreat Pica
Guest
Best case scenario all of the clubs have boutique home grounds again for the smaller drawing games- Kardinia, Visy, Vic, Whitten and Seaford would all provide the right sort of atmosphere and tradition to be a real boon for their respective clubs.
Redb
Roar Guru
Bang! :)
Redb
Roar Guru
Peter Wilson is actually rabid David Gallop in disguise. Ignore. :)
Nostradamus
Guest
As I say in the rugby pages , RL's share of population has decreased even though 95-96 was Super league (and their crowd numbers were shonky) but plenty watch RL on TV and those numbers will increase as they spread the game over 5 nights with no late night games...of course RL revenue should increase this year...Does it say how they measured unique spectators (by survey I guess)
TW
Guest
This article says it all about the AFL`s place in Australian sport. http://www.smh.com.au/business/afl-leaves-other-codes-in-the-dust-20130326-2grkp.html
TW
Guest
The comment by TC above that other AFL Clubs are following Hawthorns lead in NZ recruiting is spot on. The Melbourne AFL club has signed one on International Scholarship. The St Kilda club is currently checking out several athletes in Auckland right now- These are early days but the search is slowly gaining momentum. Link-- http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10873077
Anon
Guest
North seemingly had a committment from the State ALP prior to the last election regarding Ballarat - which I thought would've been great to have semi regular AFL footy in 'regional' Victoria (not putting Geelong in that category). Unfortunately - in the Kennett Liberal tradition of fortress Melbourne - a potential regional project got scuttled. North in the past I thought had the potential for something with Canberra and the Murray Kangaroos but alas that all fell away. North disappointed me becoming a bit mercenary and that's the problem with Tassie - it wasn't their preferred option - Ballarat was. So, how will it progress moving forward??
Anon
Guest
noted Matt Duffie taking a regulation overhead grab for the Storm on Thursday night for a try. The commentators wet themselves over how high he got and landing like superman.......gawd!!! They refered to how he'd been a junior high jump champion of NZ - but, no mention of his AFL-NZ pedigree. He was selected to come over for the NZ national side in the 2008 international cup but withdrew when he signed with the Storm.
Anon
Guest
Peter Wilson - when in your mind did the AFL actually start trying to grow the game overseas - - - and by that, I mean making a serious attempt. Not just playing a mickey mouse end of season exhibition game. I'd suggest it's only been over the last 4-5 years which has seen the position of international development manager established. Before that - anything was pure tokenism. btw - re govt funding - RL has accessed millions for PNG, and FFA accessed millions for the Pacific in the lead up to the FIFA WC hosting voting. AFL has access either 10s of thousands or in the case of Sth Africa hundreds of thousands. Not millions and certainly not hundreds of millions.
Australian Rules
Guest
Peter, what is growth? You measuring crowds only? If growth = revenue, then the AFL set new records last year. If growth = national TV coverage, again the AFL set new benchmarks with every game live on Pay and 4 games live into Syd/Bris. Live TV games certainly reduced the match attendances a smidge, but hey, AFL crowds are still an embarrasing 4th biggest in the world. Is this really the point you're gonna choose to bag the AFL on?