In a two-part series, I will provide 10 random ideas discussing how to grow the AFL now and into the future. They all have an element of randomness about them, are all hopefully original and take an outside-the-box look at the AFL.
1. Points For elimination tanking
There have been so many ideas thrown around on how to eradicate tanking from the game, but all these ideas still revolve around teams being assessed by wins at the end of the season.
No matter what system is suggested, wins against losses will always play a part in the decision of who gets which draft pick.
Whenever wins against losses is going to decide a draft order, the incentive to lose will remain.
So why not take wins completely out of the equation? Instead of a team’s draft position being based on a ladder of wins and losses, why not make the draft order based on points scored. The team who scores the most points is rewarded with the number one pick.
Personal preference would be that the 10 non-finalists be assessed by points for and the eight finalists draft order be decided by final draft position after the completion of the grand final. The order is kept the same throughout each round of the draft meaning that teams that dare to score during the season are rewarded on draft day.
The flow on effect of this concept is that in a league where scoring has been negated by defensive tactics, the encouragement for attacking play is further emphasised. No longer would Melbourne’s 2014 season be seen. Instead of teams needing to play poorly to get a number one pick, the most attacking of teams are rewarded with a number one pick.
Indeed the only way to eradicate tanking is to remove wins and losses from the equation. This system is controversial, it is random, but it would work.
2. Father-Son for one game
If the AFL decides to modify its conditions on how father-son (and academy) picks are assessed, surely part of this modification should make it that simply playing one game for an AFL club makes a son eligible to join that club.
It is a refreshing part of the AFL that family legacy is given the chance to continue and realistically there should be no bounds on how many games a player plays if both father and son want a legacy to continue.
Now if the much discussed points system comes into place, it really should not matter how many games a father played. If a player is an outstanding junior prospect a club is going to have to pay for the right to draft that son.
How clubs assess potential father son picks is at the discretion of the club now and if one element of the system is going to be relaxed so to should the games played condition.
Random yes, positive change yes.
3. Six interstate trips per year
One of the real bug bears of interstate fans is the lack of travel from the powerful Victorian clubs. Travel between Victorian clubs can vary, but no travel burden comes close to the clubs based outside the AFL’s heartland.
One way in which the AFL could make a positive change is by having every Victorian based club travel six times per year.
This ensures that every club should travel to each football state at least once each year and also evens up the travel kilometres that each club does do. With a high percentage of Victorian clubs now playing interstate anyway, it really should be easy enough with some creative fixture making to get an even spread for each team.
For the non-Victorian clubs knowing that each team is travelling at least six times ensures the gap between six and ten trips which interstate teams do is getting towards more equitable. Random to hear, but if equity is what this league wants to be then this idea helps.
4. Thursday night football each week
It works for fans who get the weekend a day early, it works for players who get a full weekend break after the game, it works for broadcasters who get another primetime time slot for a game and it should be actively being worked by the league.
By again getting creative with the bye structure and having two or four teams on bye over most weeks of the AFL season it would be easy to be able to fixture a Thursday night match every week. This also gives the chance for the AFL to give primetime chances to all clubs without affecting the marquee blockbuster that Friday night football has become.
Every team could be guaranteed at least one home match on Thursday night which ensures that there is no ongoing convenience to fans of all ages, Thursday night games will be like one offs for clubs each season.
On top this, it also allows a timeslot in northern markets which rugby has yet to reach. If the four northern state teams were to have an additional match of two it would be a way to grow the game in these markets.
It seems a random night to become the big night of footy, but again random can be good.
5. A proper season launch
The current AFL season launch falls well short of the spectacle that it could and really fails to generate the hype that a new season could. A great way to create a proper season launch would be to use the last week before the season commences to build up to the first game with a series of events especially around Melbourne.
Why not have the last pre-season round of games all be held in Melbourne, ensuring that all 18 clubs spend the last weekend before the season in the Victorian capital. Sunday night could be dedicated to a hall of fame evening such as the one that is seen in the NFL which receives widespread praise every year.
Couple this with fan engagement activies like the AFL uses in the lead up into the grand final and it would be a great way to launch the season. Treating the AFL season like a big deal should not be a random thought and making the most of the hype is the way to go.
Max
Guest
Pushing an opposing player in the front after the opposing player has made a mistake or been penalised for holding the ball - unsportsmanlike conduct a la the NFL
old mate
Roar Rookie
I'd suggest the following 1. Cap the interchange at 40. Yes 10 per quarter. The interchange is being used as a tactic - what sport wants that? There was an average of 38 interchange movements in 2003 and there was nothing wrong with footy then, in fact it was pretty good. Get on to it AFL. 2. Get rid of away jumpers Some teams have home jumpers and away jumpers, some teams have home jumpers, away jumpers and clash jumpers, some teams have home jumpers and clash jumpers. Get rid of the away jumper, they are almost all rubbish. Have teams in their traditional 'home' jumper as much as possible - this helps the casual fan who flicks on the telly to identify a team, not 'who is this team in white?' If there is a genuine clash - and a don't hold much value in the AFL's assessment of what is a clash - then the away team must wear something that doesn't clash. But don't start with the jumper look a the socks and the shorts first change them and then look at the jumper. 3. White shorts for away teams Get rid of them, not relevant any more. Dress the teams in uniforms that avoid clashes, if this means one team wears white shorts - as either the home team or away then so be it, if it means both teams wear coloured shorts so be it. Away teams wore coloured shorts against the Gold Coast Suns last year - if you can do it against one team you can do it against others. And white shorts are not traditional because in 1897 all teams wore black shorts, white shorts for away teams wasn't introduced until 4. Fix the MRP Collect footage of every suspendable incident in the last 5 years. Categorise and assign a number of weeks penalty to each offence, ie striking to the body - 2 weeks, striking to the head - 4 weeks. Something happens on the weekend, watch the incident compare to the categories to work out where it fits and assign the set weeks. Done. No carry over points, no reductions for early guilty plea, no good behaviour - nothing. Simple. And start suspending blokes for diving. Suspend 1 player for 1 week and the problem is eliminated. 5. Consistent start times Game start times are all over the place. 7.50pm on a Friday night, but 7.20pm on a Saturday night. One that annoys me is Saturday afternoon games start at 1.45pm (or 2.10pm sometimes) but on Sunday start at 1.10pm. And this year it gets worse, Saturday twilight at 4.35pm, Sunday twilight at 4.40pm. Bah! how is anyone able to easily predict when a match starts. AFL pick your start time for each timeslot - afternoon, twilight and night and apply them consistently please!
IanW
Guest
Philly in the NBA has comprehensively proved that that wont stop tanking.
Freycinet1803
Roar Rookie
I personally don't like your first idea ... it won't work, and really I dislike the AFL's preference for an attacking game, as it neglects tactics, different player types and the true "test" of a game (via interchanges). My alternative for the draft is that coming last doesn't guarantee first pick, instead all teams are put into a "hat" and drawn. However, the lower ranked teams are given a greater chance of being picked first (either through two/three "hats", or having more "balls" in the "hat", so increasing their chances). Or something along those lines anyway.
Freycinet1803
Roar Rookie
I like capping the interchange at less. I think this really tests the stamina of a player and actually makes it more of a test for players. The only problem is that the AFL wants to make the game more of a spectacle than actually a "test" for players. It is no longer about the competition but the spectacle, at least for the AFL.
Avatar
Roar Guru
Collingwood's strong commercial value has earned them games in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sydney (against the Swans), Adelaide (against Port) and Perth (against Fremantle) this season. Last year they travelled to Sydney twice, each nearly bookending their season (they played the Swans in Round 2 and then GWS in Round 22). I was fortunate enough to go to the GWS vs Collingwood game late last year and while it wasn't a full house at Spotless Stadium, the atmosphere was electric (as you would expect in any Collingwood interstate game). It was the biggest GWS home crowd for the year only behind the Round 1 Sydney Derby. Essendon and Carlton not travelling to Adelaide at all this season is IMO the biggest anomaly in this year's fixture.
Steve J
Roar Guru
A fixture in which Collingwood has to got play each interstate team away would blow Eddie's gasket!
Avatar
Roar Guru
"One of the real bug bears of interstate fans is the lack of travel from the powerful Victorian clubs." Some points to make from that statement: of the Victorian clubs: * Essendon and Carlton don't have to travel to Adelaide this season; * Geelong, Hawthorn and Melbourne all don't play in Queensland at all; * Melbourne avoids Sydney but still has to play GWS in Canberra in round two. Some will say that Melbourne don't have to travel as much as the other Victorian clubs due to their poor commercial brand. This season, they'll have home games against all of the interstate clubs except for the Adelaide Crows, while North Melbourne is the only Victorian club that won't have a home game against Melbourne in 2015. As well as all that, I also think the AFL should re-introduce the concept of State of Origin, with teams from Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the Allies (rest of Australia). This could replace the current NAB Challenge, or be held between the end of the season and the AFL draft.
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
How about less random ideas?
Go for it!
Guest
Cut the players on the field to 16 that will soon cut out the rugby style mauls
Go for it!
Guest
Good Friday footy and a Night Grand Final would a couple of easy changes the AFL could make to improve crowds and TV ratings.At least 4 North Melb games a year in Hobart after all it is the capital and twice as big as Launceston.
Steve J
Roar Guru
Bring back a single zone selection that like father son, can be bid on by other clubs. So Freo or West Coast could have zoned over the past few years Jack Martin or Jaeger O'Maera or Stephen Coniglio or Jesse Hogan or Harley Bennell ..... instead of never being in with a chance of getting the best local talent Maybe this will increase the strength of Victorian Clubs as their zones would have more players than say Queensland, but the Sydney academy players seem to have done well this year for the Swans. From this most recent draft West Coast and Fremantle could have had first options on Garlett or Pickett, while the Lions could have had Cockatoo (NT zone?). North Melbourne and Hawthorn might get a share of Tasmania while they are committed there, while the Cats and Doggies strengthen the ir ties with their communities. I like the idea of teams always having a flavour of players from their region.
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
absolutely bring on Good Friday Football. There is no valid reason why a game cannot be scheduled on this day when any other day on the calendar is good to go. If it does go ahead then I think North Melbourne deserve to be the home team against a team of their choosing as they have been doing the ground work for this fixture for a long time and the powerful VIC Clubs do not need another prime time slot on the calendar to showcase their club.
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
Father-Son recruits should remain at 100 games played by the father so at least he has some sort legacy at the Club. 1 game at a club is just crazy. I don't want to preempt your coming articles but a few things that could make your list: 1. The Green Vest - get rid of it. Possibly the worst introduction of a rule in the AFL and has done nothing to add to the game other than players sitting around for 3 quarters trying to keep warm for their 20min cameo. A substitute vest does not belong in the AFL. 2. Cap the interchange at 100. That makes 25 changes per quarter. Players will not be able to do what is currently happening and play in 5 minute bursts and then run off for a breather, a drink and a rub down. They will need to be fit but this will add another element to their game about being smarter on the ground of when and where to run, not simply sprinting their lights out knowing a guaranteed rest is on the way. It will further reward teams that have elite disposal skills. 3. Remove the "Greater" from the Giants name. Western or West Sydney is what this club should of been named from the beginning. How this has not been rectified yet is beyond me.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Good Friday football.
Perry Bridge
Guest
The main vote against Thursday nights is for fantasy footy players - it gets fairly tricky keeping on top of everything before the round lock out.
Andy_Roo
Roar Guru
1) Base it on percentage. There are two way to improve your percentage, attack better or defend better. Encourages a more balanced team & strategy development. 2) Reduce the father/son qualification but not down to one game. The father needs to have been a long servant or star player for the legacy to have any meaning. 3) Some VIC clubs (Hello Eddie) have it too good, so some minimum travel requirements would be a good idea. 4) Thursday night game in Sydney last year got 44k attendance. Should be a winner if game starts earlier, i.e. 6pm & 1hr delayed telecast. 5) Launching entirely in Melbourne would alienate the other states.
mds1970
Roar Guru
Like Gecko said, a system like point 1 would keep a bottom team at the bottom for longer. And while I appreciate the idea is about trying to incentivise throwing caution to the wind and going for all-out attack; it would disadvantage the development of defensive players. I do like the other points, especially 3, 4 and 5. Point 4 is easily implemented without subjecting teams to 5-day breaks. You have two byes in a season for each club, rolling with two teams having the bye in each round except for the first & last few rounds. The teams that have the bye one week play Thursday night the next - so every team will have two Thursday night games, one home and one away. That ensures that timeslot, which won't be great for crowds but is great for TV exposure, is evenly spread for everyone - in a way that Friday nights, public holiday blockbusters etc are not.
Gecko
Guest
Cam I suspect the flow-on effect from your first idea above would be that cellar dweller teams stay in the cellar longer. I think the draft should be based on the ladder at the end of round 18 (or thereabouts) so the last few rounds offer no inducement for tanking. Your ideas 2,3 and 5 sound good.