With a lot of blowouts and ordinary games this year, it’s clear the gap between the best and the worst teams in the AFL is widening. However these issues can be resolved by simply changing the fixture format.
We can logically break the 18 teams into the best teams (Hawthorn, Fremantle, West Coast), the sides pushing up (North, Richmond, Sydney, Adelaide, Bulldogs), the sides breaking into the eight (Collingwood, Geelong, Greater Western Sydney, Gold Coast, Port Adelaide, St Kilda), and the rest (Brisbane, Essendon, Carlton, Melbourne).
The top 10 or 12 teams have season-long incentive, but what do the bottom teams have to play for? This question to me adds fuel to the argument for a 17-5 fixture.
Everyone will play each other once through the first 17 rounds. Then for the last six rounds the competition will be split into three sections – the top six, middle six, and bottom six.
The top six then play to get the best position they can in the finals, the middle six want those last two spots in the eight, and the bottom six are playing for draft picks. The first pick will get a higher chance in a lottery formatted draft.
At Round 17 of this season, the top six teams were Fremantle, West Coast, Hawthorn, Sydney, Richmond, Bulldogs.
The middle six were Adelaide, North, GWS, Geelong, Collingwood, Port.
The bottom six were St Kilda, Melbourne, Essendon, Carlton, Gold Coast, Brisbane.
The top eight at the end of the year if the teams played 17-5 fixture (according to my predictions) would have been Fremantle, West Coast, Hawthorn, Sydney, Geelong, North, Adelaide, Richmond.
This also ends with Port Adelaide being the team with the best chance at getting the number one pick, with Melbourne, Essendon, Brisbane, Carlton and the Gold Coast also in with a good chance.
This puts an emphasis on winning games, with the best chance in a lottery draft going to the team coming 13th.
Timber Tim
Guest
I like the 17-5 similar to when we used to have the 15-7 except the first 7 teams you played you ended up playing them again twice in order. They should make the TOP 6, MIDDLE 6 and BOTTOM 6 from the previous AFL season play each other twice.
ChubbzyK96
Guest
I dont know whether it will work at all... but in regards to your point, the top eight still make the finals, so the 5th place team of division 1 would play the 2nd place of division 2 and 6th v 1 in the normal McIntyre 8 system.
ChubbzyK96
Guest
Only problem would be with the VIC/SA/WA mid table teams whooping the QLD State Premiers.....
Anthony
Guest
This makes no sense. You have Richmond & the Bulldogs in the top 6 at round 17 then Richmond end up 8th & the Bulldogs don't even make the 8!!! Surely once the 3 groups are set, teams can only move around within those groups. There should be another ladder, reset at that point, for each of the 3 groups with teams within each group remaining in that group. So if one team in the top 6 loses 5 games they end up 6th. If a team in the second group wins all 6 they can finish no higher than 7th.
Ryan Buckland
Expert
I love love love this idea, and have written about it before. Will have more to say about it once the season proper is finished up.
Glen
Guest
Some good stuff here. But I say lets go two divisions - 10 per division, 2 down , 2 up. 18 game season. Final 4 in each division. Watch the fur fly in the Div 2 second semi and prelim as sides play for promotion. No dead rubbers in Div one as relegation looms. Love idea of NT and Tas in.
Having 18 teams is definitely the problem. I know it's radical and I haven't had a spare couple of months to plan it in any depth but I'd love a return to State leagues with the winners of each State's grand final going into a "Premiers League" playoff cup at the season's end. More rivalries, more home ground advantages (with clubs returning to their own venues), bring back the local feel to the game etc etc. I am truly dreaming.
Wayne
Roar Guru
1 Game of GWS v Sydney, Richmond V Essendon, Collingwood V Carlton The Fixture isn't fair. They do a weighted system that is fine. It isn't broken. Maybe having 18 teams is the problem
Milo
Roar Rookie
Its rubbish. Why should teams pushing up like WB & Richmond as you say have to play the the top five clubs in the last rounds to make the finals? There are so many other inequities like meaningless games throughout the five rounds. What about rewarding the top two? No, not a supporter. 17-5 works somewhat if (as the AFL had originally said it would do) the fixture the following season is based on the three groupings of six (post finals) playing each other twice the next year. But the AFL just couldn't quite do that as the so called blockbusters didn't always come round twice. Some thoughts on the fixture and increasing game flow: - Bring in two new teams - NT and TAS. They're footy states and the numbers will eventually add up especially with growth predicted for Northern Australia. - Reduce all lists by two players and reduce players on ground by two per team. Two new teams get first crack at delisted players but also of course draft concessions. - 20 players selected each week - 4 I/C, no sub. - Reduce interchanges to 32 over three years (64,48,32). - 19 round season - each team plays the other once and H&A alternates each year. - Only eight fewer games than today (190 - 198) and arguably better quality and certainly less meaningless - TV networks have no reason to complain. - Two byes per team played over three weeks each. - Maintain final eight - One week's break before finals - All Australian Weekend - every finals side gets a break and no more BS resting... - One week's break before GF - Brownlow Medal Weekend - increasing the GF lead up and allow extra week for injuries so teams can hopefully field best sides. - Season length is similar to today - No preferential draft picks and top 12 draft picks raffled between clubs missing finals. Could do the raffle on the AA weekend. Oh and FFS get rid of the deliberate kick out of bounds rule when the ball goes downfield and rolls over the line! Reward a good defensive kick by moving the stoppage up the ground rather than (like today) returning the ball back to the most congested part of the ground.
justinr
Guest
If it weren't for revenue issues, you could just play a 17-game season.