With two games remaining in the 2015-16 EPL season, a Tottenham/Chelsea draw saw Leicester complete the greatest sporting shock of all time to win the Premier League.
It is an amazing achievement that cannot be taken away. However, after watching a reported 120,000 people celebrate with their team, would it have been more of an achievement if they had won a grand final? Conversely, what would the AFL look like if the top team was awarded the premiership?
The last couple of games in the Premier League allowed Leicester to prolong the celebration, to embrace fans both at home and in London (during the final game versus Chelsea), and finally have the ultimate party back at home after the season has been completed.
However, would their name be further etched into history from winning a big game at Wembley after a hard fought finals series, or the fact that the competition is a war of attrition and they only lost three games?
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The way the AFL system is designed, the top eight teams at the end of the home-and-away season will play off over the course of four weeks to eventually find a winner. There are 23 rounds plus four more games until the AFL crown the deserving winners.
The excitement this has created since its inception in 2000 causes a great build up to the final game, as well as allowing a well-deserved week off to the teams (within the top four) that win in the first round of the finals.
Then finally, the stage is set at the ‘G. The controversial public holiday is in place, ticker-tape parade through the streets of Melbourne and then the ball is bounced. It’s a brilliant weekend and even those who oppose the game of AFL, get sucked into picking a team and supporting someone (normally the underdog).
Alternate history is a genre of fiction that allows the author to diverge a story away from the reality. In this instance, what would have happened over the past ten years, if the AFL had adopted the Premier League system of a minor premiership, is the major premiership?
Year Minor premiers Grand final winners
2005 Adelaide Sydney
2006 West Coast West Coast
2007 Geelong Geelong
2008 Geelong Hawthorn
2009 St Kilda Geelong
2010 Collingwood Collingwood
2011 Collingwood Geelong
2012 Hawthorn Sydney
2013 Hawthorn Hawthorn
2014 Sydney Hawthorn
2015 Fremantle Hawthorn
Four teams in the past ten years have had the honour of being crowned the minor premiers and then have gone onto win the grand final. It certainly presents a compelling story that a finals series can be a whole new ball game.
The 2005 season saw Adelaide finish on top (by percentage), only to lose the first final to St Kilda, win the second but have to travel to West Coast and eventually lose. 2011 saw Collingwood dominate the season with only three loses, with one of them being the grand final.
Could the AFL adopt the Premier League system? Culturally it couldn’t. It is so engrained in our society that we as supporters love the smell of a finals series. Even the A-League followed suit rather than adopting the system of their football cousin.
Financially it couldn’t work either. If, like the Premier League, the season was already wrapped up with a few games to go, imagine the fickle crowds that would go to the game, tune into the TV, and consider the current media rights agreement.
Most of all, consider some of the ‘tanking’ – sorry, player management – strategies that would be employed by clubs.
No, the AFL format has it right. Despite the un-evenness of the draw, the 23 rounds build suspense and creates a narrative for all supporters and when it boils down to that one day in September.
smell the fear
Guest
there is the league cup as well
smell the fear
Guest
thank you exalted one, you show those egg ballers
Brian
Guest
The EPL is irrelevant but I would like to see the AFL minor premierss given more recognition. FYI the NFL "equates" over four years. Hardly "fair" considering the time frame.
JohnDee
Guest
"The AFL Minor Premiership is the best team in the home and away season, which is obviously the best team over the season. Maybe that is a little beyond your comprehension." Well, no, that's just not correct. Sure, at a shallow level, the team that finishes on top of the ladder may appear to be the best side for the season; however the only obvious thing is that the team on top has won the most games, or has a better percentage than other teams with the same W/L record. When you take into account how uneven the fixture is, it's not as "obvious" as you make out. If the season was extended to 34 rounds, with each team playing one another at home and away, then this statement would be accurate.
mattatooski
Roar Rookie
The Brisbane lions would not have a premiership in 01,02,or 03 in that case. As a lions supporter, thank God we have grand finals.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
In fact many overseas soccer competitions learned what Australians first learned 125 years ago, and that is that finals series are exciting. One by one, various soccer leagues around the world have been introducing various types of play-offs for this and that, for the exact same reason Australians started using finals 125 years ago. Some in England have even talked openly about deciding the Premiership on the basis of a finals series. It's unlikely to happen, but clearly, for it to be put on the agenda means Australian Football has been doing something pretty good for 125 years now. The Rest of the World can be pretty slow to catch on, but I always say, let us not stoop to the level of the rest of the world, let us raise the standards of the rest of the world.
Punter
Guest
Well if you have the ability to understand, the league is the ultimate in each country, the champions league or as you call it the European cup, is the best team in all Europe. a totally different competition.
13th Man
Guest
Hmm, well as much as I wished it was the case last year (as Freo would have won the premiership, and it looks like a long time before that might happen now), I still prefer the finals series. The EPL has FA Cup, relegation etc and a fair fixture where every team plays every one twice. This works for them but wouldn't work for us. Fans turn up even when there is nothing to play for, unlike many AFL fans (including plenty of Freo fans I know). The EPL also gets enough revenue without a 'finals series' whereas the finals series is AFL's big money spinner. It's also just that finals are so exciting. That one Saturday in September (or October...) is Australia's superbowl, it's the biggest event in this country I reckon. You can't get rid of that!!!
Perry Bridge
Guest
So AFL into EPL structure - 34 round season with no finals. The EPL is overly long. It's tedious. Leicester may have only outright lost 3 matches but they only won 23. They drew 12. It's hard work sitting through all of that. A 34 round AFL season with no fight to avoid relegation and no top 4 qualifying for the 'Champions League' is all a little too much of the one dimension. The EPL is a foundation competition - around it are players going off for national duties, the FA Cup (which works to a pinnacle game), and champions leagues etc. The AFL has it's dimensional variety by virtue of being a qualification process for the finals series. And finishes with the best 8 days of the season....the best day(s) is prelim final weekend and the GF is a ripper if your team wins.
Brian
Guest
The only viable model would be Play 17 Rounds with each team playing each other once Then the top 8 play another 7 rounds Top 2 play GF.
me too
Guest
how is that mess of a reply in anyway indicative of my post being Wrong!!!!!?
Rilo
Guest
Finals matches are ingrained here in Australia but the minor premier should get a bigger advantage in the finals. A-league has this right where the minor premier gets the home grand final if they qualify, but NRL and AFL have the GF in Sydney / Melbourne regardless.
Don Freo
Guest
As long as you are not waiting for WA to SUCCEED. We have already done that. Even the Dockers would have a Premiership if this article had its way.
spruce moose
Guest
Go one step further for point 3...it provides teams who are ordinarily no chance of making Europa qualification by league standing the opportunity to snatch a spot. in the past 4 years, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Hull and Wigan have made the final, with Wigan pulling off the unlikely.
harry houdini
Roar Rookie
There was no way it would have ever gone ahead, BTW you can thank or blame all the eastern state mainly Victorian gold miners who wanted Goldfields separation from WA but ultimately voted for WA to join the Federation.
bilo
Guest
Wouldn't a more relevant question be: Should the A-League adopt the EPL format?
Pope Paul VII
Guest
There was an ANFC - Championship of Australia where the VFL winner played another state winner - usually SANFL. Last one was 1976. Anyway a pox on conferences. My only premiership of any sort ( cricket ) was stolen. Sorta. After romping home by miles in our own div we had to play another mob in another div. Of course, everything went pear shaped.
The Bush
Roar Guru
They did. The Poms ignored it in the '30s so now we're stuck with them...
Simoc
Guest
You don't understand it at all. The EPL have the FA Cup which is like the finals series except the top teams get a second chance here. The AFL Minor Premiership is the best team in the home and away season, which is obviously the best team over the season. Maybe that is a little beyond your comprehension. The Grand Final is what Australia does in sports, as we copy everything the Americans do, being brown noses here. We know no other way. The best team on Grand Final day is the winner in the media. It's about entertainment theatre and money. And it is well done and liked so no reason to change.
Ol' Salt
Guest
Short answer no, but it's an answer that can be taken with a grain of salt because I'm one of those weirdos that wants to see the AFL draw up a conference system.