Home grounds have always provided an advantage in the AFL. Unique dimensions, crowd imbalance and the travel (or lack of) required to get to a ground create a significant advantage for home teams and an extra challenge for away teams.
The home-ground advantage is now more evident than ever. In such an even competition it is an advantage that swings games and often impacts results.
This was amplified in the 2017 finals series. After 23 rounds and four weeks of finals, can anyone definitively prove or even confidently say that one team was clearly better than all others? None of the top four teams on the ladder after Round 23 – Adelaide, Geelong, Richmond and GWS, the eventual preliminary finalists – had defeated a fellow top four team on the road at any point in the regular season, and this would continue in finals.
The team that got closest for the entire year was Geelong, taking two premiership points in a draw against the Giants in Sydney in Round 15. Apart from that encounter, every game, including finals, between any two of the preliminary finalists resulted in a win for the home team, assuming we are being realistic and counting the second qualifying final and the grand final as Richmond home games.
Additionally, of the nine finals played, eight were won by the team with the home ground advantage. What is most remarkable about this is that of these eight games, the narrowest margin was 36 points. Six finals – two-thirds of the series – were all decided by eight goals or more in favour of the home team. The only team to win a final away from its home ground in 2017 was West Coast, and it took the Eagles until after the siren in extra time to do so.
Although we should expect the home team to win the majority of games, particularly during the finals as the home team usually finished higher on the ladder, the extent to which home teams dominated in the last and most important four weeks of the year was extreme.
In every final, with the exception of West Coast’s thrilling win over Port Adelaide, the home team appeared particularly on the ball while the away team mostly looked flat and uninspiring.
(Image: AAP Image/Julian Smith)
In the first week of finals Richmond turned around a disappointing loss to a depleted Cats side in Geelong just four weeks earlier to defeat them comfortably at the MCG. In the third week the Cats recorded their second loss to the Crows at Adelaide Oval for the year despite dismantling them at Kardinia Park in Round 11.
Similarly the Giants registered their second loss to the Tigers at the MCG for the year, although they had beaten them on their home turf in Sydney. The most emphatic swing, though, was seen in the Tigers’ 48-point win over Adelaide in the grand final at the MCG, contrasting with the Crows’ whopping 76-point victory over Richmond at the Adelaide Oval in Round 6.
Geelong defied expectations twice, going in as favourites for what turned out to be a 51-point loss in what was effectively a Richmond home game before turning that around the next week against the Swans, who travelled interstate for a 59-point drubbing at the hands of the underdog Cats.
So often the venue made all the difference.
It is fair to suggest that any of the top four teams – Adelaide, Geelong, Richmond and GWS – would have held the premiership cup aloft if they had played all three finals at home. This could even be extended to the Swans, who won 14 of their last 16 games of the home-and-away season to finish sixth on the ladder. That the venue will likely determine the result of a final and ultimately the premiership is a testament to how even the top end of the competition really is.
A quick glance at the last handful of seasons will tell you that the five most recent grand finals were won by Melbourne-based clubs against interstate teams. On four of these five occasions the interstate team had finished higher on the ladder than the Melbourne-based club. With the exception of the Bulldogs in 2016, all of the winning Victorian teams in this time were MCG tenants and had significantly more experience there than their interstate opposition.
With home grounds evidently more influential than ever, it is time, if it wasn’t already, to seriously consider allowing the grand final to move away from the MCG if the higher-ranked team plays its home games elsewhere, and it’s certainly time to grant proper home finals to Geelong so that all clubs can compete in finals on a level playing field.
Cat
Roar Guru
I’m not sure you understand that short of finding a way to physically move Perth closer there is not a whole lot that can be done about it.
Stephen
Guest
Yes. I'm not sure Victorians fully appreciate how difficult it is for the 2 Perth sides to travel. Certainly Kevin Sheedy has gone on record several times suggesting - it remains the games most under-rated challenge.
Stephen
Guest
Strong argument Curtis. 'Ones greatest strength can easily become ones greatest weakness.'
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Adelaide were consistently very good all year, including the finals, except for the GF. They performed horribly on GF day. They were out-coached, they failed to stand-up to Richmond's pressure and they failed to collectively deliver. If that's due to playing interstate, then either they were poorly prepared or mentally fragile. I think it's more a case of the standard of opposition in this year's finals series was poor (relative to recent years) and Adelaide didn't experience many times throughout the season, the kind of pressure Richmond threw at them. I know you're not saying this, but I do think there can be some home ground umpiring advantages throughout the H&A season where the umpires are swayed by fervent home crowds. But I haven't seen much evidence of this during finals across many, many years, and I think that's because the best umpires are appointed to finals. Everything else is in the travelling team's control, so if they fail to perform to their usual standard then I think they can only blame themselves for being poorly prepared mentally (and give some credit to the opposition). The Doggies, for example, travelled to Perth, then back to Melbourne, then to Sydney, then back to Melbourne, four consecutive weeks against higher fancied opposition each time in 2016 yet still got the job done - because they were mentally ferocious and brought their A Game each time. Adelaide only have themselves to blame for missing an opportunity for a flag in 2017, much the same as Geelong missed a clear opportunity in 2008 when they consistently appeared to be the better team. It doesn't just happen to interstate teams.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
No it's an old trend. The best team on the day, won (each time). Simple.
Harsh Truth Harry
Roar Rookie
How would you know that exact split Cat? did you survey each person who attended?
Matto
Guest
But full of numpties
Col in paradise
Guest
Canberra is bigger !!!
FreoFan
Roar Rookie
I got my ticket to the 2013 GF via the NM Breakfast. The food was atrocious that morning unfortunately...
Pelican
Guest
Is there a difference between a flat track bully and a down hill skier? I only ask because of late people seem to refer to WCE as flat track bullies and Port as down hill skiers. I was wondering are the terms interchangeable or is there a reason for the different nomenclature?
Stephen
Guest
Point taken BigAl. The 2017 finals series had 1 close game out of 9. Which is not uncommon given percentage doesn't exist. What staggers me - are the amount of momentum shifts within games - finals or home/away. It would be most interesting to know - of the 198 home and away games played this season - how many included a run of 5 goals or more by either team? I don't understand why club psychologists don't focus on how to stop an opposition run-on. And how to maintain your own teams run-on?
BigAl
Guest
Nope ! don't want that. Wouldn't mind an adult response though...
Stephen
Guest
Cannot make it through the 'Roar free speech police'. I'll respectfully try again. My concern is the Geelong media, will continue to brainwash an unsuspecting AFL public. Sam Newman, Bill Brownless, Rebecca Madden, Craig Hutchinson, Dr Peter Larkin, Cameron Mooney, Cameron Ling (worst offender), Gerard Whateley, Jimmy Bartel, Hamish McLachlin, Liam Pickering, Dwayne Russell, Anthony Hudson etc. etc. are all GFC sympathisers. And now Steven Hocking is running AFL Operations. So all of the above will continue to brainwash the public to leverage - home finals, compensation draft picks, players being cleared from the pending MRP etc. etc. It's time to shed a little light on this mob - if I can make it through the 'Roar free speech police'. Need to talk with the owners at Conversant Media Pty Ltd.
Cat
Roar Guru
What do you want 1-0 borefests?
BigAl
Guest
The problem is BLOWOUTS !!!!! - and how to stop them ???? It's a problem that no one really wants to talk about - yet is ruining the game as a watchable contest ! Tigers BLOWN AWAY by Crows at AO - Crows BLOWN AWAY by Tigers at MCG... ???
Cat
Roar Guru
Or just too small a sample set to draw anything remotely close to accurate.
anon
Roar Pro
Seems like interstate teams face massive hurdles when they have to deal with those issues at least 10 times per year.
Fairsuckofthesav
Guest
So how do you account for Tigers 10 goal loss to the Crows At AO?
Stephen
Guest
Interesting PD. So 16 Grand Finals including a traveling team - split evenly. Yet the past 5 Grand Finals have been played and all lost by the travelling team. Is a new trend emerging?
Fairsuckofthesav
Guest
Except Crows absolutely smashed your Tigers at AO. On your logic Tigers were not a 'good team' during that part of the season. And that is where your argument falls apart.