The AFL has used its current finals format since 2000, and the final eight system has been there since 1994.
The MacIntyre system was introduced with 15 teams and progressed with 16 teams, following Fremantle’s entry in 1995, before Gold Coast Sun entered as the 17th team in 2011 and Greater Western Sdyney became the 18th in 2012.
The current finals format gives protection to the top four teams whereby it gives them a double bite of the cherry. Since 2014, teams finishing third or fourth have gone out in straight sets. In 2014, Geelong and Fremantle were knocked out in straights sets, Sydney in 2015, as well as Hawthorn in both 2016 and 2018.
This year, the middle tier teams have been very close, with nothing separating the teams from 7th to 12th. In terms of playing finals, the one team that carries the momentum will win four times in a row to win the premiership – something the Western Bulldogs did in 2016.
The current home-and-away season actually kills the bottom teams, as they are waiting for the season to finish without anything to play for.
Based on the current finals system it is time to make a study and comes out with the new proposal to rejuvenate the competition.
Format A
Teams play each other once, except for one opponent who they will play twice. There will be a total of 18 rounds. Currently, there are five matches where a team plays someone they’ve already played, and there are bound to be complaints of teams getting easier fixtures. There is no mid-year bye; the bye will only be on one week before the finals.
Is it time for a new finals format? (AAP Image/David Mariuz)
The top eight will still qualify for finals, but there will be no more double chance. The top team can still lose to the eighth and got out on the first week. The matches will be; 1 vs 8, 4 vs 5, 3 vs 6 and 2 vs 7. The finals will be a best-of-three for each fixture, with the higher ranked team playing the first leg at home, the second leg away and the third leg home – if required.
The quarters will be 15 minutes instead of the usual 20. For each final, there will be no draws, with a five-minute tiebreak to end the deadlock. The grand final, however, will be a one-match playoff with the usual 20-minute quarters.
For this format to succeed, the premiership team will be playing seven finals, with a total of 25 matches maximum. Teams in the finals will have a minimum of two matches, and players for each team will be looking at an 18-25 match season instead.
Format B
The 18 teams will split into three zones of six teams each. Each team in the same zone will play each other twice (10 matches) and the other teams in different zones once for total of 10 matches. It will be a 20 matche home-and-away season.
Each zone can be drawn depending on demographics, or the previous season’s rankings. There will be a mid-season bye as well.
The finals will still be an eight-team series. It will still be; 1 vs 8, 4 vs 5, 3 vs 6, 2 vs 7. This time, the first and second team will be given a double chance. If eighth upsets first in the home leg (at eighth’s home stadium), they will need to win the away leg (at first’s home stadium) as well. Same goes with 2 vs 7.
The other ties will still be settled over one match and the grand final will be a one-match fixture at the MCG.
For this format, the maximum number of matches will be seven if the seventh or eighth-ranked team wins all the way. Players will be playing for the maximum of 27 matches season, however, the playing time for the finals will again be 15-minute quarters instead of the usual 20 minutes.
More finals – more fun? (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Format C
There will be two groups of nine teams each. Each group will play each other twice, for a total of 16 matches, plus matches against two of the other group teams. The home-and-away season will, therefore, have a total of 18 matches.
Four teams in each group will qualify for the finals. A1 vs B4, B2 vs A3, A4 vs B1, A2 vs B3 – again with the best of three format. The grand final will be a one-match format at the neutral venue. The higher rank team plays at home first, away second, and, if necessary, at home for the decider.
There will be a minimum of two final matches and a maximum of seven final matches should team go all the way. With this format, the pros of competition will still be intense leading to the finals as each group will have a close to 50 per cent chance of making the finals.
Please assess and give your proposals on the following and I may tweak it better to make the competition more interesting.
Anthony (Tony) O'Mahony
Guest
Make three conferences - A (top 6); B (mid 6); and C (low 6), based on prior year 18-team ladder. Teams play 'inter-conference' (once against each team) for 12 games at 4 pts per win; as well as 'intra-conference' (twice against each team) for 10 more games at 2 pts per win. After a 22-game schedule per team (and with pts-weighted balance), the top 8 in the 18-team combined ladder still make the currents 'Finals 8'. Reset the conferences (top 6, mid 6, low 6) for the following year.
Tim
Guest
Get to the last 12 quickly. 17 weeks, play each other once. Then a round robin finals series over 5 weeks. 1st 3rd 5th 7th 9th 11th play each other once at ground opposite to first 17 games. Same for 2nd 4th 6th 8th 10th 12th. Consolation games round robin for 13th to 18th. Top 4 from each pool then play off. A1 v B4, A2 vB3, A3 vB3 & A4 v B1. Next week highest loser A plays lowest winner B and vice versa. Highest winner from A & B have week off. Then prelims and GF.
Papa Joe
Roar Rookie
Kudos for putting something out there, but brickbats for the suggestions. You are flogging a dead horse with no legs with those suggestions, and to be honest with any suggestions. So this debate is going nowhere - so I guess very similar to most other debates here. But I'll put forward an alternative dead horse, just to acknowledge your efforts. The main issue with the current AFL fixtures is the inequity of playing some teams twice and others only once. Some teams therefore inevitably get an easier draw; which the AFL try to ameliorate by giving the bottom teams in the previous year the easier draw. Any revised fixture should address this. My dead horse: Rounds 1-17 - play each other team once (can still have the bye); Rounds 18-22 - qualifying fixtures. Top six play each other (Group A); mid six play each other (Group B); bottom six play each other (Group C). Gets rid of the late-season blowouts. Points and % gained add to points/%s from 1-17 fixtures. At the end of Round 22, the top five of Group A become the top five for the finals. The bottom two of Group B are finished and the bottom five of Group C are finished. In the bye round before the finals, A6 plays C1; B1 plays B4 and B2 plays B3. And the three winners fill the 6th, 7th and 8th spots for the finals - in accordance with their finishing position at the end of round 22. So if A6 wins, they are 6th and if C1 wins they become 8th. And the finals stay as they are. Gets rid of the current inequitable draw, makes nearly all the end season games meaningful and close and still sticks with a 22/23 round fixtures. Would create a fixturing and ground allocation challenge at the end of round 17 though. Would also mean only teams in the top six at round 17 could make the top four, which is problematical, though arguably fair because every team would have played each other once at that point. But as I said earlier, I think this is a dead horse with no legs.
Jonesracing82
Guest
The Finals system in the AFL is perfect & there no need to change it.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
What he said. As soon as I read the first proposal of having a best of three in a finals game, I stopped reading. That's never going to happen in the AFL.
Ben
Guest
None. Keep it the way it is