The AFL’s current final-eight system was introduced nearly 20 years ago, and although the league would be guilty of adding another Americanised element into our national game, two wildcard positions and the addition of a standalone wildcard round during the bye week before the finals must be considered in the near future.
There’s a total of 18 teams in the AFL with the inclusion of two new expansion clubs in the last decade, which gives sides less than a 50 per cent chance of making the finals. The AFL is also getting more professional year by year and more money is getting poured into the competition, thus applying more pressure onto each team to achieve at very least a finals spot.
The word ‘finals’ may be one of the most important words to an AFL club and coach. Just recently Fremantle’s Ross Lyon lost his position as head coach, the and the reason given for his sacking was that he hasn’t led Fremantle to the finals for four years in a row. Given Ross Lyon’s resume, most people wouldn’t consider him a bad coach.
Alan Richardson and Brad Scott are both coaching casualties due to the teams they were in charge of, St Kilda and North Melbourne respectively, not meeting finals expectations.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
The coaches of the two Adelaide club, Ken Hinkley and Don Pyke of Port Adelaide and Adelaide respectively, are also copping ridicule and potentially face termination if they don’t make the finals. John Worsfold of Essendon has been in the hot seat for weeks due to the risk of his club not appearing in September.
Every year more people are losing their jobs for not meeting the finals requirement. It goes without saying if you’re not in a ‘rebuilding phase’, you have to make finals, and sadly there are only eight spots and usually ten or 12 pretty good teams.
Successful coaches are losing their jobs because the task of making the finals has become more difficult than ever and the demand to make finals is as high as ever.
The addition of two wildcard spots at ninth and tenth on the ladder will increase the chance of all deserving teams making the finals as they will have to defeat the seventh and eighth-placed sides respectively to do so. It would more than likely keep the jobs of coaches and would reduce the turnover of players and staff. It would also make the regular season much more exciting and more meaningful for clubs that before wouldn’t have had enough wins for the finals, thus making the AFL an even stronger competition.
Port Adelaide, Adelaide, North Melbourne, Fremantle and Hawthorn have all shown glimpses of being a finals contenders in 2019, and if they had results go their way, they could easily have been in a finals position.
Past and present players have talked about the mental health consequences of the pressure of expectation, so don’t you think making the finals more achievable could ameliorate these negative feelings?
A standalone wildcard match would be one of the games of the season that you just couldn’t miss, and I’m sure it would attract a sell-out crowd
The AFL may receive some criticism for adding another Americanised element to the game and changing the fixture’s format, but we should learn from some aspects of sport in America and realise it’s time to take action and include wildcard positions into our competition sooner rather than later.
Kandeepan Arul
Roar Rookie
I like the idea of a wild card round because it increase the entertainment value of the AFL season. The bye at the end of the season destroys all momentum built up from the last round of the season. The specifics will have to worked out. The thing to remember is that we are in the entertainment industry and anything that increases the entertainment value of the product should be considered.
fingAU
Roar Rookie
I like your idea but for other reasons than you gave. I think that the only teams with a real chance of winning the premiership are the top four. Since the Final 8 was changed to the current version in 2000 only one team outside the top four has made it to the Grand Final. That was the Bulldogs in 2016 and they happened to win it! We will have to wait another 17 years before a team outside the top four wins again! The reason to introduce the Wildcard round and have ten teams still alive at the end of the regular season is "hope"; more fans will remain engaged in the season if their team still has hope of winning the premiership, it doesn't matter how tiny that hope is. If the Wildcard round is introduced my estimate of a team's chances are these:- Top four: One of these will win the premiership. Fifth and sixth: A small chance. Seventh to tenth: No chance. To those who say that a final 10 is rewarding mediocrity I say that the reward is so small for teams seventh to tenth that is doesn't matter.
ChrisH
Roar Rookie
That's kinda like giving out participation awards. We can't just go adding finals chances to be nice to coaches and help them keep their jobs. The real root of the problem is there's too many clubs. This is meant to be the best of the best, yet every man and his dog gets to have a team in it. The only time we get the best is the finals, and most years it feels like only 5 or 6 are genuine contenders. Why add more non-contenders? Just so you can give their coaches participation awards?
marcus
Guest
until they make the comp home and away don't even talk about fair, its still the VFL they just renamed it the AFL
Beni Iniesta
Guest
Have a final 10 so coaches don't lose their jobs? Perhaps the most ridiculous article I've read in a while. Teams finishing 9th and 10th are there for a reason - they aren't winning a Flag that year!
Mick Jeffrey
Roar Rookie
And occasionally in the NFL there's the ridiculous situation where teams who have won anywhere up to 5 more games have to be AWAY to a team who's won a very weak division....
RT
Roar Rookie
True, but more interesting than the weekly article in The Age/ SMH which will be one of Should babies be allowed in restaurants/ business class? Or Should you recline your seat on a plane?
Jonesracing82
Guest
Not this rubbish debate again! We don't have 8 Finals worthy Finals teams as it is....
RT
Roar Rookie
Just because an idea can work it doesn't mean it should carried out. The top team will finish on 16 or 17 wins this year. 10th will probably be 10 wins. They are not worthy of challenging the top team.
RT
Roar Rookie
9th and 10th have had 22 games to battle it out. They don't deserve another one.
RT
Roar Rookie
So what are you saying, that 14th should play finals? There had to be a cutoff at some point. 44% of teams in finals is more than enough. Naturally 9th won’t be far off 8th, but too bad. Not good enough.
Jayden Head
Roar Pro
look at it this way, essentially it will be a top 6. which is a 3rd if the competition. Basically, 7th and 8th spot might as well be called a wildcard position also. The top 6 will have a much more greater advantage. It also gives the other teams and their fans a glimmer of hope without it entirely changing the AFL fixture. Yes they are most likely not going to win the premiership. I think the idea can work.
Jayden Head
Roar Pro
look at it this way, essentially it will be a top 6. which is a 3rd if the competition. Basically, 7th and 8th spot might as well be called a wildcard position also. The top 6 will have a much more greater advantage. It also gives the other teams and their fans a glimmer of hope without it entirely changing the AFL fixture. Yes they are most likely not going to win the premiership. I think the idea can work.
Wayne
Roar Guru
Just have an 18 Team Finals Series. It is supposed to be difficult to make the finals. That's the point.
Paul
Roar Rookie
Yep you’re right, I clearly overlooked that fact. I found the 2016 season write up on Wikipedia here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_AFL_season My point still remains that a wild card system cannot be justified. The Bulldogs are the only team to have done it from that low on the ladder. In my mind that is an exception and not justification for expanding the final series.
Chop
Roar Guru
Wildcard playoff rounds suck when there's 32 teams in the NFL because occasionally you get teams with a losing record making the playoffs. The same with MLB. Putting 10 teams into the finals out of 18 makes absolutely no sense. If anything it should be reduced to 6 for both the NFL and AFL but they won't do that because it costs games and therefore revenue
Jayden Head
Roar Pro
I believe the Western Bulldogs won from 7th position in 2016 but I could be wrong
Timmuh
Roar Guru
No, its just a ten team finals system with a different name for week one. Eight is too many as it stands, but obviously the AFL will chase more money rather than less so some extension of finals is bound to happen no matter how ridiculous.
Paul
Roar Rookie
To the best of my knowledge no team has won from 7th or 8th. Only few won it from 5th under the McIntyre Final five. I'm can't agree with your proposal. In essence you're talking about a final 10 with the "wilcard games" being an extra round of elimination. That's too many teams.
Max power
Guest
Let’s give undeserving teams a game just so coaches don’t get fired Fail