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There has been lots of discussion about the AFL’s scheduling for Round 23.
This has led to the ongoing comments about the unfair fixture.
With 18 teams and talk of a Tassie club coming into the comp, the season’s cap of 22 games will never provide a level playing field.
There will be 22 games for each club and they will play a handful of opponents twice.
Splitting the comp into conferences or divisions (promotion and relegation) would be horror for the AFL.
Maybe it is time to tidy things up a little.
This year we saw the emergence of the Bulldogs and the Hawks showing good form at the end of the season, beating other teams set for finals.
One possible idea is to start eliminating teams that are too far off the pace and ensure the final two rounds of the season have all live teams playing an opponent that is also in contention for the flag.
For example, after Round 21, the bottom six teams could be eliminated. Reschedule them to play each other for the final two rounds, allowing for the Brownlow and Coleman Medals to be played out fairly.
Round 22 could be a combination of home and away plus mid-ladder eliminations.
Teams sitting ninth to 12th play elimination games while the other eight teams fight for higher ladder positions.
In Round 23, the winners of the Round 22 elimination games play seventh and eighth for elimination.
At the completion of Round 23, we continue with the current final eight format.
What does all this achieve? Hopefully, the finals showcase the best teams in September.
With an unpopular fixture format, teams have 20 games to be in the top 12 instead of 22 games to be in the top eight.
Rounds 22 and 23 will feature teams still alive for the premiership playing each other.
This will not fix unfair ground scheduling and will not address uneven home-and-away match ups, but will provide more chance for improving teams to make their way into the finals.
Who does this affect the most? The AFL.
There has to be rescheduling of opponents and venues.
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