Opinion
Here is my plan for how the AFL should look after the COVID-19 hiatus.
I would have two conferences: the first with all ten Victorian teams, and the second with the eight interstate teams.
The Victorian League would play all games at the MCG, while the National League would play Rounds 1 to 7 at the Adelaide Oval and Rounds 8 to 14 at Perth Stadium.
There would be 17 rounds between the restart on Thursday 25 June and the grand final on Sunday 31 October.
The finals would incorporate the top four from each comp (one versus four, two versus three), with the winners to play in prelims then the decider.
I would broadcast one game from each conference on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with two Victorian games on Saturday.
(Photo by Michael Dodge/AFL Media/Getty Images)
It is times like this when we realise how something as simple as a footy competition can bring us all together. While the outlook for us all in Australia in comparison to other parts of the world is looking better, we will still be in for a very long winter.
AFL in this country is often seen as the great communicator and it brings us all together. We all want our footy back but we also want to remain safe.
With all this talk of bias and the literal roadblocks the AFL is facing with interstate travel between teams, it is proving very hard for the AFL to come up with a game plan moving forward for the 2020 AFL season.
My plan values the health, mental health and safety of the players and the community, and stays within the guidelines set out by health departments and states. It also respects the fairness and evenness of the competition for the season, and minimises disruption and logistics for the clubs, the league, and the venues.
No matter what we choose, we are not going to please everyone, but by looking at things like statistics from the department of health as well as teams’ ladder positions and how often teams play each other and where they play, it’s a pretty good start. Obviously this would depend on the restrictions still in place and exemptions in travel, but that’s what I’ve tried to limit as much as possible.
The general rule of thumb would be to split the competition in half into two conferences: ten teams in Victoria, and eight across the nation.
By doing this it allows borders to remain closed, and allows 12 teams at once to stay home and doesn’t require the need to move away from families. It also limits the teams that would be interstate at one time to six teams, and limits the use of accommodation that would be needed if all 18 teams were in the same venue.
As far as evenness goes, these conferences split strong and weak teams fairly evenly.
(Ryan Pierse/AFL Photos/via Getty Images )
My plan allows the AFL to utilise the three biggest and newest stadiums in the game, so if it did get to the point where small numbers of crowds were allowed into games, they could be spaced easier.
It also means that there would only be four teams (Brisbane, Gold Coast, GWS and Sydney) that would not be playing games at a venue they do not host regular home games at. It would also free up NSW and Queensland to have more stadiums available, even though these are not regular NRL home grounds, if they wanted to do a hub-style project for the NRL.
The competition could run for 18 weeks from the last week in June to the last week in October. This would ensure the season finishes early enough not to impact summer sports and allow sufficient time between the season ending and next season starting for all injury management, surgeries, rehabilitation, and most importantly family and relaxation time.
At the end of the 18 weeks there is a two-week break then it would be the top four from each competition to play a knockout semi-final.
The two-week break would allow teams a 14-day isolation period if they needed to move states, such as going to Victoria to have all finals played at the MCG or going to WA to have all finals played at Optus Stadium. There is enough time for a mini-bye, injury recovery period and hopefully a bit of time for potential crowd numbers come finals if restrictions are once again eased by October. The grand final would be held on the last weekend of October.
My broadcast plan also puts games on TV four nights a week.
You are not going to please everyone. No matter how we go about it, there will be winners and there will be losers.
But as a footy fan and someone who misses the game tremendously, if everyone can stay safe, healthy and we get to watch the AFL again, then we are all winners.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
The Blues have truly stood up and are a genuine flag threat in 2024 and they have their younger brigade of troops to thank for it.
It's a festival of footy as Anzac Round dawns, with matches to be played across a whopping five days in 2024's most spread-out 'weekend'…
Things heating up in Canberra!
Diplomatically answered, Darcy!
For all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the now-traditional Anzac Day clash at the MCG, there has been one thing conspicuously lacking over…
