On the surface, an 18-team competition makes it difficult to organise blockbuster matchups every week during primetime viewing given the limited options.
Travel and appropriate rest in between match days also come into the equation, with the perfect example being Collingwood and Essendon having to play on a Sunday after their Anzac Day clash five days prior to allow for considerable time off.
Balancing travel distances to allow for the league to run as fairly as possible is of utmost importance, but a tall order considering most clubs are based in Victoria.
For anyone new to the game, the complicated structure of scheduling would create the ultimate head-scratcher. Every team plays each other once in the regular season, but each side is drawn against another five random teams to make up the 22 rounds.
A 17-game season could feel too short for most, but not for a sport such as the NFL which holds its own 17-match regular season, playing every team in the same division twice while randomly matched up against eleven other opponents which makes more sense. Obviously, the AFL does not have a conference system in place like other American sports.
Personally, I don’t agree with the AFL looking abroad for inspiration to countries such as America for ideas on how to ‘improve’ Aussie Rules – but they do – and it could be something that is worth looking into, especially when expansion reaches 19 and 20 teams in the near future. An 18 or 19-round campaign before finals is well and truly practical.
Saturday night saw a dismal turnout of 29,455 at the MCG during primetime viewing involving the Melbourne Demons and North Melbourne Kangaroos. Watching a 90-point blowout was torture enough for the neutrals, on top of staring at so many empty seats.
Alastair Clarkson has injected a new lease of life into the Kangas, but with all due respect, they’re not a club that is going to help attract big crowds at the ‘G. It was a Dees home game, but even most of their supporters seemed to have better plans organised.
This is not to say that North doesn’t deserve to play on a Saturday night. Surely the AFL is able to adjust the scheduling where they can change some venues, such as moving the game to Launceston for a North home match or a game up in Darwin which would result in fewer empty seats and more of a spectacle. If you were not entertained and wished to switch channels, disappointment would follow onto the Eagles and Blues match in Perth on the same night where Carlton ran riot in a 108-point demolition.
Despite a high crowd attendance of 47,940 at Optus Stadium, this is a West Coast outfit under Adam Simpson who is desperately struggling to stay afloat and dish up any sort of respectable performance. To have two games scheduled for a Saturday night which on paper looked totally one-sided looks like a mistake from the outside looking in.
As mentioned before, two of the biggest drawcards for attendance and offering marquee matches needed time off to recover. In saying that, could the AFL have reviewed these types of scenarios before releasing the fixtures and adjusted accordingly? The Sydney Derby would have been a great replacement for either.
Speaking of drawcards, the Bombers recorded 86,000 members last year and are more than capable of producing attraction for the big duels. Yet, they are not pencilled in to play a single Thursday or Friday night game until at least Round 16 as times and dates are still to be confirmed. It just strikes me as very strange.
Essendon’s Will Setterfield celebrates kicking a goal. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
It should be stressed that some Thursday and Friday night matches have proven to be a hit such as Geelong-Collingwood and Brisbane-Collingwood. Are there better options out there than a Friday night Fremantle-Bulldogs clash and a more suitable canopy for the Good Friday fixture though?
The Crows opened proceedings for the inaugural round, and rightfully so. However, could Port Adelaide have been part of the occasion to create an unprecedented showdown clash? Of course, it’s natural to expect mistakes when experimenting with something new, but this was an opportunity missed for the AFL to really capitalise on.
Overall, the crowd numbers suggest that it has been a successful season thus far and some may feel as though it could be a case of nit-picking. As for everything though, there’s always room for improvement whether it be big or small.
Cloak
Roar Rookie
I know what you mean about having the extra away game but you actually aren't penalised on the travel front overall (nor is Carlton). The Dogs get 6 interstate games in total this year, inclusive of Gather Round - Port Adelaide, Fremantle, GWS, GC, Sydney and Hawthorn. That's the same amount as Carlton, Richmond and St Kilda, and one fewer than Melbourne (but one of ours is sold to the NT). Essendon, Collingwood and Geelong all only have 5 interstate games this year. They're the lucky ones.
Liam Cole
Roar Rookie
Yes l agree last Saturday night with the Eagles vs Blues and North vs Dees was atrocious. I believe it should a 17-game season with every team playing each other once making it fair for everyone. We can’t have teams play West Coast twice gifting them a great percentage and extra win.
Johnno
Roar Rookie
I can name lots of options in WA. Just be serious that it is to recognise country football by holding the game in the country. Yes you will only get a small crowd because of oval size, so what, stop BS’ing the public who know your BS’ing them.
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
The ideal scenario would’ve been to have Adelaide and Geelong play their games the day before the Anzac Day match, but obviously that’s been designated for Melbourne and Richmond which I have no complaints about. If you schedule the Pies-Crows or Bombers-Cats for last Saturday night, would 4 days rest be viewed as that bad?
Explosive_Pie
Roar Rookie
Agreed, and this should be reviewed as it does not seem very fair. Collinwgood probably had their "worth game" vs Adelaide and an awful 1st quarter (trie Adelaide was excellent except for kicking). Essendon also had a terrible first quarter before settling in. Geelong and Adelaide had a few more days and looked much sharper at the start of the game, I don't think it's a coincidence.
Explosive_Pie
Roar Rookie
Not really about the rivalry, more because it's a Derby and it would be good for the AFL to promote a game with two non victoria teams when possible. GWS is having a decent start, Sydney reached the grand final last year, so I thought this game deserved a better slot. Scheduling North Melbourne or West Coast on any prime time is not going to do anything good... Some other schedules don't make sense...round 9 Carlton/Bulldogs should in my view be on channel 7, and probably at the MCG (could attract a good crowd?), and will be played at Marvel on Kayo. I don't know the ins and outs and how all their contracting work, but some decisions are quite surprising.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Yeah, scheduling is crap, like having to play one more away game than everyone else, and then having to travel to Perth the week after that, and having 4 away games in the first 6 rounds. And having to play GC in Darwin. That sucks.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
So why was Sydney vs GWS the biggest game of the round according to you? Let me guess, rivalry? Well guess what, out of the 3 games on Saturday you've pointed out, the GWS vs Bulldogs game is the biggest rivalry!
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Yeah I get that but it’s still a poor choice particularly while GMHBA needs to be widened otherwise Geelong should be prohibited from playing there
Johnno
Roar Rookie
Essendon marquee games kill an already compromised fixture. And having the country game at the MCG is an absolute joke. It’s not about recognising rural Australia, it’s about getting bums on seat, $’s for the AFL & Essendon. The AFL owns the fixtures not Essendon.
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
Completely agree with you. Your last point is the most important. Fans need notice well in advance to organise attendance as this was one of the criticisms that supporters had on the scheduling last season. These fixtures don’t need to change last minute though. Even when they are generated before the season, a few tweaks and adjustments can surely be made?
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
Promotion and focus in Sydney is definitely a key area which needs to be one of the top priorities for Dillon. The Giants experiment hasn’t worked so far in terms of crowds and exposure and you could argue that rugby in Sydney has actually taken over more as a result. Because of that it makes it even more baffling to not schedule the Giants-Swans game on a Saturday night, given the enormity of the occasion. The game was barely promoted in Sydney, and that’s a massive problem
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
I’d prefer Adelaide tbh.
AJ73
Roar Rookie
What else would you do apart from playing either Melbourne or Richmond? Essendon want the ANZAC Day game, they need to expect/accept the vagaries that go with the draw. They had a 9 day break before ANZAC Day, really no excuses if you want to keep the ANZAC Day match. Next year it will be on a Thursday, so will there be complaints then? This is what it will look like for the next 10 years. Accept that the draw is not always kind, build a bridge and get over it. At least you stayed in Melbourne, unlike Collingwood. 2024 - Thursday 2025 - Friday 2026 - Saturday 2027 - Sunday 2028 - Tuesday 2029 - Wednesday 2030 - Thursday 2031 - Friday 2032 - Sunday 2033 - Monday
Explosive_Pie
Roar Rookie
It is fair to criticize...Sydney vs GWS is definitely the biggest game of the round. Why can't this be scheduled on a prime slot? Instead we have North Melbourne and West Coast...no offense but currently they won't attract much crowd especially as the weather gets colder. Can't blame suppprters for not turning up if all you see is a 100 points demolition. Next week is another interesting choice.. Friday night should be a great fixture (as a neutral I'd happily watch it) and then we have GWS vs Bulldogs on Saturday night when Geelong vs Adelaide and Collingwood vs Sydney look a lot more attractive. Perhaps they should look at fixing the game's start not that long in advance.
Gyfox
Roar Rookie
Having a Showdown in Gather Rounder takes away the point of that round - & would rob that weekend of 2 x 45,000 crowds in exchange for 1 x 50,000. Caroline Wilson has pointed out the AFL's neglect of development & promotion in Sydney. The Swans v GWS game should have been on Saty night. In. fact all the interstate rivalry games should be on Saty nights. The 8 interstate clubs rightly claim the AFL is still too Melbourne centric.
Maxy
Roar Rookie
Port are a anytime anywhere team..nuffies in AFL house can do what they want :boxing: :boxing:
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Yes particularly the scheduling for Essendon. Playing Geelong off a four day break in what is supposed to be a marquee game the country game was not a great idea