Fixture Yet another fixture idea.

[Coolangatta]

Split the ladder into five groups:

1-4
5-8
9-12
13-16
17-18

The top four groups play one team from each group including their own twice and the bottom two play each other twice plus two teams from one group and one from every group except the top four.

The top four groups play an extra game against a random team from any group, except 17-18 cannot play a team from 1-4 twice. That way you don’t get a Geelong v North double up etc.

Not sure if it works or not. It could be tweaked that top 8 teams can’t play two teams from a group outside the top 8. I think.

Edit: apparently I didn’t make myself clear enough but this system is for the five return matches only. Everyone would still play each other at least once.

 

[Viceregal]

Split the ladder into five groups:

1-4
5-8
9-12
13-16
17-18

The top four groups play one team from each group including their own twice and the bottom two play each other twice plus two teams from one group and one from every group except the top four.

The top four groups play an extra game against a random team from any group, except 17-18 cannot play a team from 1-4 twice. That way you don’t get a Geelong v North double up etc.

Not sure if it works or not. It could be tweaked that top 8 teams can’t play two teams from a group outside the top 8. I think.

Sounds like it would get canned for being discriminatory against the poor victimised Blockbusters!


Btw if you are still in 17-18 after three years of that fixture do you get an old style PP?

 

[EconomicDecline]

This sounds like dumb NFL s**t where you don't see match ups between different teams for years. Terrible. No.

 

[Chief]

It would beat the now boring local derbys twice a year. There are like four of them now?

 

[Shane Heard]

Blockbuster h&a games are a priority.

In fact , games involving RFC, EFC, Pies , Carltoon and Geelong playing each other are the priority for the league for gate takings and tv audiences.

Can’t mess around with that.

 

[Fadge]

Split the ladder into five groups:

1-4
5-8
9-12
13-16
17-18

The top four groups play one team from each group including their own twice and the bottom two play each other twice plus two teams from one group and one from every group except the top four.

The top four groups play an extra game against a random team from any group, except 17-18 cannot play a team from 1-4 twice. That way you don’t get a Geelong v North double up etc.

Not sure if it works or not. It could be tweaked that top 8 teams can’t play two teams from a group outside the top 8. I think.

No good. It means Collingwood wouldn't have had the opportunity to play our bunnies Melbourne twice this year.

 

[L_W_P]

Bring in Tassie.

19 teams
18 games (9 home, 9 away)
23 rounds

Gives teams bye weeks through the year meaning star players get the breaks they want rather than being rested from games.

Makes the marquee games even more valuable to ticket sellers and broadcasters.

Balances the fixture with minimal home/away issues across a 2 or 4 year window.

Makes all the sense in the world IMO but they will push to 20 teams so that Fox/Kayo can play another Saturday/Sunday twilight game that neutral fans will never watch.

 

[pz5151]

Why does an ideal fixture always revolve around the idea of rewarding teams for not performing and punishing teams for being good? I would prefer a home and away fixture playing everyone twice but for some reason the AFL has this idea that it's impossible to play 34 games (while ice hockey and other physical sports play more than that). The other ideal would be 17 rounds but the league will always prioritise $$$ over fairness. If it has to be uneven, either rotate everyone to play every other team over a 3 year period or make the draw random.

 

[JohnZ]

Why does an ideal fixture always revolve around the idea of rewarding teams for not performing and punishing teams for being good? I would prefer a home and away fixture playing everyone twice but for some reason the AFL has this idea that it's impossible to play 34 games (while ice hockey and other physical sports play more than that). The other ideal would be 17 rounds but the league will always prioritise $$$ over fairness. If it has to be uneven, either rotate everyone to play every other team over a 3 year period or make the draw random.

That's why I like the 26 week fixture. Gives us another month of footy, and makes things more fair.

*Play every team 3 times over 2 years (fixture can then be released in blocks of 2 years)
*Play one team 4 times over 2 years (ie Derbies, Showdowns etc), so the AFL can still milk that cow

win/win

 

[Sky]

I think one day we will have 24 teams and we’ll each play 23 rounds with two byes to make it 25 weeks

Expansion wouldn’t finish with just Tasmania and either Darwin/Canberra. I can’t see them culling clubs either.

 

[Coolangatta]

This sounds like dumb NFL s**t where you don't see match ups between different teams for years. Terrible. No.

What on earth are you talking about? Everyone plays each other once, I’m talking about the weighted fixture for return games. People say “nah they want more blockbusters” but you’d still have two derbies a year etc.

 

[Le Grille]

Play 17 games and introduce a cup competition to fill in the remaining games 3 groups of 6 the four wa/sa teams the 4 nsw/qld teams and rich/ess/carl/Coll are always in the same group the other sides move around year on year.

Have those games in tranches at various parts of the year the top side in each group plus the best peformed side (judged by both league and cup win loss) get the last cup spot. Knockout from there cup final in the weeks bye before finals

 

[Coolangatta]

Or you semi-randomly take two teams each from the top six, mid six and bottom six and put them into three groups of six.

You play the five teams in your group twice. Interstate teams from the same state should stay together.

 

[The Passenger]

Or you semi-randomly take two teams each from the top six, mid six and bottom six and put them into three groups of six.

Mostly this, but just do as 1 team each from 1st-3rd, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, 13-15 and 16-18 from the previous year's ladder. There are your five return games. I don't like the idea of a rolling draw in the last five weeks based on ladder position at the end of Round 17 because it's a bit unfair on fans who often need to plan trips to away games weeks (sometimes months) in advance.

Return blockbusters shouldn't be guaranteed. The competition needs to be big enough to move away from that. It's a highly professional competition in a first-world country and it shouldn't need to manipulate the draw each year to ensure absolute maximum revenue. You've still got each team playing each other at least once and you will still get some return blockbusters with the above system anyway.

 

[Danw0w]

I’d like to keep the current system, but instead of the fixture being weighted on where you finish, it should be completely random who each team plays twice.

 

[Soggy2112]

It would beat the now boring local derbys twice a year. There are like four of them now?

Two showdowns a year is very important for SA footy, need to keep it if possible

 

[Coolangatta]

I just thought of another out there idea. What if top of the ladder could choose who they play twice next year as long as it includes a rival club and not someone who’s already maxed out on double ups? You work your way down the ladder but basically the best teams are rewarded with first dibs.

 

[Viceregal]

I just thought of another out there idea. What if top of the ladder could choose who they play twice next year as long as it includes a rival club and not someone who’s already maxed out on double ups? You work your way down the ladder but basically the best teams are rewarded with first dibs.

Based on our history of who to trade with for their next year's first clubs would be bidding for the Lions to choose to have them on their double up list so they can be certain to make the 8/4/2!

 

[jim boy]

People always go on a bit playing each other twice, but the reality is that footy has tended to not be that way. For 81 of the 126 year history of the AFL/VFL, the draw has always been 'compromised'. And this isn't unusual. NFL teams dont play each other an even amount of times either.
I'm not really a fan of maximising derbies/blockbusters. By having them as much as possible, you lose something in the anticipation. take cricket for example, the Ashes is always the most highly anticipated and profitable of series, but if it happened every summer, that would quickly change. Same with rivalries, their being eroded in pursuit of the $.
FWIW, either have a rotating fixture where everyone plays each other the same amount of times over a number of years, or switch to conferences and have the top teams play off in the finals.

 

[Coolangatta]

People always go on a bit playing each other twice, but the reality is that footy has tended to not be that way. For 81 of the 126 year history of the AFL/VFL, the draw has always been 'compromised'. And this isn't unusual. NFL teams dont play each other an even amount of times either.
I'm not really a fan of maximising derbies/blockbusters. By having them as much as possible, you lose something in the anticipation. take cricket for example, the Ashes is always the most highly anticipated and profitable of series, but if it happened every summer, that would quickly change. Same with rivalries, their being eroded in pursuit of the $.
FWIW, either have a rotating fixture where everyone plays each other the same amount of times over a number of years, or switch to conferences and have the top teams play off in the finals.

The problem with conferences is that teams would only play 16 games. I suppose you could stretch that out to 22 rounds by increasing the number of split rounds but how many byes do a team need?

But two groups where everyone plays each other twice, then has a finals series and the two conference winners play off in the GF is fair, as long as you rotate teams.

Four teams from two of WA/SA/NSW/QLD each
Two Big 4 Vic clubs each
Three of the "other" Vic clubs each

Conferences don't work with an odd number of teams, though.

I suppose everyone could play each other once but you have more byes and split rounds.