2020 - CONFERENCE SYSTEM (14 teams, 7 rounds, 3 weeks of finals)
CONFERENCE A - Teams 1,4,5,8 + (9 or 10) from 2018, + two new teams
- Adelaide(1), Kangaroos(4), Melbourne(5), WBulldogs(8), Brisbane(9), Gold Coast, St Kilda
- conference strength based on 2018 results = 27 (ie. 3.7% differential to Conf. B, compared to 25% in 2019)
- Brisbane and Gold Coast added to same conference to ensure local derby match
CONFERENCE B - Teams 2,3,6,7 + (9 or 10) from 2018, + two new teams
- Carlton(2), Fremantle(3), Geelong(6), GWS Giants(7), Collingwood(10), West Coast, Richmond
- conference strength based on 2018 results = 28 (ie. 3.7% differential to Conf. B, compared to 25% in 2019)
- West Coast added to same conference as Fremantle to ensure local derby match
Rankings include grand final, so Carlton becomes #2, all other teams as per H&A record.
A different conference set-up, if you put Collingwood in A then you move the two Qld teams to B:
CONFERENCE A - Teams 1,4,5,8 + (9 or 10) from 2018, + two new teams
- Adelaide(1), Kangaroos(4), Melbourne(5), WBulldogs(8), Collingwood(10), Richmond, St Kilda
- conference strength based on 2018 results = 28 (ie. 3.7% differential to Conf. B, compared to 25% in 2019)
CONFERENCE B - Teams 2,3,6,7 + (9 or 10) from 2018, + two new teams
- Carlton(2), Fremantle(3), Geelong(6), GWS Giants(7), Brisbane(9), Gold Coast, West Coast
- conference strength based on 2018 results = 27 (ie. 3.7% differential to Conf. B, compared to 25% in 2019)
- Brisbane and Gold Coast added to same conference to ensure local derby match
- West Coast added to same conference as Fremantle to ensure local derby match
FINALS: top 3 from each conference
Week 1 - SF1: A2 v B3; EF2: B2 v A3; bye for A1+B1
Week 2 - PF1: A1 v B2/A3; PF2: B1 v A2/B3
Week 3 - GF: PF1 winner v PF2 winner, hosted by #1-ranked PF winner
So in this setup, do we have two bye teams each week? (One from each conference)
Or is there one cross-over match for each team?