Analysis Would relegation make the AFL better?

Would relegation make the AFL better?


  • Total voters
    99
Oct 8, 2004
1,989
2,384
Woodside
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Eagles(SANFL)
Reset the AFL to 14 teams, removing St Kilda, Nth Melb, GWS and Gold Coast. Squads of 40. Review the 14 teams every decade, with potential of promotion from a well performed National League (see below) club to replace an AFL club that is struggling.

Add a team from Launceston, Hobart, Darwin, Canberra and Cairns to St Kilda, Nth Melb, GWS and Gold Coast.

Add the 10 non-AFL VFL teams.

Add the 8 non-AFL SANFL teams.

Add the 9 non-AFL WAFL teams.

Buy a bunch of charter planes.

Have 3 Divisions of 12 in a promotion/relegation system as a national competition underneath the AFL.
 

pz5151

Club Legend
Aug 15, 2021
1,152
1,662
AFL Club
Collingwood
Under these proposals, how does the draft work? The number 1 pick each year goes to a second division team? Also, forget about the bottom clubs ever being able to recruit a free agent again to play in the second tier.
 
Oct 19, 2020
21,734
31,453
AFL Club
Richmond
Under these proposals, how does the draft work? The number 1 pick each year goes to a second division team? Also, forget about the bottom clubs ever being able to recruit a free agent again to play in the second tier.
I would make the draft a lottery or rotate the picks so they are even in a given 5 year period.
At the moment, the draft rewards mediocrity and tanking, and tanking has happened.
 
Apr 10, 2010
6,649
9,167
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
AFC Wimbledon
The beautiful thing about relegation and promotion in English football is it links the smallest county team right up to the Premiership billion dollar juggernauts. AFC Wimbledon seriously restarted in a pub conversation 20 years ago that led to an amateur team being created (in something like the 10th tier of competition). They made it as high as the third tier before finally dropping back just a couple of weeks ago. They probably never will but the only thing stopping the Dons playing in the premiership is their ability to win games.

The same system would be fantastic in AFL if your local club could dream of one day playing at the MCG in September but that also means that every current AFL club has to risk the long drop down. Its just not possible and a two tier system adds nothing.
 
May 30, 2006
17,515
10,289
Canberra
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Under these proposals, how does the draft work? The number 1 pick each year goes to a second division team? Also, forget about the bottom clubs ever being able to recruit a free agent again to play in the second tier.
There wouldn't be a draft, surely. The salary caps, presumably different in each tier, could do the work if the floor percentage was lowered. Teams with cap space could simply offer larger contracts. As the cap could (and IMO should) now.

Contracts would need to be come with relegation clauses, whether that be pay drops and/or instant release options.

I think its messy, but doable whenever there are enough professional teams to make it necessary (IMO, 24 is that point - so not for a while yet). Certainly better than conferences and the like.
 
Apr 10, 2010
6,649
9,167
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
AFC Wimbledon
There wouldn't be a draft, surely. The salary caps, presumably different in each tier, could do the work if the floor percentage was lowered. Teams with cap space could simply offer larger contracts. As the cap could (and IMO should) now.

Contracts would need to be come with relegation clauses, whether that be pay drops and/or instant release options.

I think its messy, but doable whenever there are enough professional teams to make it necessary (IMO, 24 is that point - so not for a while yet). Certainly better than conferences and the like.


As much as it would suck to lose the home and away system, which is only half done now anyway, once the AFL gets to 22+ teams I would rather they simply played every team once. Switch home and away each season, will a system in place to add variations.
 

FreoRamone

Draftee
Jun 21, 2022
2
0
AFL Club
Fremantle
no

why should a team that rapidly improves from the previous year like 2019 brisbane or 2022 carlton be denied a chance to play finals football
They will be able to play the next year if it wasn’t a one year wonder. Not sure what the benefits would be to a conference system though.Apart from make the season pretty s#%^ for the bottom team and it’s supporters..
 
Sep 15, 2011
31,454
47,730
AFL Club
West Coast
I understand that it's not practical, but I would love to see a simple relegation system in which the bottom team drops back to the State league and a playoff between State premiers for the final place in the AFL. Could potentially spark interest in State leagues if your team was top of the table and in line for a spot in the AFL. Salary cap and draft issues make it nigh on impossible, but one can dream.
 
Nov 27, 2012
2,226
2,633
AFL Club
North Melbourne
The beautiful thing about relegation and promotion in English football is it links the smallest county team right up to the Premiership billion dollar juggernauts. AFC Wimbledon seriously restarted in a pub conversation 20 years ago that led to an amateur team being created (in something like the 10th tier of competition). They made it as high as the third tier before finally dropping back just a couple of weeks ago. They probably never will but the only thing stopping the Dons playing in the premiership is their ability to win games.

The same system would be fantastic in AFL if your local club could dream of one day playing at the MCG in September but that also means that every current AFL club has to risk the long drop down. Its just not possible and a two tier system adds nothing.

This would be a great way for soccer in this country to go about it, they could pull it off as well if they really wanted.
 

Coolangatta

Norm Smith Medallist
Oct 27, 2007
6,875
5,863
Western Australia
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
I understand that it's not practical, but I would love to see a simple relegation system in which the bottom team drops back to the State league and a playoff between State premiers for the final place in the AFL. Could potentially spark interest in State leagues if your team was top of the table and in line for a spot in the AFL. Salary cap and draft issues make it nigh on impossible, but one can dream.
That sounds really cool. I’ve strongly advocated for the AFL expanding the competition to 21 teams in the next 20-30 years (Tassie, Canberra, and NT). Endgame I’d like to see 22 teams, 22 rounds, and a top 10.

But instead of creating a 22nd team, they could come from the winner of a state premiers knockout competition and then from there your relegation and promotion idea could apply. Make team 22 based on merit rather than $$$.
 

GWT6

Club Legend
Jun 7, 2011
1,616
4,342
Western Sydney
AFL Club
Melbourne
That sounds really cool. I’ve strongly advocated for the AFL expanding the competition to 21 teams in the next 20-30 years (Tassie, Canberra, and NT). Endgame I’d like to see 22 teams, 22 rounds, and a top 10.

But instead of creating a 22nd team, they could come from the winner of a state premiers knockout competition and then from there your relegation and promotion idea could apply. Make team 22 based on merit rather than $$$.
So play everyone once and one team twice. Sounds great.
 
May 30, 2006
17,515
10,289
Canberra
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Pretty sure foxtel did something like this years ago- midweek games between comps
They did. It ended up with SANFL sides in particular not putting out anything like a first team, treating it a bit like AFL sides ended up treating the pre-season comp. The focus, understandably, was on the league they were playing in.
There were other issues, VFL "aligned teams" were allowed to play, but Brisbane's reserves was not. This doesn't make much sense, as someone like Box Hill is effectively run as a reserves team that has kept its own name.
 
So play everyone once and one team twice. Sounds great.
….Or the AFLPA mandated bye continues to exist and everyone plays 21 games. We currently play 23 rounds for 22 games…

21 + 1 double up against a rival isn’t the worst thing in the world anyway. One favourable re-match is much better than the scope we have at the moment for five which causes large variability in difficulty year on year.
 
Jan 31, 2020
401
545
AFL Club
Adelaide
The set-up would be a 1st division has 10 teams, 2nd Division 8 teams .

The bottom two teams in Div 1 are relegated and the the top 2 in Div 2 go up every year.

The premiership is obviously only won from Div 1.
My idea would surround a 20 team competition.
Objective: to improve the standard of the game and to have more games between clubs of the same standard. No one wants to watch Melbourne or Brisbane play North Melbourne or the Crows. They have the potential to be a smashing, however North Melbourne vs Adelaide in Tasmania Sunday 16th vs 18th would be relatively close as the standard between the 2 clubs is close. Same as Brisbane vs Melbourne tonight at the MCG.

2 divisions of 10.

Division 1 would be teams 1 to 10 on the premiership ladder at the end of this season

Division 2 would be 11 to 20. Tasmania and Darwin get a team as well.

Finals would still be top 8 as it is now with a Grand Final at the MCG.

Then you can add a promotion and relegation game for the 9th and 10th side in division 1 and 1st and 2nd in division 2. 9th Vs 12th and 10th plays 11th for promotion and relegation from division 1 down to division 2. Create more finals, more changes for clubs to actually win something. Instead of having 1 premier, supporters can stay invested the entire season.

Draft: 20th side gets pick 1 and you go down to the 13th side, you repeat that process so all division 2 clubs receive 2 picks in the first round before any division 1 club receive any picks. This hopefully helps any tanking as every club would or should have that ambition to get promoted to division 1.

Free agency, trading, player contract should not change at all.

Just an idea. I’m sure you lot will love it!
 
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