Opinion How do we fix the compromised season fixture?

[JHF1870]

AS long as fixtures remain as 23 round seasons, and crafted for maximum revenue, the season will remain compromised.

Look over previous seasons and you can always identify one team who had a good list but finished poirly between 9 and 12. Got a soft draw then finished top 4.

Unless we're playing each other twice, once, with no more than 2 clash matches it's going to be compromised.

 

[deck]

23 game season is staying so no point arguing otherwise. Split the ladder from top to bottom in groups of 3 and each team plays a double up from each group.

In effect every team will play 1 return game the next year against a top 3 team from the year before. Same goes with a bottom 3 team.

Yeah it ain't perfect and performances fluctuate from year to year but it's as close as you will get to fair based on a a 23 game fixture.

 

[Ash1337]

AS long as fixtures remain as 23 round seasons, and crafted for maximum revenue, the season will remain compromised.

Look over previous seasons and you can always identify one team who had a good list but finished poirly between 9 and 12. Got a soft draw then finished top 4.

Unless we're playing each other twice, once, with no more than 2 clash matches it's going to be compromised.

They already looking at a 19 - 5 fixture for 2028. Let every 1 play once then 1 extra clash round finally Top 6, 7 - 12, 13 - 19, for final ladder position.

 

[Colonial]

20 teams everyone plays each other once.

Alternate who is home each year.

 

[MisterMarcus]

Problem is that "soft draws" and "hard draws" can sometimes only become obvious in hindsight. Teams over- and under-perform expectations every season.

Suppose a Top 6 team doubled up against Sydney and Port. At the beginning of the season this would have been seen as a suitably tough draw (doubling against a GF and PF team). As it worked out, this would now be seen as relatively soft with 4 games against 'weak' opposition. Or alternatively, a Bottom 6 team forced to double up against Adelaide would be seen as incredibly harsh....but it was perfectly fair based on 2024 results.

So it's inevitable that least a few clubs every season will be seen to 'get an armchair ride' or 'get rogered without lube'...it's literally impossible to make fair because nobody knows who will rise and fall any given year.

 

[randyzany]

Start with no more double ups between the Big 4 for 9 out of 10 years. I know that networks want a big audience for that ad revenue lucre but maybe just the first half of the fixture should have a fixed scheduled and the second half should be a floating fixture with no guarantees of doubles between any clubs, no matter how big or small their supporter base is.

 

[im_a_lazy_sod]

We should at least get to play everyone ONCE before any double ups occurs. The fact we only played Brisbane during round 23 shouldn’t happen.

 

[tombomb]

I've never understood why teams are given hard/soft draws based on ladder position.

There are already equalisation measures with the salary cap and draft. The fixture is the one thing that should be as fair as possible.

The AFL just manufactures these messes.

 

[Billy ray]

Play everyone once.
Have a bye weekend but televised event where you pick teams out of bowls so its 100% random for the final 6 games.

 

[randyzany]

I've never understood why teams are given hard/soft draws based on ladder position.

There are already equalisation measures with the salary cap and draft. The fixture is the one thing that should be as fair as possible.

The AFL just manufactures these messes.

On what should they base it on then? Look I'm no fan of the stance the AFL has on having the Big 4 play each other twice in a season 9 out of 10 years but using the most recently completed season to gauge how the fixture should be distributed as one of the main factors is just common sense.

Geelong are already accused of being favoured when the their draw was deemed to be fairly difficult based on last year's regular season ladder. I can just imagine how crazy the Geelong conspiracies will get if the AFL use some other method to work it out. lol

 

[beez]

Play everyone once.
Have a bye weekend but televised event where you pick teams out of bowls so its 100% random for the final 6 games.

That is so stupid.

I love it.

 

[btdg]

The fixture isn't compromised though? We don't play an even fixture but it doesn't have to be. It just has to be long enough for the cream to emerge.

And I think it unequivocally does that. As it stands, it looks likely that the best 8 teams will make finals, with the semi-fraudulent Bulldogs in 9th. That's fair. Sydney have also been good after a slow start but that is their fault and they are three games back.

Adelaide are deservedly on top. Geelong, Collingwood and the winner or tonight's game deservedly round out the top 4. The other teams in the 8 - it feels like they all genuinely could have made top 4 and just blew it when the game was there.

I genuinely can't see where it is wrong this year? Which teams are out of place?

We could play 11 more games from here (so everyone doubles up) and barring injury issues, I feel like the ladder ends up extremely close to what it is now.

 

[Billy ray]

That is so stupid.

I love it.

Exactly. Its so stupid but perfect.
The draw for double ups is done out in the open. It is what it is. Noone can complain. Because it isnt anything but random

 

[eddiesmith]

Play everyone once.
Have a bye weekend but televised event where you pick teams out of bowls so its 100% random for the final 6 games.

Although you can guarantee the ‘random’ draw would have seen Geelong play North, West Coast, Essendon, Richmond, Port and Carlton in those 6 games…

 

[Billy ray]

Although you can guarantee the ‘random’ draw would have seen Geelong play North, West Coast, Essendon, Richmond, Port and Carlton in those 6 games…

But at least we saw it happen
Not just announced

 

[Dogflogger]

Getting rid of marquee games would help, it's getting pretty hard for the computer guys to make a fixture these days and a lot of it has to do with having a bunch of locked in games that have to be worked around.

 

[JHF1870]

The fixture isn't compromised though? We don't play an even fixture but it doesn't have to be. It just has to be long enough for the cream to emerge.

And I think it unequivocally does that. As it stands, it looks likely that the best 8 teams will make finals, with the semi-fraudulent Bulldogs in 9th. That's fair. Sydney have also been good after a slow start but that is their fault and they are three games back.

Adelaide are deservedly on top. Geelong, Collingwood and the winner or tonight's game deservedly round out the top 4. The other teams in the 8 - it feels like they all genuinely could have made top 4 and just blew it when the game was there.

I genuinely can't see where it is wrong this year? Which teams are out of place?

We could play 11 more games from here (so everyone doubles up) and barring injury issues, I feel like the ladder ends up extremely close to what it is now.

Brisbane, Adelaide potentially this season. Theres an advantage to finishing 10th to 12th with fixturing.

Saints next year. Bookmark it

 

[PhatBoy]

Although you can guarantee the ‘random’ draw would have seen Geelong play North, West Coast, Essendon, Richmond, Port and Carlton in those 6 games…

Sure Eddie. Like the actual draw for this year saw us play one member of last year’s bottom 6 twice. The rules of the fixture say they can schedule 2 double-ups against those sides. If they’re so keen to rig the draw, why didn’t they just do that?

 

[Billy ray]

Just make sure, as was promised, that all gather round matchups are NOT the only matchup between the teams in a season

 

[L_W_P]

The "crafted for revenue" line is the critical piece here.

The Hawks are playing Brisbane in Brisbane for the first time since 2019. That just should not happen.

Over a 3 year span I would expect the following as a minimum:

Year 1: Hawks home game.
Year 2: Lions home game.
Year 3: Play twice

If we get to 20 teams in total then 19 games is plenty.

9 home
9 away
Gather round as a neutral venue with the host city rivalry game being the centrepiece on Friday night to open things.

You play a team away this year, you get them at home next year. Rotating the Gather Round matchups means that teams aren't missing out on home/away games. It's just part of the cycle.

Assuming we play 19 games over say 21 rounds, with each team getting two byes, then there's also no reason not to give every team at least two FTA Thursday/Friday night games during the year to help promote their club/brand/sponsors etc

There's absolutely room to make the fixture a non issue but the AFL aren't about on field equalization.

They just want to maximize revenue, cash their bonuses, and hand it all over to the next bloke in line.

 

[Billy ray]

The "crafted for revenue" line is the critical piece here.

The Hawks are playing Brisbane in Brisbane for the first time since 2019. That just should not happen.

Over a 3 year span I would expect the following as a minimum:

Year 1: Hawks home game.
Year 2: Lions home game.
Year 3: Play twice

If we get to 20 teams in total then 19 games is plenty.

9 home
9 away
Gather round as a neutral venue with the host city rivalry game being the centrepiece on Friday night to open things.

You play a team away this year, you get them at home next year. Rotating the Gather Round matchups means that teams aren't missing out on home/away games. It's just part of the cycle.

Assuming we play 19 games over say 21 rounds, with each team getting two byes, then there's also no reason not to give every team at least two FTA Thursday/Friday night games during the year to help promote their club/brand/sponsors etc

There's absolutely room to make the fixture a non issue but the AFL aren't about on field equalization.

They just want to maximize revenue, cash their bonuses, and hand it all over to the next bloke in line.

Yep this is what should happen.
And if its a 15% reduction in games, just increase ticket prices/memberships/sponsorships to compensate. Id pay more for fairness

 

[eddiesmith]

The "crafted for revenue" line is the critical piece here.

The Hawks are playing Brisbane in Brisbane for the first time since 2019. That just should not happen.

Over a 3 year span I would expect the following as a minimum:

Year 1: Hawks home game.
Year 2: Lions home game.
Year 3: Play twice

If we get to 20 teams in total then 19 games is plenty.

9 home
9 away
Gather round as a neutral venue with the host city rivalry game being the centrepiece on Friday night to open things.

You play a team away this year, you get them at home next year. Rotating the Gather Round matchups means that teams aren't missing out on home/away games. It's just part of the cycle.

Assuming we play 19 games over say 21 rounds, with each team getting two byes, then there's also no reason not to give every team at least two FTA Thursday/Friday night games during the year to help promote their club/brand/sponsors etc

There's absolutely room to make the fixture a non issue but the AFL aren't about on field equalization.

They just want to maximize revenue, cash their bonuses, and hand it all over to the next bloke in line.

It would be nice for the expansion clubs to get some experience on the MCG in front of a big crowd instead of Collingwood having to travel there every year to give them a revenue boost.

Or whatever excuse they use for Sydney who’ve played Collingwood just 5 times this century in a home and away game at the MCG…

 

[randyzany]

The "crafted for revenue" line is the critical piece here.

The Hawks are playing Brisbane in Brisbane for the first time since 2019. That just should not happen.

Over a 3 year span I would expect the following as a minimum:

Year 1: Hawks home game.
Year 2: Lions home game.
Year 3: Play twice

If we get to 20 teams in total then 19 games is plenty.

9 home
9 away
Gather round as a neutral venue with the host city rivalry game being the centrepiece on Friday night to open things.

You play a team away this year, you get them at home next year. Rotating the Gather Round matchups means that teams aren't missing out on home/away games. It's just part of the cycle.

Assuming we play 19 games over say 21 rounds, with each team getting two byes, then there's also no reason not to give every team at least two FTA Thursday/Friday night games during the year to help promote their club/brand/sponsors etc

There's absolutely room to make the fixture a non issue but the AFL aren't about on field equalization.

They just want to maximize revenue, cash their bonuses, and hand it all over to the next bloke in line.

In the AFL's slight defence it's the networks, Ch 7 and Foxtel, that demand these permanent (Big 4 playing each other twice most years) fixtures because they theoretically bring in more revenue. But as we all know it doesn't always go to plan with Essendon and Carlton struggling most seasons with their fans not tuning in and turning up to games because of their subpar performances.

The AFL just acquiesces to their demands and pay themselves huge bonuses for meeting their KPIs when any monkey can sell out the game's integrity for dollars.

 

[Billy ray]

It would be nice for the expansion clubs to get some experience on the MCG in front of a big crowd instead of Collingwood having to travel there every year to give them a revenue boost.

Or whatever excuse they use for Sydney who’ve played Collingwood just 5 times this century in a home and away game at the MCG…

Yep. You know if (big if) but if the suns made the grand final, it would be our captains 130th AFL game but just his 6/7th at the G

 

[L_W_P]

In AFL's slight defence it's the networks, Ch 7 and Foxtel, that demand these permanent (Big 4 playing each other twice most years) fixtures because they theoretically bring in more revenue. But as we all know it doesn't always go to plan with Essendon and Carlton struggling most seasons with their fans not tuning in turning up to games because of their subpar performances.

The AFL just acquiesces to their demands and pay themselves huge bonuses for meeting their KPIs when any monkey can sell out the game's integrity for dollars.

Yep that's the problem though.

The AFL should simply be presenting 9 (soon to be 10) games per week, with as even a distribution of teams/venues/timeslots etc as possible.

At the very least, every club should get to host a Thursday night and a Friday night game during the season.

Clubs like the Roos, Dogs, Saints, Suns & Giants aren't going to be able to build themselves up properly if they don't have any real visibility to sell to their sponsors.