Opinion How do we fix the compromised season fixture?

[Underarm]

This is perfect.

I some how hadn’t heard of this system but it’s absolutely brilliant and 100% fair.

Why they hell didn’t t they bring this in.

It sounds great at first glance; but completely falls apart when you try to implement it.

 

[WilloTree]

20 teams

Play Everyone
Rivalry Round
Gather Round
State of Origin (WA v SA/Qld v NSW)
Extra Round of Finals

Boom

 

[LordLucifer]

The way to fix the fixture is quite easy, get rid of Dillion & Kane, the clowns running this shitshow.

Then you can bugger off their utterly stupid opening round crap for a start.

After that, revert back to a 22-round season with the teams being put into groups based on their ladder positions from the season before (1-6, 7-12 & 13-18)

Rounds 1-5 are played against the other five teams in your group
Rounds 6-17 are played against the other 12 teams in the other two groups
Rounds 18-22 are played against the other five teams in your group again

 

[HairyO]

The only way to fix the fix is to go back to a genuine draw where the entire season is randomly generated - with limitations on home and away numbers for each team, as well as ensure clubs getting 6 or fewer day breaks do not play teams getting 7 or more day breaks.

This could all very easily be programmed.

And after the first year is done, the following year the addition will be the home team from the previous game will be the away team the next time. Over a 3 or 4 year period this means every team will play every other team the same number of times both home and away.

It means an end to all the games which are done purely to generate income and to fiddle the ladder.

And the odds of this happening are 0. Because clubs want money first, premierships second.

It also means the AFL need better ways to boost the weaker teams. The easiest way is to drop the salary cap floor and allow clubs to bank the savings and also allow maybe bottom 4 clubs to spend an additional one off amount (effectively a sign on bonus).

 

[kalaru]

Season fixture will always be compromised irrespective of any future changes. There will always be bias, always be disappointment. Reducing expectation, reducing media influence and (lol) making all clubs equal is about all you can hope for.
Fining or restricting media 'performers' that simply make things up, might reduce the angst in the his area considerably. Perception matters.

 

[kranky al]

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.

Then ties themselves in knots trying to fix their own shitty nappy

 

[kranky al]

Each team plays each other once alternating home and away each year.

Then you have the top 8 and the bottom 10

Each team from the top 8 plays each other team once - 7 games and that sets top and bottom 4

Finals go as per usual.

The bottom 10 become the second division, play each other once and top 4 play off for the second division flag. Top four finals like the wafl.

The VFL get more money from finals.

Bottom teams in the way up get something to watch in September as well as finals experience.

Over two years the fixture becomes more even

 

[Underarm]

The way to fix the fixture is quite easy, get rid of Dillion & Kane, the clowns running this shitshow.

Then you can bugger off their utterly stupid opening round crap for a start.

After that, revert back to a 22-round season with the teams being put into groups based on their ladder positions from the season before (1-6, 7-12 & 13-18)

Rounds 1-5 are played against the other five teams in your group
Rounds 6-17 are played against the other 12 teams in the other two groups
Rounds 18-22 are played against the other five teams in your group again

So your solution is to make it significantly less fair? Whoever finishes 7th is laughing all the way to a top 4 finish.

Bottom teams in the way up get something to watch in September as well as finals experience.

Do you really want to watch another Month Of eagles losing?

 

[Cyclops]

You can have it big. You can have it good. You can have it fair.

Pick one.

 

[TRP1996]

Objectively, a true, fair, Home and Away season would involve every team playing each other twice - once home and once away. And all of a team's home games should be played at the same ground (thus avoiding some teams having their away fixtures shunted to regional grounds - e.g. playing Dees in Alice, Bullies on Mars, Suns in Darwin, historically Hawks and Roos in Tassie).

Obviously will never happen as would require culling a whole bunch of teams, and mean less games per round and therefore less $$$.

 

[The Tilt]

You also have to look at the number of home games total. If you are splitting after 17 rounds, some teams will have played 9 home games, others 8.

After 17 rounds everyone will have played everyone else once, and will have played 8 home, 8 away, 1 neutral (Gather round). In theory it's perfectly even at that point.

The chances of each group falling perfectly into place where each team finish with 11 home games, is astronomically small. There will be teams with 12 home games and others with only 10.
And that's before even trying to balance who played who and where.

Apart from the competitive unfairness, how do teams sell memberships based on an unknown number of home games. Which will remain unknown until 3/4 of the way through the season.

A 17-6 model allows for everyone to play 11 home games. Everyone gets 3 home and 3 away in the final stanza of 6 games that are fixtured after round 17. That really isn't an issue.

What's unavoidable under 17-6 is teams having to playing others either twice at home (or twice away) within the same season. (i.e. if all of your double-ups end up being clubs you've already played at home.) It's a drawback of that model, but I think it's worth it on balance.

 

[Underarm]

What's unavoidable under 17-6 is teams having to playing others either twice at home (or twice away) within the same season. (i.e. if all of your double-ups end up being clubs you've already played at home.) It's a drawback of that model, but I think it's worth it on balance.

So you would prefer a season where you might have to play in Perth 3 times, and Geelong twice? You think that is fairer than the current system?

the 17-6 had many many flaws, this being one of the smaller ones.

 

[OhhhhhCyril]

You can't. The fixture hasn't been fair and won't ever be unless everyone plays each other once or twice.
It's really simple.

The season is too long. Everyone plays each other once, the following year the home rounds are switched around.

 

[The Tilt]

So you would prefer a season where you might have to play in Perth 3 times, and Geelong twice? You think that is fairer than the current system?

Yep, I do. It’s a formula-driven model, where a team’s double-ups are determined by ladder position at round 17 rather than by AFL fiat. It avoids the situation where double-ups are skewed towards either end of the ladder, thereby delivering a more even fixture. The potential of playing in Perth 3 times is a drawback (actually, not really – we never lose there), but it’s a luck of the draw of thing. The Suns will be unlucky to have to travel to Perth for an EF simply due to ladder position: them’s the breaks etc.

 

[LordLucifer]

So your solution is to make it significantly less fair? Whoever finishes 7th is laughing all the way to a top 4 finish.

And if that were to happen, next year they would get a "harder" draw given they would play the other teams in the top 6 twice.

Based on this season, it would be Hawthorn, Bulldogs, Gold Coast, Carlton & St. Kilda in that mid-tier, would not guarentee anything to anyone.

 

[Underarm]

Yep, I do. It’s a formula-driven model, where a team’s double-ups are determined by ladder position at round 17 rather than by AFL fiat. It avoids the situation where double-ups are skewed towards either end of the ladder, thereby delivering a more even fixture. The potential of playing in Perth 3 times is a drawback (actually, not really – we never lose there), but it’s a luck of the draw of thing. The Suns will be unlucky to have to travel to Perth for an EF simply due to ladder position: them’s the breaks etc.

The current system is also formula driven, with the flexibility to allow for derby matches, and reduced travel for Non Victorian clubs.

 

[Underarm]

And if that were to happen, next year they would get a "harder" draw given they would play the other teams in the top 6 twice.

Based on this season, it would be Hawthorn, Bulldogs, Gold Coast, Carlton & St. Kilda in that mid-tier, would not guarentee anything to anyone.

And why is that better than splitting your double up matches relatively evenly across the ladder?

 

[HairyO]

Each team plays each other once alternating home and away each year.

Then you have the top 8 and the bottom 10

Each team from the top 8 plays each other team once - 7 games and that sets top and bottom 4

Finals go as per usual.

The bottom 10 become the second division, play each other once and top 4 play off for the second division flag. Top four finals like the wafl.

The VFL get more money from finals.

Bottom teams in the way up get something to watch in September as well as finals experience.

Over two years the fixture becomes more even

I would need days or months to come up with a worse system than this. Why would anyone really care about teams who finish 11th or 17th? The season would be pointless for 2 months. We saw this year how dull so many of the games were because they were teams who couldnt play finals up against teams who couldnt play finals.

You'd almost be doing a WCE and just be happy with pick 1 in the draft.

 

[oak79]

Each team plays each other once alternating home and away each year.

Then you have the top 8 and the bottom 10

Each team from the top 8 plays each other team once - 7 games and that sets top and bottom 4

Finals go as per usual.

The bottom 10 become the second division, play each other once and top 4 play off for the second division flag. Top four finals like the wafl.

The VFL get more money from finals.

Bottom teams in the way up get something to watch in September as well as finals experience.

Over two years the fixture becomes more even

A trophy for finishing 9th?

Please no.

 

[Andyy]

I would be moderately interested in slightly shorter games to facilitate more H&A games.

Not the 25min quarters of 2020, but around 27-28min would be OK (maybe 18m + time on).

Play each team twice, each team gets one home and away game/year, alternating who goes first each year.

Ideally there wouldn't be 18 teams in my perfect league but that's a separate conversation.


Scrap preseason practice matches.
No byes
No pre-finals rest
Potentially shorter breaks, rather than 7d average, aim 5-6 days.
Extended players lists, expecting the fittest players not to play all H&A games


Whole season would be done in 34 weeks max, 4 weeks for finals. Season could start early-mid March and end late November.

Players get December + half of Jan off. Shorter preseason in Jan/Feb.

 

[HairyO]

I would be moderately interested in slightly shorter games to facilitate more H&A games.

Not the 25min quarters of 2020, but around 27-28min would be OK (maybe 18m + time on).

Play each team twice, each team gets one home and away game/year, alternating who goes first each year.

Ideally there wouldn't be 18 teams in my perfect league but that's a separate conversation.


Scrap preseason practice matches.
No byes
No pre-finals rest
Potentially shorter breaks, rather than 7d average, aim 5-6 days.
Extended players lists, expecting the fittest players not to play all H&A games


Whole season would be done in 34 weeks max, 4 weeks for finals. Season could start early-mid March and end late November.

Players get December + half of Jan off. Shorter preseason in Jan/Feb.

Dont stop the clock for ball-ups, but also, ball it up immediately rather than waiting 10 seconds for the ruckmen to arrive.

 

[Andyy]

Dont stop the clock for ball-ups, but also, ball it up immediately rather than waiting 10 seconds for the ruckmen to arrive.

Hmmmm, interesting point. Would this diminish the role of the ruckman? Would teams stop playing big, lumbering players and just employ another midfielder to get to the contest quickly?

Definitely keep the clock going. Maybe keep it snappy re: ball up.

 

[Bunnings]

hmmm..... So a team playing, say, the reigning premiers Brisbane once - has to only beat them once to get 4 points. If you are fixtured to play them twice, you have to beat them twice to get the same 4 points.

I get how the logic works against crap team.

Maybe the answer is a points system like the AFL draft. Higher teams, away from home are worth more points than playing the 18th team on your home ground. It would weigh results to give a fairer outcome but it would be too complex to understand.

There’s no perfect answer, but I don’t mind play everyone for 4 points, cos they’ll never go play everyone once or twice I don’t think.

 

[GhostofJimJess]

Have two equal divisions, each with their own ladder so teams are only measured against those with exactly the same fixture. Play everyone on your ladder twice (home and away) and the other ladder once.

 

[The_Todd07]

After 17 rounds everyone will have played everyone else once, and will have played 8 home, 8 away, 1 neutral (Gather round). In theory it's perfectly even at that point.


A 17-6 model allows for everyone to play 11 home games. Everyone gets 3 home and 3 away in the final stanza of 6 games that are fixtured after round 17. That really isn't an issue.

What's unavoidable under 17-6 is teams having to playing others either twice at home (or twice away) within the same season. (i.e. if all of your double-ups end up being clubs you've already played at home.) It's a drawback of that model, but I think it's worth it on balance.

Remind me again how many games you would play after the split against teams in your group of 6