AFL Introduces Wild Card Round

[Daka]

If Richmond ever make the finals through a wildcard, I will even say it we don't deserve it... and it sucks and I hope we throw the game.

 

[TheEscapeClub]

The reaction just goes to show you that the fans know nothing. If the fans were in charge, they wouldn't want to change anything.

• There was opposition to the final-6 when it came in
• There was HUGE opposition to the final-8 when it came in (in the 15 team league in 1994)
• there was opposition to the national competition.
• there was opposition to non-Vic teams getting home finals. I remember Allan McAllister saying that all finals should be played in Victoria and he wasn't alone.
• there was opposition to teams moving out of their traditional home grounds
• there was massive opposition before the first ever night final between Essendon and Carlton in 1993.

etc etc

Virtually every move was opposed by the riff-raff, and every move was in retrospect the right thing to do. I notice the riff-raff is alive in well in here. The "leave-the-game-alone" crowd need to be ignored.

The fans don't like change, but they always come around to it eventually. It'll be the same when the GF is moved to night/twilight. The fans will whine and then get over it in 12 months time.

We had a final-8 in a 16 team league when 50% of the teams made the finals.

We will soon be at 19 teams, so 50% of 19 is 9.5 (rounded up to 10) so 10 is the right number. Keeps more teams involved, less dead -rubbers etc. Same proportion as 8 in the 16-team league.

My opposition is that it is the wrong type of final-10. Should have been a knockout version. But 10 is clearly the right number.

Night finals are shit, night footy in general is shit but I at least understand why we have it.

This is now the straw that has broken the camel's back for me. The AFL won't care about me, I'm only one person, and I don't care about them and their compromised competition anymore.

I'll hang around for the draft but I'm pretty much done. I'll stay around for the F1 and maybe the non-footy boards, but I think this will be it for me.

 

[kirky]

The reaction just goes to show you that the fans know nothing. If the fans were in charge, they wouldn't want to change anything.

• There was opposition to the final-6 when it came in
• There was HUGE opposition to the final-8 when it came in (in the 15 team league in 1994)
• there was opposition to the national competition.
• there was opposition to non-Vic teams getting home finals. I remember Allan McAllister saying that all finals should be played in Victoria and he wasn't alone.
• there was opposition to teams moving out of their traditional home grounds
• there was massive opposition before the first ever night final between Essendon and Carlton in 1993.

etc etc

Virtually every move was opposed by the riff-raff, and every move was in retrospect the right thing to do. I notice the riff-raff is alive in well in here. The "leave-the-game-alone" crowd need to be ignored.

The fans don't like change, but they always come around to it eventually. It'll be the same when the GF is moved to night/twilight. The fans will whine and then get over it in 12 months time.

We had a final-8 in a 16 team league when 50% of the teams made the finals.

We will soon be at 19 teams, so 50% of 19 is 9.5 (rounded up to 10) so 10 is the right number. Keeps more teams involved, less dead -rubbers etc. Same proportion as 8 in the 16-team league.

My opposition is that it is the wrong type of final-10. Should have been a knockout version. But 10 is clearly the right number.

Do agree.

Its like the Grand Final. Nearly every other final is at night but the Grand Final is during the day.

Broadcaster pay a shit load of money and are entitled to have input into the time of the Grand Final which I believe a twilight Grand Final is the right balance.

 

[Headless]

Final 10.

Hmm.

 

[kirky]

Night finals are shit, night footy in general is shit but I at least understand why we have it.

This is now the straw that has broken the camel's back for me. The AFL won't care about me, I'm only one person, and I don't care about them and their compromised competition anymore.

I'll hang around for the draft but I'm pretty much done. I'll stay around for the F1 and maybe the non-footy boards, but I think this will be it for me.

So how much do you play each year for your membership?

 

[kirky]

In a 20 team competition, you don’t need to continue rewarding half the competition. Top 8 is fine.

Night and twilight grand finals will never be accepted, it ruins the flow of the day. Having time to go out after the game makes the day even better.

We saw what a night grand final was like a few years ago, and it was awful. The day dragged on, and it was around 11 by the time things wrapped up.
Terrible experience for what is usually the best day of the year.

Both the 2020 and 2021 Grand Finals were fantastic.

So you need to be sober for the first past of the day, you poor puppy.

 

[kirky]

This is more than half
You have to have some integrity

So let me get this straight, we have to have integrity around a finals system but we don’t worry about integrity around the fixture to qualify for the finals.

Ok, got it.

 

[Dan26]

Night finals are shit, night footy in general is shit but I at least understand why we have it.

This is now the straw that has broken the camel's back for me. The AFL won't care about me, I'm only one person, and I don't care about them and their compromised competition anymore.

I'll hang around for the draft but I'm pretty much done. I'll stay around for the F1 and maybe the non-footy boards, but I think this will be it for me.

LOL!

SO we had 50% of teams making it (8 out of 16) from 1995 to 2010.

The AFL have added three new teams, and by creating a final-10, have kept the proportion of finalists as close to 50% as possible given 19 is an odd number (50% of 19 is 9.5)

Which all seems perfectly logical, and no different to the AFL moving from the final-6 (when it was 14 teams) to a final-8 with 16 teams.

And this perfectly logical change in structure to the finals is the "last straw" LOL! Give me a break. Heaven forbid the AFL reduce some dead rubbers and keep more fan engagement for a bit longer, perhaps adding a bit to the TV rights in the process. How horrific.

Take your hyperbole elsewhere, seriously. Last straw, LOL! Give me a break.

 

[Daka]

Wildcard round would make more sense with another 2 teams. 20 teams at least.

You have more teams making finals than not making it...

 

[Biggy_Boy]

I really, really do not like the Dillon Administration.

Seems like every decision being made under him is a bad one, and they're doubling down on mistakes rather than correcting. At least with Gill you could say that when the fans hated something, they'd pull it back pretty quickly.

Opening Round, wild card, the extensive rules changes. A lot of anti-fan changes being made in a short period of time.

 

[kirky]

NBA fans hate it too but at least there’s 30 teams.

A top 10 in an 18 team comp is ridiculous, especially when you factor in that there’s a maximum of 6 genuine contenders on any given year already.

You are being slightly off with this - each conference has a top 10 with only 15 teams in each conference. So 20 out of 30 teams make playoffs (75%) not 10 out of 18 (55%) and shortly to be 10 out of 19 (52%).

 

[jwikked]

Seems like every decision being made under him is a bad one, and they're doubling down on mistakes rather than correcting. At least with Gill you could say that when the fans hated something, they'd pull it back pretty quickly.

Opening Round, wild card, the extensive rules changes. A lot of anti-fan changes being made in a short period of time.

Dillon is already highly unpopular. Why wouldn't the AFL force through these unpopular changes while he's in charge. Nothing he does will improve his image, from the AFL's perspective - it would be a waste to not use him as the lightning rod.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

I half get it as the pre finals bye is a joke having two games (you assume Friday and Saturday nights) make that week less dead.

Harder to win from 7th oh well don’t come 7th to 10th then.

 

[Mister B]

It's a shit idea that just provides another opportunity for the AFL to manipulate the outcome of games and finals appearances. It would be fine if every AFL fan stood firm and refused to turn up to the games. Unfortunately, we all know that die hard fans will turn up and the AFL will herald it a success and we will only be able to blame ourselves.

 

[lalorGOAT]

****ing incompetent dipshits. No one wants to see 10th place in finals.

 

[_Cerberus_]

Worst CEO ever. What pisses me off the most about him, is how he is deliberately obtuse. He is NOT popular, and many of the decisions he has made ARE NOT popular with the fans. Yet each time he comes out and gloats how it's good for the game, and that fans love it. The guy doesn't give one F what the fans want. That is the sign of a poor and weak leader. A good leader is able to balance the financial interests, fan interests, and equality of the game. He is only about the money and the obsession with the Americanization of everything. Not fans or fixing up the actual issues.

The worst part about Wild Card? Teams 7-10, now have to win 5 games to win the Grand Final, where teams 1-4 only have to win 3. Not even in the NFL or NBA, is there such a wide discrepancy. There is only a one game difference.

 

[hawkman]

Don't really have a major problem with it. At least it means there will be footy on that weekend now. Just get rid of opening round

It wil also become even funnier when Essendon can't even win one of these games

 

[lalorGOAT]

For teams 1-6 it makes no difference. Teams 7 and 8 are shafted but for the neutral its more games, so good.

If anything we want less games. The season drags on for far too long as it is.

 

[Saint12]

What a time to be an Essendon supporter

 

[fpm84]

I’m just so disillusioned by the people in charge of the game I love.

 

[Biggy_Boy]

I half get it as the pre finals bye is a joke having two games (you assume Friday and Saturday nights) make that week less dead.

Harder to win from 7th oh well don’t come 7th to 10th then.

How about just scrap the pre-finals bye? All it's done is stuffed up the incentive for finishing top 4 and winning the QF.

 

[Drummond]

Introducing something no one wants. How typical of the AFL.

 

[AdamKingsleysForearms]

And thus continues the AFL House trend of taking fan suggestions and throwing them into the shredder

 

[Dan26]

No issues with it.

Keeps more teams in contention for longer. 2023 would have been a cracker of a season with teams down to 13th fighting for a finals position in the final round.

You're 100% correct. It's almost as if the "leave the game alone" regressives are unaware that the AFL is a business.

 

[Vindicater]

Shithouse.