Mega Thread Port Forum General AFL Thread Part 31

[Schulzenfest]

Andrew Dillion has said that Wildcard Round is part of the finals.

"We're thrilled to deliver fans an extra weekend of finals footy, while giving more clubs and players the opportunity to play finals footy and win a Premiership," AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said in a statement.

The Wildcard Finals Round reflects our ongoing commitment to evolve our competition structure, building on recent additions like Gather Round and AFL Origin, ensuring our game continues to grow.

AFL confirms contentious change to finals system

AFL teams ranked ninth and 10th will be in contention to win the premiership from next season, with the league introducing a wildcard round.

www.abc.net.au

Ugh. It objectively isn't. This competition is cooked.

The NBA doesn't count the play-ins as playoff appearances. The AFL are blatantly ripping this concept off from another sport and they still haven't gotten it right.

 

[Coobk001]

Guess who thinks it's a winner - the biggest loser!

lol, asking the king of rewarding mediocrity about whether it rewards mediocrity.

 

[Holden Hillbilly]

 

[Andre]

Andrew Dillion has said that Wildcard Round is part of the finals.

"We're thrilled to deliver fans an extra weekend of finals footy, while giving more clubs and players the opportunity to play finals footy and win a Premiership," AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said in a statement.

The Wildcard Finals Round reflects our ongoing commitment to evolve our competition structure, building on recent additions like Gather Round and AFL Origin, ensuring our game continues to grow.

AFL confirms contentious change to finals system

AFL teams ranked ninth and 10th will be in contention to win the premiership from next season, with the league introducing a wildcard round.

www.abc.net.au

They don't think those clubs are going to win a flag (*insert next Bulldogs 2016 umpiring for 10th to win it all). This is purely so they can have two extra clubs say they made finals, for marketing the next year. 'We made finals in 2026, jump on board for even better in 2027!' sounds better for mid-table sides, than 'We missed finals yet again, please pay next year'. With the only reason they give a shit about getting an extra two clubs saying this, is more memberships boosts their own KPI's and bonuses.

8 teams in the finals with 18 was more than enough. 10 out of (soon to be) 19, is farcical. It's meant to be the elite of the year. If anything take it back to a final 6. For revenue lost, extend the H&A by 2 or 3 rounds, which has the side benefit of playing more teams twice and reducing the advantage/disadvantage teams get from who they were (un)lucky enough to double up with.

 

[Port01]

you can't have wildcards without divisions. In our case they are just the next best records.
Wildcards exist in NFL as teams may not win their division but still may have better records than division winners!

 

[Gryllis]

"While giving more clubs and players the opportunity to play finals footy and win a Premiership".

What? How is there more opportunity to win a flag?

You either look at it as 18 clubs have a chance to win a premiership at the start of the season. Or, more realistically, 2 clubs have a chance to win a premiership on grand final day, as nobody else was in a position to actually win a flag that season.

 

[Grave Danger]

Oh, and while we're dickering about with the game...

"flexibilty"

League makes big change to weighted rule ahead of fixture reveal

Teams can play up to four other teams in their ladder range, previously three, from next season

www.afl.com.au

 

[jb04]

Andrew Dillion has said that Wildcard Round is part of the finals.

So Andrew Dillion doesn't actually know what a wildcard is?

I'm beginning to think he doesn't know what he's doing!

 

[raptalia]

Good ****in question...

Nobody seems to want an AFL Wildcard Round, so why is it here?

Footy fans are not impressed with the AFL's new finals-extending Wildcard Round, but it is all part of Andrew Dillon's grand plan for total domination of Australian sport.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Grave Danger]

Good ****in question...

Nobody seems to want an AFL Wildcard Round, so why is it here?

Footy fans are not impressed with the AFL's new finals-extending Wildcard Round, but it is all part of Andrew Dillon's grand plan for total domination of Australian sport.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Holden Hillbilly]

The AFL Fans Association (AFLFA) has called on the AFL Commission and key AFL executives to review the proposed wildcard round in light of overwhelming fan feedback. The 2025 AFLFA Fans Survey shows that 77% of fans do not support the wildcard round, highlighting concerns around competitive fairness, fixture integrity, and fan experience.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

NFL match between Rams & Eagles at the G on 10/11 September - same weekend as semi-finals of the AFL.

The 10th is a Thursday so its a Thursday night game US time.

Broadcasting Act in US bans NFL games being broadcast on Friday's, that is reserved for High School Football broadcasts.

Given Philly are playing that means it will start between 7pm and 8pm US EST which in Melbourne is 9am and 10am Friday, given US will be on daylight savings time. Can't see the MCG being full at 10am on a Friday, but they will get 70,000+.

No Friday night final at the MCG that finals round.

 

[Doctor Feel]

I am glad that yet again, I disagree with Ken Hinkley and Gerard Whateley on something.

 

[JimmyBC]

Gerard Whateley is gonna get Donuts on the blower for his take on something every week now lol

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Good ****in question...

Nobody seems to want an AFL Wildcard Round, so why is it here?

Footy fans are not impressed with the AFL's new finals-extending Wildcard Round, but it is all part of Andrew Dillon's grand plan for total domination of Australian sport.

www.abc.net.au

This is about the broadcasters.

There is a good chance that in the next broadcasting deal, the $$value/year starting in 2032, stays flat or even decreases given what is happening to free to air broadcasters, and DAZN that now owns Foxtel, is still losing over $1bil USD as it tries to grow its worldwide sports reach.

The Saudis might have to rescue Oz sports who depend on Foxtel $$$. They have bought a small chunk of DAZN and are keen to use sports washing as part of their foreign policy. Don't be surprised if the Saudis take over world cricket in the next 5 years.

Streaming $$$ is an option, but the AFL knows that isn't popular with a big chunk of fans. The AFL are paranoid about broadcasting rights losing their value.

The broadcasters had a big whinge about the top 9 v bottom 9 differential this year and how many meaningless games there were in the last 40% of the season. This is the AFL trying to appease them, probably knowing that this big divide might continue for a few years, given the enormous skewing Academies, Father-Son picks, and Free Agency is having on the weak clubs ability to get talent onto their lists.

As Deep Throat used to say - follow the money.

 

[Doctor Feel]

This is about the broadcasters.

There is a good chance that in the next broadcasting deal, the $$value/year starting in 2032, stays flat or even decreases given what is happening to free to air broadcasters, and DAZN that now owns Foxtel, is still losing over $1bil USD as it tries to grow its worldwide sports reach.

The Saudis might have to rescue Oz sports who depend on Foxtel $$$. They have bought a small chunk of DAZN and are keen to use sports washing as part of their foreign policy. Don't be surprised if the Saudis take over world cricket in the next 5 years.

Streaming is an option, but the AFL knows that isn't popular with a big chunk of fans. The AFL are paranoid about broadcasting rights losing their value.

The broadcasters had a big whinge about the top 9 v bottom 9 differential this year and how many meaningless games there were in the last 40% of the season. This is the AFL trying to appease them, probably knowing that this big divide might continue for a few years, given the enormous skewing Academies and Free Agency is having on the weak clubs ability to get talent onto their lists.

As Deep Throat used to say - follow the money.

Lol yeah the AFL announcing it like its all about the fans and fun for all, when its actually about money. Surprising move that!

 

[JimmyBC]

I feel like they've been talking about a wildcard round for at least 5 years, put it out there through your media trumpets and get the public somewhat expecting it.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

I feel like they've been talking about a wildcard round for at least 5 years, put it out there through your media trumpets and get the public somewhat expecting it.

Hutchy started talking about it in 2018, as per the link I put in here but was moved to the fixture thread.

He has pushed it at every opportunity through his programs he was on, and SEN, as he was reborn in the US after being axed by Ch 7 in the noughties, and wants to copy most things US sports do.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

People don't understand how tough this competition is and how hard it is to win.

 

[Holden Hillbilly]

 

[Schulzenfest]

I'd honestly be less annoyed if they weren't saying that these games are classified as finals. If the games were being treated a wildcard qualification to make finals, but not as finals themselves, it would still be an unnecessary wank but at least it wouldn't fly in the face of what the word 'finals' has meant for 128 years.

 

[EskimoPAFC]

I'm really not convinced the wildcard round is a bad idea.

On the surface it disadvantages 7th and 8th. But in reality those two sides aren't competing for a flag anyway. Outside of that one time at band camp when the umpires pushed the dogs across the line, nobody outside the top 4 is ever a serious competitor. So 7th and 8th get the chance to play an extra final, which for sides in that bracket isn't a terrible thing.

It advantages 9th and 10th. This seems dumb on the surface, but again, none of this really matters as they aren't serious flag competitors 99% of the time.

And it advantages 5th and 6th, or at least it should, as they get a week's break before playing a banged up opponent.

So rather than have a week off footy, 4 teams get to play prime time knockout finals games in front of you'd assume pretty big crowds. All the teams that actually matter still get their break, and the fans can still have something to watch.

Its probably not perfect, but its much better than 99.9% of the changes that come out of AFL house.

 

[PowerLil]

It's a very stupid idea to try and mitigate the effects of the previous very stupid idea, the pre finals bye.

 

[Steve Dore]

I'm really not convinced the wildcard round is a bad idea.

On the surface it disadvantages 7th and 8th. But in reality those two sides aren't competing for a flag anyway. Outside of that one time at band camp when the umpires pushed the dogs across the line, nobody outside the top 4 is ever a serious competitor. So 7th and 8th get the chance to play an extra final, which for sides in that bracket isn't a terrible thing.

It advantages 9th and 10th. This seems dumb on the surface, but again, none of this really matters as they aren't serious flag competitors 99% of the time.

And it advantages 5th and 6th, or at least it should, as they get a week's break before playing a banged up opponent.

So rather than have a week off footy, 4 teams get to play prime time knockout finals games in front of you'd assume pretty big crowds. All the teams that actually matter still get their break, and the fans can still have something to watch.

Its probably not perfect, but its much better than 99.9% of the changes that come out of AFL house.

So what has been missing from AFL finals for the last 25 years that adding two extra teams and an extra week of games rectifies?

 

[Byrons Firen]

So what has been missing from AFL finals for the last 25 years that adding two extra teams and an extra week of games rectifies?

$'s and the tax free AFL have got plenty of that BUT they want more. The fans love finals

so we'll give them more, WC games dressed up as finals. Yet more is not always better just look at cricket,

the Ashes to me doesn't carry the same oomph as it used too and as for Big Bash well each to their own but

it doesn't get my propeller spinning. Hutchie and Eddie have wrapped it up as a fait accompli where any

push back is met with fake indignation and the inevitable "we've moved on, it's been debated for years"

WC games are not finals they're WC games to then play finals. Sneaky Americana BS dressed up as something it isn't.