News ‘Would be unreal’: AFL to consult clubs over addition of ‘wildcard round’ to finals

[Holden Hillbilly]

The AFL will on Tuesday ask the 18 club chief executives whether it supports the introduction of a wildcard round, expanding the finals series.
The Herald Sun’s Jon Ralph reported CEO-elect Andrew Dillon would speak to the club bosses during a wide-ranging meeting at Werribee Mansion across Tuesday and Wednesday.
Following the success of Gather Round, the AFL wants to consider more innovative fixture ideas which could include allowing more teams into the finals series.
Using the pre-finals bye weekend the AFL could hold two ‘wildcard’ finals, between 7th and 10th as well as 8th and 9th, forcing those teams to win their way into the traditional final eight.
Technically these would not be ‘wildcard’ teams, as that usually refers to non-traditional qualifying teams - such as non-division winners in the NFL - but just extra finalists.
Either way the addition would give the teams who finish fifth and sixth an extra advantage, as they along with the top four would enjoy the pre-finals bye.

‘Would be unreal’: AFL to consult clubs over addition of ‘wildcard round’ to finals

‘Would be unreal’: AFL to consult clubs over addition of ‘wildcard round’ to finals

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[CharacterFirst]

Well Richmond will be thrilled with this idea.

 

[Art Vandelay_]

Are they that desperate to get Gold Coast to finals.

 

[Orange crush]

Are they that desperate to get Gold Coast to finals.

Gives the bombers hope

 

[Cmarsh]

Gives " made the eight" more uncertainty.
If you finish as high as 7th why should you have to play off for your finals spot to a team that finished as low as10th?

 

[Blackhawk42]

Absolutely ridiculous proposition and not anything that is being asked for.

 

[Ed_Gein]

Yes. Then make the Grand Final a best of 3. The fans would reeeeally appreciate these changes.

 

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

The only sport where it actually makes sense is the NFL.

The wildcards there are the teams with the best W/L record who didn't win their division. Often they have more wins than the teams who qualified directly. Last season Tampa Bay (8-9) finished 4th and the wildcards were Dallas (12-5), New York (9-1-7) and Seattle (9-8).

In the AFL it's just a thinly disguised way to the extend the finals series. As it is in the NBA.

 

[cznsnowy91]

I think it would be pretty fun/exciting to watch. It's gimicky though, if you're good enough to finish in the top 8 over a full season you shouldn't have to play a non finalist to confirm your spot.

 

[Kappa]

When we go to 19/20 teams, then a 8th vs 9th wildcard round would be good, otherwise far too many teams will be out of the finals race too early in the season.

 

[hcd199]

Calling it a "wildcard round" does nothing to hide the fact it's just a mediocre way to do a Final 10, and only showcases the AFL's pathetic lack of imagination when it comes to borrowing the dullest and dumbest ideas from every other sporting code - cultural cringe at its most hollow. Is it really "unreal" or "exciting" to watch 8th play 9th for the prospect of making a finals series in which neither is a realistic prospect anyway?

Final 8 for an 18-team competition - or even 19 or 20 teams - is a more than adequate size. But if we absolutely must expand the finals series to a 10, then at least have the dignity to call it what it is and do it properly, with 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th playing qualifying matches (winners get the double chance away to 1st/2nd, losers get a home final against the winners of 7th/10th and 8th/9th). Hyping these sub-elimination finals into something more than what they are by making them a standalone round with a different name would just be the same tone-deaf nonsense as usual from the AFL, though, so strap in...

 

[kickazz]

For the fiftieth fuggin time this is not what a wildcard round is, it's just a final ten FFS.

 

[ibd77]

Yes. Then make the Grand Final a best of 3. The fans would reeeeally appreciate these changes.

2nd that and the highest ranked gets to play at their preferred venue for 2 out of 3 matches with 1 match at the MCG to satisfy their contract.

 

[Golden_6]

To be fair, we’ll likely end up with 20 teams in the next 8-10 years so it makes sense to have a 10 team finals series.

The proposal isn’t a wildcard round, just an additional week with a tweaked system. They’ll try and market the s**t out of it though when it shouldn’t be.

 

[Toump Ass]

Bring back AFL-X

 

[TheUnicorn]

Even with 20 teams I'd still prefer top 8 to the top 10. Half the teams shouldn't get a run at the finals it takes away from the importance of the season in general.

 

[GC2015]

There's a very real possibility that Richmond, Carlton and Essendon would all be involved in a 7 v 10 & 8 v 9 wildcard round if it was introduced this year. Can't tell me 90,000 at the 'G for Richmond v Carlton (or Essendon) in the wildcard round game could possibly be considered a failure. It would be absolutely massive and people will wonder why we didn't introduce it earlier.

 

[Rotayjay]

What a stupid idea. Mediocre sides (like mine) don't deserve to play finals, and we need to stop importing all this American s**t to Australia.

 

[Kappa]

Calling it a "wildcard round" does nothing to hide the fact it's just a mediocre way to do a Final 10, and only showcases the AFL's pathetic lack of imagination when it comes to borrowing the dullest and dumbest ideas from every other sporting code - cultural cringe at its most hollow. Is it really "unreal" or "exciting" to watch 8th play 9th for the prospect of making a finals series in which neither is a realistic prospect anyway?

Final 8 for an 18-team competition - or even 19 or 20 teams - is a more than adequate size. But if we absolutely must expand the finals series to a 10, then at least have the dignity to call it what it is and do it properly, with 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th playing qualifying matches (winners get the double chance away to 1st/2nd, losers get a home final against the winners of 7th/10th and 8th/9th). Hyping these sub-elimination finals into something more than what they are by making them a standalone round with a different name would just be the same tone-deaf nonsense as usual from the AFL, though, so strap in...

Tone-deaf? I think people here are overestimating in the extreme how much the average fan would care. Most would just find the extra week of footy an extra week of entertainment.

 

[Kappa]

There's a very real possibility that Richmond, Carlton and Essendon would all be involved in a 7 v 10 & 8 v 9 wildcard round if it was introduced this year. Can't tell me 90,000 at the 'G for Richmond v Carlton (or Essendon) in the wildcard round game could possibly be considered a failure. It would be absolutely massive and people will wonder why we didn't introduce it earlier.

Bigfooty just loves to be outraged if we do anything that Americans do... they all eat Maccas 3 times a week though.

 

[My Tilly]

This is what happens when lawyers & businessman run our game.

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

The AFL finding new ways to * up the competition.

 

[bullish23]

The AFL’s, SEN’s and Fox Footy‘s sycophantic want to a be all things NFL is the height of cultural cringe.

 

[aj1992]

Yes. Then make the Grand Final a best of 3. The fans would reeeeally appreciate these changes.

Yes. Then make the Grand Final a best of 3. The fans would reeeeally appreciate these changes.

Game 2 of the grand final interstate? Remove some of that Melbourne Bias?

 

[windyhill]

Gives the bombers hope

And the afls, sorry, your team as well.