17th side

[ashy_magpies]

AFL clubs step aside, bigfooty members its up to you; should the AFL introduce a 17th side?

We need 75% of the vote to grant the 17th licence..

 

[Penski]

I think you should also add:

If Yes, then where should the side be located?

 

[ShanBoi]

I don't like the idea because it leaves an uneven number of teams. I hate the gap week as it is. Having a bye on top of that every year will just be annoying. Good for players who need rest, but annoying for supporters

 

[Jakko]

I like it. Hopefully it will mean a Vic club dies on the vine and doesnt get shipped off to some place in Aus and told "heres your new local team, oh btw the Vics will claim its still their team when youre successful".

 

[FoxC]

No, just relocate Collingwood.

 

[Funkalicous]

We need a Gold Coast, West Sydney, and Perth team. The sooner we expand this great game the better.

 

[Murray]

No, just relocate Collingwood.

Then about 6 clubs would go broke

 

[Funkalicous]

I don't like the idea because it leaves an uneven number of teams. I hate the gap week as it is. Having a bye on top of that every year will just be annoying. Good for players who need rest, but annoying for supporters

On the contrary, a bye would eliminate the split round and give us 7-8 game per week.

 

[Murray]

On the contrary, a bye would eliminate the split round and give us 7-8 game per week.

And it worked OK when we had 15 teams

 

[BABYBOMBERS2007]

A 17th side would be good except for the bye round-bring in an 18th at the same time and that would be good.

 

[FlyingCrow]

We need a Gold Coast, West Sydney, and Perth team. The sooner we expand this great game the better.

Perth team??

West Coast Eages are based in Perth

 

[McCrann]

Perth team??

West Coast Eages are based in Perth

Have you seen the patterns of growth in Australia? Particularly Western Australia?

Perth is booming, and looking at how many Chinese there are - Perth is going to be booming for a long time yet.

It is good with 2 teams over there at the moment - but I hear they're about to build a new stadium in Perth.

What better idea than to put a 3rd AFL team in Perth, it would get 30,000 members in no time - Fremantle and West Coast basically can't have any more members because Subiaco is not big enough!

Think about it a little.

With 3 teams in Perth, there would be 6 "Derbies" every year. They would attract huge interest in the WA Media. There would be even more rivalry between all the 3 teams about who would be top dog each year.

As well, if one of Fremantle and West Coast has a bad year at the moment, then the other team just streaks ahead - with 3 teams this is more unlikely to happen.

Also, every 2nd week there'd be 2 matches in Perth! That would be great for the AFL and great for Perth.

Honestly, I think introducing an 18th team in Perth in 2012 (In time for the new AFL TV Rights Deal) would be the perfect fit for the competition.

9 matches a weekend, 198 matches in the Home & Away. It will up the TV rights, provide more money for the game and ultimately provide greater benefits flowing back to the existing clubs.

The existing clubs would be incompetent to reject a 17th team on the basis of diluting the talent pool - can't they see the bigger picture, and the increased revenues 1, and then 2, more professional teams would provide?

Particularly for players as wellCurrently we have about 700 AFL players (including rookies) running around, with 2 new teams the AFL could support around 800 players.

 

[krisholio14]

I don't like the idea because it leaves an uneven number of teams. I hate the gap week as it is. Having a bye on top of that every year will just be annoying. Good for players who need rest, but annoying for supporters

The bye is also another thing for the clubs to constantly whinge about too.

"Bye too early in the season"

Bye too late in the season"

"We want the bye in the last round"

"We don't want the bye in the last round"

and so forth.

 

[FOOOOTY]

I don't like it,

Pauline Hanson style.

 

[Margim]

I don't like the idea because it leaves an uneven number of teams. I hate the gap week as it is. Having a bye on top of that every year will just be annoying. Good for players who need rest, but annoying for supporters

Perhaps the gap week will no longer be necessary because of the bye.

 

[MagpieGirl_13]

I've seen this posted before, I've posted this before & I'll post it again.
Once the AFL can have 16 fully functioning and profitable teams, THEN they can create another team. I doubt it will get enough supporters & it will be the kangaroos all over again... Yes, I'll admit it would be good for expanding the game but then when/if this new club goes broke, the AFL will be in the news for all the wrong reasons again.
This idea for a 17th team is a stupid idea & I don't want it!!!!

 

[brockbruiser]

The bye is also another thing for the clubs to constantly whinge about too.

"Bye too early in the season"

Bye too late in the season"

"We want the bye in the last round"

"We don't want the bye in the last round"

and so forth.

True, and which sides would get a double bye??

 

[ManWithNoName]

Hell no. It'll dilute the talent pool even more. 16 teams is fine.

 

[magpie_militia]

The bye is also another thing for the clubs to constantly whinge about too.

"Bye too early in the season"

That is a good point. It would be unlucky for the team that gets the bye in the first round. Considering their players wouldn't even get a rest technically.

 

[PieLebo87]

No, just relocate Collingwood.

Yeah, and there goes half a million dollars down the drain each year for the Cats

 

[estibador]

I want to see teams in the Gold Coast and Western Sydney eventually. For the sake of growing the league and the game as a whole.

I'd prefer not to have 17 teams with all the accompanying messiness of byes and uneven rounds, but if that's what we have to do then that's what we have to do.

 

[FOOOOTY]

Not even looking close to 75%.

BigFooty says no.

 

[McCrann]

Can't believe some of you guys are so negative! This is a battle to grow the game in the face of competition of other sports.

Sure, it may always seem that introducing new teams will dilute the talent pool! Those are arguments that have been heard before when Adelaide entered the comp, and Fremantle for that matter as well. The fact is the competition needs to expand to grow support, grow interest, grow revenues and all the attendant benefits that come along with it.

If it isn't growing it is stagnating.

Take a look around Australia - are you all aware that Australian Football, as represented by the AFL, is the only major sporting code in Australia that has not grown at all (in terms of new teams) during the past decade!

On Andrew Demetriou's watch we are yet to see any new teams, any meaningful expansion of the competition at all!

Fact is, Demetrious needs to get cracking if he wants to leave a legacy of the growth of the game during his time in charge. Look back at all that Ross Oakley achieved and you can marvel at home much his work contributed to the AFL being the pre-eminent sporting code in the country.

We have a lot to thank Ross Oakley for.

 

[thetigerman]

While we're at it, why not any a team out of New Zealand along with the Gold Coast team, the AFL is stupid enough to do it.

 

[McCrann]

While we're at it, why not any a team out of New Zealand along with the Gold Coast team, the AFL is stupid enough to do it.

Why is that so stupid?

Not tomorrow, but someday - maybe 2020/25 or so?

Do you want the game to grow - or are you happy for it to just stagnate?