Many people, like myself, want to see the AFL's philosophy towards the fixture altered dramatically such that the main priority becomes fairness, and 'increasing revenue' takes second place. The many and varied reasons as to the importance of such a fixture have been debated elsewhere but suffice to say that the premise of this thread is that the AFL must revert to a fair fixture ASAP.
Right now we have 18 teams playing 22 matches per season. That works out to 198 H&A matches of AFL every year.
Unfortunately, if we were to revert to a fair fixture with the current 18-team competition, the only options would be a 34-match season (too long) or a 17-match season - 153 matches of AFL per year, a reduction of over 20%. This would naturally lead to a reduction in the value of the broadcasting rights which, I'm sure most will agree, is not an option at this stage.
The best alternative that I can see is this: increase the competition to 20 teams who play each other once: 190 matches per season. A fair fixture. Ideally I would want this to come into effect as of Season 2017 (as that will be the first of the next broadcast rights agreement).
The question is whether two new teams could be found and introduced by then without adding to the AFL's already-sizeable burden of propping up GWS and GC. For my plan to work, there would have to be at least one new expansion club which could come in and pay its own way within a few years at most, and one other club (perhaps Tasmanian) which could at least be mostly self-sufficient relatively quickly.
I currently have a thread going on the Main board to discuss whether or not WA could support a viable and financial third club by 2017. If WA could not support such an expansion club, then I suspect no region could. Melbourne is obviously full as it is, SA still has its issues with Port Adelaide (a club I admire and want in the competition) often cited as a poor choice for an expansion club, NSW and QLD are clearly over-saturated with football clubs at the moment and will not need new ones for at least twenty years (and possibly as many as fifty), and NT and Canberra need no explanation. I would have thought a third WA team was more viable than a Tasmanian team, but this is another topic worthy of debate.
To sweeten the deal for the broadcasters (and 'football fans' who care more about money than actual footy), the option could be there to expand to a 20-round competition to facilitate a 'Rivalry Round' (Ess v Coll, Rich v Carl, Derby, Showdown, Pineapple Grapple, Stoush, etc) to bolster ratings, attendance etc. Obviously this would compromise the fixture to some degree but it would still be much better than the current system.
My plan faces many issues including:
*Can two new clubs be found who won't break the AFL's bank?
*Is there enough corporate support in Australia to back 20 professional AFL teams (as well as NRL, Super 15, A-League)
*Is there enough football talent to maintain high-level footy across 10 matches per week? (I think 'yes' but understand many disagree)
*How do you sort out finals?
*When would the extra match be played? (I support two Friday night matches, you could play a Friday night in Perth every second week and time it so that as match 1 in Melbourne finishes you can cross live to Perth for match 2).
I'm interested to get people's thoughts on my idea. For me, the biggest obstacle is finding two new clubs who won't break the bank. However, if this is what it takes to get a fair fixture, then it is well worth looking into.
Right now we have 18 teams playing 22 matches per season. That works out to 198 H&A matches of AFL every year.
Unfortunately, if we were to revert to a fair fixture with the current 18-team competition, the only options would be a 34-match season (too long) or a 17-match season - 153 matches of AFL per year, a reduction of over 20%. This would naturally lead to a reduction in the value of the broadcasting rights which, I'm sure most will agree, is not an option at this stage.
The best alternative that I can see is this: increase the competition to 20 teams who play each other once: 190 matches per season. A fair fixture. Ideally I would want this to come into effect as of Season 2017 (as that will be the first of the next broadcast rights agreement).
The question is whether two new teams could be found and introduced by then without adding to the AFL's already-sizeable burden of propping up GWS and GC. For my plan to work, there would have to be at least one new expansion club which could come in and pay its own way within a few years at most, and one other club (perhaps Tasmanian) which could at least be mostly self-sufficient relatively quickly.
I currently have a thread going on the Main board to discuss whether or not WA could support a viable and financial third club by 2017. If WA could not support such an expansion club, then I suspect no region could. Melbourne is obviously full as it is, SA still has its issues with Port Adelaide (a club I admire and want in the competition) often cited as a poor choice for an expansion club, NSW and QLD are clearly over-saturated with football clubs at the moment and will not need new ones for at least twenty years (and possibly as many as fifty), and NT and Canberra need no explanation. I would have thought a third WA team was more viable than a Tasmanian team, but this is another topic worthy of debate.
To sweeten the deal for the broadcasters (and 'football fans' who care more about money than actual footy), the option could be there to expand to a 20-round competition to facilitate a 'Rivalry Round' (Ess v Coll, Rich v Carl, Derby, Showdown, Pineapple Grapple, Stoush, etc) to bolster ratings, attendance etc. Obviously this would compromise the fixture to some degree but it would still be much better than the current system.
My plan faces many issues including:
*Can two new clubs be found who won't break the AFL's bank?
*Is there enough corporate support in Australia to back 20 professional AFL teams (as well as NRL, Super 15, A-League)
*Is there enough football talent to maintain high-level footy across 10 matches per week? (I think 'yes' but understand many disagree)
*How do you sort out finals?
*When would the extra match be played? (I support two Friday night matches, you could play a Friday night in Perth every second week and time it so that as match 1 in Melbourne finishes you can cross live to Perth for match 2).
I'm interested to get people's thoughts on my idea. For me, the biggest obstacle is finding two new clubs who won't break the bank. However, if this is what it takes to get a fair fixture, then it is well worth looking into.
