a) Everyone plays each other once in the first 17 rounds, which is good, but travel is uneven (i.e. West Coast play Adelaide and Port at home rather than one at home and one in SA)
b) The last 5 rounds are set in stone and not left blank depending on ladder position so some clubs will inevitably get an easier run home than others
This is how I'd do it.
- Everyone plays each other once but better distribution. Take, for example, QLD and NSW. If you have Sydney vs. Brisbane (SCG) then in that same season, Sydney would play Gold Coast in QLD. Brissy would host GWS and GWS would host Gold Coast. Next season, all these fixtures would be reversed. Brissy vs Sydney at the Gabba, Sydney vs Gold Coast @ SCG etc. Do this with WA teams travelling to SA and so on.
- For Victorian teams, put them in blocks of two: Carlton-Collingwood, Richmond-Essendon, Geelong-Hawthorn etc. When you pair them with interstate teams, you'd have something like this:
2022:
Collingwood vs Sydney MCG
Sydney vs Carlton SCG
Carlton vs GWS Marvel
GWS vs Collingwood Giants stadium
2023:
Sydney vs. Collingwood SCG
Carlton vs. Sydney Marvel/MCG
GWS vs. Carlton Giants stadium
Collingwood vs GWS MCG
etc etc. Vic sides play each other once and reverse them the next year.
Last five rounds is 1v2 round 18, 1v3 round 19 etc. Or, you just have everyone play each other once, with more byes and split rounds throughout the year.
But if the AFL is going to (and they should) have everyone play each other once in the first 17 rounds, Collingwood should play one WA side at home and one away per year and reverse it every year etc. It isn't hard and what it does is stop situations like Sydney playing Collingwood in Sydney every year. 2013 is the last time Sydney has played the Pies at the G, Freo hasn't played Melbourne in Perth since 2015 etc.
b) The last 5 rounds are set in stone and not left blank depending on ladder position so some clubs will inevitably get an easier run home than others
This is how I'd do it.
- Everyone plays each other once but better distribution. Take, for example, QLD and NSW. If you have Sydney vs. Brisbane (SCG) then in that same season, Sydney would play Gold Coast in QLD. Brissy would host GWS and GWS would host Gold Coast. Next season, all these fixtures would be reversed. Brissy vs Sydney at the Gabba, Sydney vs Gold Coast @ SCG etc. Do this with WA teams travelling to SA and so on.
- For Victorian teams, put them in blocks of two: Carlton-Collingwood, Richmond-Essendon, Geelong-Hawthorn etc. When you pair them with interstate teams, you'd have something like this:
2022:
Collingwood vs Sydney MCG
Sydney vs Carlton SCG
Carlton vs GWS Marvel
GWS vs Collingwood Giants stadium
2023:
Sydney vs. Collingwood SCG
Carlton vs. Sydney Marvel/MCG
GWS vs. Carlton Giants stadium
Collingwood vs GWS MCG
etc etc. Vic sides play each other once and reverse them the next year.
Last five rounds is 1v2 round 18, 1v3 round 19 etc. Or, you just have everyone play each other once, with more byes and split rounds throughout the year.
But if the AFL is going to (and they should) have everyone play each other once in the first 17 rounds, Collingwood should play one WA side at home and one away per year and reverse it every year etc. It isn't hard and what it does is stop situations like Sydney playing Collingwood in Sydney every year. 2013 is the last time Sydney has played the Pies at the G, Freo hasn't played Melbourne in Perth since 2015 etc.