AFL goes Top 10 for 2026

[Kanga Glory]

 

[ToxicMegaPunts]

So now instead of the 8, it has become the 10. Although realistically it has reverted back to a Top 6. There ain't ever gonna be a 7-10 wildcard team who wins 5 finals in a row to pinch a flag. Unless you follow one of the 4 teams who finish 7-10 then I can't see much interest in the wildcard round.

 

[roopdog]

I like it. THat week off before the finals start is a shocker. Bring in a couple of chancers and we keep momentum coming up to the real finals. ANd just maybe one of them will make it.

 

[zoomba23]

You've got to hand it to them. They repeatedly manage to make the worst possible decision when presented with multiple options. Takes great skill and flair to be able to do that

 

[zoomba23]

I like it. THat week off before the finals start is a shocker. Bring in a couple of chancers and we keep momentum coming up to the real finals. ANd just maybe one of them will make it.

No. The error is the pre finals bye, and the rectification is to do away with the pre finals bye, not to Americanise the sport further

 

[Rooboys Rool]

10 of 18 teams playing finals? Nah

And I guess it’s not surprising with the AFL, but what they’re doing isn’t actually a wildcard round.

 

[Dinkers]

So now instead of the 8, it has become the 10. Although realistically it has reverted back to a Top 6. There ain't ever gonna be a 7-10 wildcard team who wins 5 finals in a row to pinch a flag. Unless you follow one of the 4 teams who finish 7-10 then I can't see much interest in the wildcard round.

I think the " wild card round " will evolve in time and become 2 sides that missed the eight are randomly pulled from a hat .

So eg the Pie misses finals and find them selves randomly playing Carlton week one of the finals.
The Swan with thier speed dating returned to boost numbers at home games are randomly drawn from the hat to play a final against GW$.

Just all equal and all random .

 

[Reagan Smash]

Time for playoffs for the bottom 8.
Battle of the also rans.
Do it AFL

 

[perplexed]

I haven't been this excited since the glory days of AFLX.

 

[Lomas]

You've got to hand it to them. They repeatedly manage to make the worst possible decision when presented with multiple options. Takes great skill and flair to be able to do that

Just wait until we have 20 teams and two conferences. Of course the conferences will change to keep big clubs playing interstate on occasion, and to accommodate marquee matches.
Maybe wildcard rounds outside of the conferences, totes random of course.
And gather round stand alone.

 

[Gasometer]

NRL positive publicity of the past week regarding their risk taking is rattling cages

 

[Gasometer]

Still can’t get my head around why you would want to come 7th or 8th and have to play another game to prove you deserve a position you earned

Illogical

 

[kangafruity]

Just like society and kids of today getting participation medals for just about everything, we are now going to be rewarding mediocrity in our game. Only funny thing would be if the Bombers finished 7th and were beaten by the 10th Team

 

[RooInNorthLondon]

My prediction is there will be 20 teams by 2035. It might mean slightly smaller lists to help mitigate the talent thinning with NFL style practice squads of nominated ‘reserve’ players (from the tied/affiliated second tier teams/players) who can be called up for a handful of games per season or promoted to replace injured players to more fully formalise current practice and potentially do away with the mid season draft.

 

[Horace]

Andrew Dillon must have a degree in gobbledygook!

Andrew Dillon, in my opinion, is easily the worst AFL Chief we have ever had the terrible misfortune to endure. Worse than dimwit and that's saying something.

In what World is it reasonable to give a team which has finished in the bottom half of the ladder an opportunity to play in a finals series?

It is rewarding mediocrity while also promising false hope to a team that has absolutely no hope of ever winninig a flag from there or 9th position.

Morons the lot of them at the AFL.

 

[tales129]

Just wait until we have 20 teams and two conferences. Of course the conferences will change to keep big clubs playing interstate on occasion, and to accommodate marquee matches.
Maybe wildcard rounds outside of the conferences, totes random of course.
And gather round stand alone.

I don’t want to go down a rabbit hole.
But the conference system could be a game changer for making games relevant for the whole season and adding layers to rivalries as well as balance to the competition.

I’d envisage a 10/10 conference split of non vic and vic clubs. Each then split into two divisions.

You’d have divisions
Northern - Sydney, Brisbane, gws, Gold Coast, NT
Southern - wce, freo, port, Adelaide, tas

VIC 1 - Collingwood, Richmond, hawthorn, Melbourne, geelong
VIC 2 - us, Carlton, Essendon, st kilda, dogs


You get to play double ups against your division teams, play every other team once and rotate home and away each year. 23 games total

You would have both a divisional ladder and a conference ladder.

Finals would be a final five from each conference made up of the following - Top two teams from each division, then the fifth ranked team from the conference. Seeded like nfl style.

Play a classic five team finals series and then the winner from each conference plays each other in the grandy.

Would create the following -

• vic vs non vic every grand final
• more showdown, derby, etc finals
• No dead rubbers at the end of the year because there is always the opportunity of beating your own divisional opponent

This netted me a Dwayne’s world tshirt

 

[Horace]

I like it. THat week off before the finals start is a shocker. Bring in a couple of chancers and we keep momentum coming up to the real finals. ANd just maybe one of them will make it.

I take it then that you still believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. Well played.

 

[Horace]

I think the " wild card round " will evolve in time and become 2 sides that missed the eight are randomly pulled from a hat .

So eg the Pie misses finals and find them selves randomly playing Carlton week one of the finals.
The Swan with thier speed dating returned to boost numbers at home games are randomly drawn from the hat to play a final against GW$.

Just all equal and all random .

Being the AFL I don't think they would know how to pull anything out of their hat.

But out of their a***? Not a problem for the AFL hierarchy.

Here's something more appropriate in the hat department

 

[Ocha905]

I appreciate the effort but this was easier to pick apart than our Men's team defense.

I don’t want to go down a rabbit hole.
But the conference system could be a game changer for making games relevant for the whole season and adding layers to rivalries as well as balance to the competition.

The divisions you've proposed are either deeply flawed or a complete fantasy.

I’d envisage a 10/10 conference split of non vic and vic clubs. Each then split into two divisions.

You’d have divisions
Northern - Sydney, Brisbane, gws, Gold Coast, NT
Southern - wce, freo, port, Adelaide, tas

NT is no chance of getting in before Canberra. Tassie and Perf teams make little sense as "division rivals" either. But it's workable tbf.

VIC 1 - Collingwood, Richmond, hawthorn, Melbourne, geelong
VIC 2 - us, Carlton, Essendon, st kilda, dogs

You're taking crazy pills if you think that's how the AFL would divvy up the Vic divisions.
It'd be -
Pies, Blues, Bombers, Tigers and Hawks in Div 1 (they might even do away with the facade of a fair and equitable comp by calling it Div 1 or A too)
North, Dogs, Saints, Dees and Cats in Div 2

Maaaaybe they swap the Dees and Hawks around but that's the only possible variation.

You'd be happy as a North supporter to get ****ed by the AFL like that? It would create endless talk of "let's just have a promotion and relegation system between the 2 divisions too" and guess which league we'd end up in if that goes ahead.

You get to play double ups against your division teams, play every other team once and rotate home and away each year. 23 games total

This is fine though tbf. That said when 20 teams eventuate it'd be best to simply play everyone once and a "rival" twice and a neutral site game (Gather Round or a Bunbury, Albury, Wagga, Cairns, McKay, Darwin etc game) for 21 games a season. Easy done. I know it won't happen but it's just as likely as what you're proposing.

You would have both a divisional ladder and a conference ladder.

I've been trying so hard not to throw up Team America style but I'm at the tipping point.

Finals would be a final five from each conference made up of the following - Top two teams from each division, then the fifth ranked team from the conference. Seeded like nfl style.

Oh gawd help me

Play a classic five team finals series and then the winner from each conference plays each other in the grandy.

Would create the following -

• vic vs non vic every grand final

Hard to believe this plan could sink any lower but here we are - Are you seriously saying this like it's a good thing? No possibility of North v Essendon/Hawks, Hawks v Cats, Pies v Blues, etc etc Grand Final? Really? I have to ask - are you out of your goddammed mind?

• more showdown, derby, etc finals

Yeah no Grand Final though. You know, the one that matters.

Not that any other argument needs to be said but when the 2 best teams are in the same division it will diminish the grand final as well. I get this happens in the conference system of America (Eagles v Rams being the real Super Bowl last season for instance) but this ain't America and we shouldn't be emulating their made for ads, franchise crap.

• No dead rubbers at the end of the year because there is always the opportunity of beating your own divisional opponent

There'll still be dead rubbers lol. What utter nonsense. Look at the last week of any NFL season for dead rubber examples (and they only have 4 teams in a division who play always play against each other in the final week, and only play 17 games).

This netted me a Dwayne’s world tshirt

Congrats!

 

[zoomba23]

Andrew Dillon, in my opinion, is easily the worst AFL Chief we have ever had the terrible misfortune to endure. Worse than dimwit and that's saying something.

In what World is it reasonable to give a team which has finished in the bottom half of the ladder an opportunity to play in a finals series?

It is rewarding mediocrity while also promising false hope to a team that has absolutely no hope of ever winninig a flag from there or 9th position.

Morons the lot of them at the AFL.

Demetriou was pretty bad. Brought in the current profit driven model, of which this latest exhibition of braindead-ness is simply an extension. The book The Boys Club goes into impressive detail about his shadiness, and of course many on here have had personal emotional experience with said shadiness

 

[scottywiper]

Poor man's WWE

 

[GS WARRIORS]

It was hard enough to win from 7 & 8 as it was. Now it will never be done again. You have to finish top 6 to have any chance.

What is the point of playing these games other than money, but it will make some of week 1 and occasionally week 2 games blowouts. That will cause fans to turn with tv's off earlier during the game and have less watching these finals.

Head office just copies US sports. We should have seen this coming. They have no ideas of their own. How long until we have a mid-season comp for money or a draft lottery to bring in some more cash.

They could have moved the end of season bye to the week before the GF to get fresher and better players playing on the day. Improve the game's biggest day but they made the wrong choice (like they do every time) for money. If they want to copy a US model, they could have chosen the NFL for this.

 

[roopdog]

It used to be the 4, then the 5, then the 6, now the 8, soon the 10.

The poster who said there will be 20 clubs come 2035 is dead on. Tasi and NT. When the number of clubs is so high you have to have a more substantial finals series to keep the fans hopeful

 

[muttley45]

Error no. They'd go into an EF against 5th I presume.

Yep, i listened to a Collingwood know all in the TAB explaining to everyone that only the highest ranked winner would proceed

 

[Ashley B]

Again we started all this due to the week off and olde mate Brad, where’s our commission . What can we do to generate more cashflow the AFL think. The AFL are a money making machine and the CEO might get a bigger bonus now lol