If you were the AFL CEO you would…

[Deep]

Relocate Gold Coast Suns to Tasmania as soon as possible
Cut the AFL staff by around 30%
Ban all gambling sponsorship and advertising during AFL games on TV and radio
(With all those big ideas they'd probably have to freeze player wages but I am sure they'll manage)

If AFL players like Harley Bennell ever found you then you would end up a missing person lol

 

[Seeds]

Great question.
My initial thought is that we have such an even drafting/equalisation policy that maybe the season could be very entertaining, that winning the comp may be finalised in the last game.
With such a long season, even moreso would be the adage- anything is possible.
We just don't know.

agree that helps relative to the premier league which is more unequal talent wise. Although partially countered by the fact soccer results are much more random in that it is easier for the less talented side to win on a given day then in afl.

The problem is ultimately mathematical however. At the halfway point, regardless of how equal the talent pool is across teams, a number of teams (possibly the majority) would be ruled out mathematically from winning and are left with nothing but pride to play for. In a 34 game season that could mean atleast 17 meaningless games for possibly the majority of teams and by the 3 quarter mark of the season almost all teams would be out of contention with still 8 games to go. It couldnt work unless you had a second tier comp with 6 teams being relegated/promoted each year. A knockout tournament would also be needed in the second half of the season but that involves even more games. Regardless of how short you make each game clubs simply wouldnt cope injury wise.

The best way you can have each team play each other twice is to expand the comp to atleast 20 teams, split it in two with a first tier and second tier. Each team plays each other team in their tier twice (20 games). The team on top in the first tier is declared premier. The bottom four teams of tier one are relegated and the top four of tier 2 are promoted for next season. Perhaps even add in a third tier beneath. This system still has issues and I prefer 17-5 over it. But its the only way I can see a comp work with each team playing the other twice.

 

[Cataholic]

1) Relegate Hawthorn, or amalgamate them with the Suns. Just cos........

2) Ban Lyon from coaching

3) Stamp Sloane’s papers to Geelong

4) Ban goal video replays. Just make a call dammit.

5) Re-introduce some physical contact to the game

 

[cynical]

1. 16 teams 1 being a tassie team

2. 20 rounds 15/5 the last 5 games are random new fixture every 3 years everyone plays each other twice with the same home games

3. top 6 instead of 8 (7th and 8th are making up the numbers)

4. minor suspensions that result in missing finals get carried over until the next season (anything less than 4 weeks), suspensions in prelims or grand finals get doubled.

5. brownlow medal is eligible for suspended players

6. clubs that miss the finals are eligible to have an additional player on their list aged 25 or over having played less than 50 AFL games. Bottom 4 clubs are allowed 2. These players get 2 year contracts. Max list 47 players. The reason for this rule is it creates more interest in 2nd tier competitions and allows mature age players to get games at weaker teams. It also makes the bottom clubs a bit more competitive.

 

[Deep]

What about Victoria & Interstate divisions instead of a two tiered system?

18 matches. 9 home 9 away against your own division. Then another 9 more matches against the other 9 teams in the other division.

So it’s fair each year the 9 other division matches will be played at the opposite venue of the previous game. Say Geelong v Adelaide 2018 is in Adelaide the next one is in Geelong in 2019

27 matches plus finals. It’s much fairer than this current set up for sure. The only thing more fair than this currently is 34 matches yearly but then there’s too many matches. 27 seems fine.

 

[Seeds]

What about Victoria & Interstate divisions instead of a two tiered system?

18 matches. 9 home 9 away against your own division. Then another 9 more matches against the other 9 teams in the other division.

So it’s fair each year the 9 other division matches will be played at the opposite venue of the previous game. Say Geelong v Adelaide 2018 is in Adelaide the next one is in Geelong in 2019

27 matches plus finals. It’s much fairer than this current set up for sure. The only thing more fair than this currently is 34 matches yearly but then there’s too many matches. 27 seems fine.

This I like better and I think you find its 25 matches plus finals, not 27. Although when you add in finals its 29 games for the grand finalists. If you get rid of the practise comp it would work.

Although not sure the divisions need to be split Victorian vs Interetate teams. Would be better if only one team from each state is in each division and both divisions had similar amount of travel.

 

[Deep]

This I like better and I think you find its 25 matches plus finals, not 27. Although when you add in finals its 29 games for the grand finalists. If you get rid of the practise comp it would work

yeah I messed up with that. You’d be playing 8x3 so 24 rather than 9x3 of 27. This is literally just getting better and better. It should be implemented.

Although not sure the divisions need to be split Victorian vs Interetate teams. Would be better if only one team from each state is in each division and both divisions had similar amount of travel.

That’s ok in theory but there’d be more travel for interstate teams than not. My way ensures there’s a travel league v no travel league to make it fairer.

 

[The rabbi]

...put a lot of noses out of joint by:

1. Reducing the game to 16 players on the field at once and cap interchanges at 10 per quarter.
2. Introduce a mid-season draft/trade period
3. Reduce the season to 17 rounds with more exhibition type matches at the start and end of year (e.g. all-star, international).

Reads like someone who has spent far too much time in Canberra.

 

[David the Cat]

Reads like someone who has spent far too much time in Canberra.

I spent too much time in Canberra once....but I had to fill up otherwise I would have run out of petrol.

 

[James1970]

In no specific order...

1. The launch of AFL-TV - a 24-hour, 7-days a week, 52-weeks a year, dedicated HD subscription channel with every game live, every league covered, across the country. No need for Murdoch.

2. The relocation of the North Melbourne FC to Tasmania by 2020, GWS moved to Canberra, GC to Darwin.

3. All home teams must wear dark shorts, with traditional jumper, collar optional but encouraged.

4. A free duffle-coat with all children's memberships.

5. The final round of the season celebrates 'Showtime', with each game starting on the Saturday, 2pm.

6. A reduction to 17 games per season, with each year flipping the home-game.

7. Twilight GF, with the VFL GF as the curtain-raiser.

 

[Spazz Cat]

Everyone plays everyone only once.
Home team gets to choose where they're home game is played regardless of capacity.
Home final is played at higher finishing teams venue of choice.
Grand final is alternated between different states every year ala Super Bowl.
Journalists no longer need AFL accreditation so unbiased reporting on umpires, MRP etc etc to attempt to make the game less corrupt.

 

[Boxhead_31]

...put a lot of noses out of joint by:

1. Reducing the game to 16 players on the field at once and cap interchanges at 10 per quarter.
2. Introduce a mid-season draft/trade period
3. Reduce the season to 17 rounds with more exhibition type matches at the start and end of year (e.g. all-star, international).

#Vote1CE

 

[Seeds]

In no specific order...

1. The launch of AFL-TV - a 24-hour, 7-days a week, 52-weeks a year, dedicated HD subscription channel with every game live, every league covered, across the country. No need for Murdoch.

2. The relocation of the North Melbourne FC to Tasmania by 2020, GWS moved to Canberra, GC to Darwin.

3. All home teams must wear dark shorts, with traditional jumper, collar optional but encouraged.

4. A free duffle-coat with all children's memberships.

5. The final round of the season celebrates 'Showtime', with each game starting on the Saturday, 2pm.

6. A reduction to 17 games per season, with each year flipping the home-game.

7. Twilight GF, with the VFL GF as the curtain-raiser.

how are you going to play every game live on your Afl channel in the last round if they are all on at the same time?

 

[Seeds]

Seriously, I reckon the biggest tension in the game is that the season is too long but the money is in a season as long as possible.

I’m sick of H&A by about round 15. You know who is contending and who’s not. The last third of the H&A season is a snooze fest but for a few cracking contests.

A CEO who can solve that tension would be legendary.

17 and 5 fixes the problem of the last third of the season being boring and gives the comp 22 rounds of money. The current CEO has already come up with the solution.

 

[Seeds]

Playoffs work in basketball, American football and many other sports. It actually results in a more dramatic conclusion to the season and a best of three makes allowance for an isolated terrible performance which seems to cruel many grand finals over the years.

Agree. But will never be implemeted because of the bogan stop changing the game brigade.

 

[Deep]

In no specific order...

1. The launch of AFL-TV - a 24-hour, 7-days a week, 52-weeks a year, dedicated HD subscription channel with every game live, every league covered, across the country. No need for Murdoch.

2. The relocation of the North Melbourne FC to Tasmania by 2020, GWS moved to Canberra, GC to Darwin.

3. All home teams must wear dark shorts, with traditional jumper, collar optional but encouraged.

4. A free duffle-coat with all children's memberships.

5. The final round of the season celebrates 'Showtime', with each game starting on the Saturday, 2pm.

6. A reduction to 17 games per season, with each year flipping the home-game.

7. Twilight GF, with the VFL GF as the curtain-raiser.

You had me bought. Then I saw 5&6

 

[catempire]

17 and 5 fixes the problem of the last third of the season being boring and gives the comp 22 rounds of money. The current CEO has already come up with the solution.

It’s second best to just shortening it but I’d take 17-5 over the current system.

 

[Turbocat]

reduce the number of players on the field..

 

[scottydeewah]

Not sure I will understand some of these ever:

• Lottery - the teams overseas do it for entertainment, NOT to stop tanking. Because, well, it doesn't. There is no way to stop this in any sport. Resting teams before finals or for more important games will always happen and teams with nothing to play for will always put better players in cotton wool, have medical procedures earlier, play more kids/just outside the first team players, change gameplans/positions of personal, etc.
• Longer season. No idea why you want to do that. Season is soooo long now and has ssoooooooo many crap games. I'd be interested to know the split of people wanting to shorten or lengthen the season by those who have a keen interest in other sports and have other hobbies.

catempire - I disagree that shortening the season will bring in less revenue, in fact, I think that is a massive fallacy. The majority of money is made through gate attendance, sponsorship and TV rights (ad revenue). Each year, the stats show, in particular with the TV audiences that the numbers drop off, often significantly in the last rounds around the bye and up to around round 20. In particular audiences for entire games. There are also some bullshit timeslots and more highly sort after timeslots. So really it would be about rearranging the game: Thursday, Friday, Sat x 2, Sun and Monday night football. That is 6 prime time games instead of the 2, possibly 3 they have now. The rest favour Saturday and Sunday afternoon slots.

People will winge for about a season or so about Monday night and Thursday night football, but it won't stop them going. Also, the same people who mostly winge about it - w***er parents who think the entire world should revolve around their choice to have kids - also complain when it is too cold, too wet and the footy is on at the same time as weekend sports. So basically * em. You want to go to the footy, make a commitment and go. Also, understand that sometimes you can't and it isn't your god given right to do so! What is bad for you is good for others you selfish *!

(rant over - that turned angry!)

 

[Deep]

People will winge for about a season or so about Monday night and Thursday night football, but it won't stop them going. Also, the same people who mostly winge about it - ****** parents who think the entire world should revolve around their choice to have kids - also complain when it is too cold, too wet and the footy is on at the same time as weekend sports. So basically **** em. You want to go to the footy, make a commitment and go. Also, understand that sometimes you can't and it isn't your god given right to do so! What is bad for you is good for others you selfish ****!

(rant over - that turned angry!)

I really like the last part. Your rant is quite good to be honest. The world revolves around nobody so people should just put up or shut up. For example I can’t stand going to afternoon games because the sun is a prick and I don’t like wearing sunnies during the footy but then I can’t sit in my favourite bay because no sunnies and the suns bright and you can’t see a thing anyway. I don’t complain about it, I like the footy that damn much that I deal with it on the day or buy a ticket ahead of time seated somewhere in an area I can’t stand because I’d much rather go anyway than complain like an entitled scumbag. Never complained about the wet as I’d go walking around down Lee Point Rd, Vanderlin Dr, Bagot Rd, etc, all whilst there was a category 2 cyclone in Darwin or a category 5 in Broome/Cairns.

To answer your other question I don’t have any other sporting hobbies and would prefer the season lengthened which pretty much proves your point.

 

[dazbroncos]

Not sure I will understand some of these ever:

• Lottery - the teams overseas do it for entertainment, NOT to stop tanking. Because, well, it doesn't. There is no way to stop this in any sport. Resting teams before finals or for more important games will always happen and teams with nothing to play for will always put better players in cotton wool, have medical procedures earlier, play more kids/just outside the first team players, change gameplans/positions of personal, etc.
• Longer season. No idea why you want to do that. Season is soooo long now and has ssoooooooo many crap games. I'd be interested to know the split of people wanting to shorten or lengthen the season by those who have a keen interest in other sports and have other hobbies.

catempire - I disagree that shortening the season will bring in less revenue, in fact, I think that is a massive fallacy. The majority of money is made through gate attendance, sponsorship and TV rights (ad revenue). Each year, the stats show, in particular with the TV audiences that the numbers drop off, often significantly in the last rounds around the bye and up to around round 20. In particular audiences for entire games. There are also some bullshit timeslots and more highly sort after timeslots. So really it would be about rearranging the game: Thursday, Friday, Sat x 2, Sun and Monday night football. That is 6 prime time games instead of the 2, possibly 3 they have now. The rest favour Saturday and Sunday afternoon slots.

People will winge for about a season or so about Monday night and Thursday night football, but it won't stop them going. Also, the same people who mostly winge about it - ****** parents who think the entire world should revolve around their choice to have kids - also complain when it is too cold, too wet and the footy is on at the same time as weekend sports. So basically **** em. You want to go to the footy, make a commitment and go. Also, understand that sometimes you can't and it isn't your god given right to do so! What is bad for you is good for others you selfish ****!

(rant over - that turned angry!)

FYI... MNF over here in the US is an institution. It will never leave the NFL. Thursday night is a totally different animal however. The players HATE it.... all of them, the broadcasters are losing $$ on it to the point where the NFL's own netwrok that had sole broadcast rights to the covereage and streaming of it had to take a broadcast partner to offset the losses and infrastructure costs to keep it going, and have now taken a new online streaming partner (Amazon) to try and make it work.

It is possible to push the game too far... and here the NFL has done it. Sure it still exists.. but not well.

GO Catters

 

[scottydeewah]

To answer your other question I don’t have any other sporting hobbies and would prefer the season lengthened which pretty much proves your point.

If they did extend it out, I would prefer a different finals system that lengthened it out somehow. Not having a crack either. Before I lived OS I was pretty much footy and not much else (a bit of a passing in NHL and EPL). I am now much more of an NFL fan than I am an AFL I think.

FYI... MNF over here in the US is an institution.

Lived in the USA for 3 years. Pats MF Pats.

Thursday night though will stay and it will grow. In the end, people love sports and they will tune in to watch. One thing that is important is that trying to please everyone or create a perfect game isn't possible. Games you are excited about could be s**t, games you think could be duds could be amazing.

The thing that the NFL does really well is make so many games important to standings. It is somewhat artificial because of the divisions but it works. Take Patriots vs Bills then Pats vs Jets over the next two weeks. Bills win, they can still make the playoffs. Pats need to win to get home ground. Even in the last week, the Jets have "nothing" to play for....oh, except that if they beat their most hated rivals they can knock them out of home field in the playoffs and possibly stuff any chance they have of winning the SB. Its not just bragging rights, it is "we stuffed your season up" bragging rights. I love that!

I actually liked the idea of Vic and Interstate conferences if it could be done. You could have a lot more games against teams that you care about (i.e. more derby games, more traditional club games, etc). I just don't like the thought of killing clubs.

Tassie.
NT
2 x WA.
2 x SA.
2 x NSW
2 x QLD

Vic Teams x 10.

Maybe not enough talent in the country, but would be sweet! One problem that is a lot of travel for the Aus Conference. Although you would play interconference.

I loved the dude who said stop making it "entertainment". It is and always has been entertainment mate.

 

[scottydeewah]

It is possible to push the game too far... and here the NFL has done it. Sure it still exists.. but not well.

There is also the fact that it impacts other sports - College, NHL and NBA which a lot of people don't like. The AFL on Monday is what, going up against League? and on Thursday?

 

[dazbroncos]

There is also the fact that it impacts other sports - College, NHL and NBA which a lot of people don't like. The AFL on Monday is what, going up against League? and on Thursday?

IMo its about market being able to support it.

NFL on a Thursday is a s**t show. Games are rarely good, poorly scheduled teams and just not good for the game and most of all the players loath it.

You are probably right in that it will stay for a while, but in a place with 340 million chances to watch it and it struggles, a place with 24 million possible viewers I reckon will eat s**t in an epic way.

But hey, if the AFL can pump 100's millions into GCS only to watch it burn like a dumpster under a freeway in winter, then im sure pissing the same down the tubes on Monday/Thursday night games is not an issue for them.

Any BTW... * the Pats. I have to respect them but there is no team I enjoy rodgering more - and we have.

Go Broncos.

 

[scottydeewah]

Rodgering - lol. You won because our kicker missed. That's all. Nothing else! But like all other teams, you had your little splash around in the big boys pool then went back to the shallow end with the kiddies. Tom Savage is REAL!

Thursday nights actually do really well here. So in fact, do Mondays on TV, the problem is the crowds aren't there - again, the poor parents with their kids!