This is exactly what infuriates me about the "state of the game" BS. In 2016 and 2017 they were celebrating how even the comp was. This year they suddenly hate everything because the ratings slid as they f****d up the fixtures.
Gil came out today and said rule changes are happening next year whether you like it or not and they won't bother trialling them first. The ridiculous thing is that if they just made sure that Friday night games featured mostly the top 8 teams from last year, then the ratings would be fine, as they would mostly be good contests between good teams. Eagles finished 6th last year (after finals) and have 1 fri night game for the season. Why the hell are Carlton, St Kilda and bulldogs even on one Friday fixture, yet alone several each?
The sad (or hillarious) thing is, the rule changes will drastically alter the game and will probably turn a lot of people off football. I can see a massive about-face and apology happening mid season when the fans abandon the game. Hopefully it results in Gil resigning and a clean out of the AFL exec.