Pre Finals Bye

[2121]

Is it time to scrap the pre finals bye, in which the qualifying winner only gets to play 2 games in a month of football.

Before the pre finals bye was introducted
2011
Geelong and Collingwood won the qualifying finals and made the grand final
2012
Hawthorn and sydney won the qualifying finals and made the grand final
2013
Hawthorn and Fremantle won the qualifying finals and both made the grand final
2014
Hawthorn and Sydney won the qualifying finals and made the grand final
2015
Fremantle and West Coast won the qualifying final only West coast made the grand final

Since the pre finals bye was introduced
2016
Geelong and Sydney won the qualifying final and lost in the prelim
2017
Richmond and Adelaide won the qualifying finals and made the grand final
2018
West Coast and Richmond won the qualifying finals and only West Coast made the grand final
2019
Richmond and Collingwood won the qualifying finals and only Richmond made the grand final
2020
Port and Brisbane won the qualifying finals and lost in the prelim


The 5 years before the finals bye was introduced teams were 9-1 making the grand final after winning the qualifying final.
The 5 years since the pre finals bye was introduced teams winning the qualifying final are 4-6 in making the grand final

 

[Bald]

You know the end goal is to win the flag, not just make the grand final right? The last 3 premierships were won by teams who won their qualifying final and the only other grand final that has been played in a season where the bye existed was won by a team who didn't play in a qualifying final anyway.

2016
Geelong and Sydney won the qualifying final and lost in the prelim

GWS won the qualifying final and lost the prelim, Sydney played four finals that year as did the eventual premiers.

 

[Taylor]

Half the teams in the prelim got there with a week off, half the teams lose a prelim.

What are the stats for teams that won their qualifying final to win the flag?

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

It's s**t.

The season is a marathon, half the job is managing your list, the pre finals bye diminishes that.

I don't begrudge Footscray their flag but without it they don't win that flag.

 

[KissKiss]

Not a fan and not just because we lost it. It seems to take away the advantage of being at the top of the ladder. Being top at the end of the regular season should give teams the advantage to manage their list. The extra bye seems to be taking that away

 

[juss]

I do think the finals benefit from having more time for the teams to recover, freshen and get manage injured players.
I think we could look at shortening the break though, e.g. we could fixture the season so rather than a full 2 weeks between final round and the finals, maybe we could have 9/10 day breaks.

Winning the QF even with the pre-finals bye is still the best chance to win the premiership. You get a home PF with no travel, and the 3 consecutive wins needed to win a flag, you've already got 1 of them knocked over. You reduce the chance of having players injured/suspended in the SF, or having travel added to the schedule if you have to travel again.

I still believe even with the Pre Finals Bye, winning the QF is a better outcome than losing it.

 

[juss]

It's sh*t.

The season is a marathon, half the job is managing your list, the pre finals bye diminishes that.

I don't begrudge Footscray their flag but without it they don't win that flag.

That one is unique because it was the first time it happened, I'm not sure clubs were as aware of the impact and the slight change in management required. I think a lot of teams learnt from that year even if they weren't playing, and now manage it a little better.

 

[emuboy]

Yes, it has created bizarre finals series every year since introduction. It is a failure.

 

[Elmer_Judd]

Absolutely get rid of it.

 

[Rimmer]

North and Freo rested half their teams in a final round which triggered this, in hindsight now we have seen successful qualifying finals teams struggling in prelims its time to dump this. North and Freo benefited from their tactic but not enough to go through and win the flag.