Fixture Split the ladder into 3 at the beginning of the year? In season championship?

[lommy]

The 2026 AFL season starts with a 5-round Conference Championship based on last year’s ladder (A:1–6, B:7–12, C:13–18). These 5 rounds award premiership points. B and C winners play, then face A’s winner for the $2.5m title; the two finals do not count for points. The regular season then resumes with each team playing each other once, removing bias in double-up matchups.

 

[Elixuh]

No.

Play everyone once.

Split into top 12 who jostle for finals seedings in the remaining games.

The other teams can play for draft picks or just not play at all or do whatever they want as no one really cares.

 

[PenfoldsFan]

The 2026 AFL season starts with a 5-round Conference Championship based on last year’s ladder (A:1–6, B:7–12, C:13–18). These 5 rounds award premiership points. B and C winners play, then face A’s winner for the $2.5m title; the two finals do not count for points. The regular season then resumes with each team playing each other once, removing bias in double-up matchups.

Ed, no.

Enough of the silly ideas.

 

[lommy]

Ed, no.

Enough of the silly ideas.

Nearly every person complains about the fairness of the double ups and a in-season comp is a chance of happening. Just spitballing, 2 birds

 

[Underarm]

Nearly every person complains about the fairness of the double ups and a in-season comp is a chance of happening. Just spitballing, 2 birds

So you decided to create a system that makes the double ups incredibly unfair?

 

[lommy]

So you decided to create a system that makes the double ups incredibly unfair?

Without being able to predict the future, isn’t the fairest way to play the teams that finished around you? And nobody picks these, they fall where they fall.

Edit: guess you could go something like

A.1,2,7,8,13,14
B.3,4,9,10,15,16
C. 5,6,11,12,17,18

I just think it’s important the ladder picks the match ups.

 

[Underarm]

Without being able to predict the future, isn’t the fairest way to play the teams that finished around you? And nobody picks these, they fall where they fall.

But teams aren't playing the teams around them. 6th has to play the teams that finished 5 above them, while 7th gets to play teams 5 below them.

The most fair way to do it is for teams to play roughly 2 teams from each set of 6.

 

[lommy]

But teams aren't playing the teams around them. 6th has to play the teams that finished 5 above them, while 7th gets to play teams 5 below them.

The most fair way to do it is for teams to play roughly 2 teams from each set of 6.

I just edited my previous post with an example of that. It’s just my opinion that it should be chosen from the ladder so that all bias comes out of it.

 

[Underarm]

I just edited my previous post with an example of that. It’s just my opinion that it should be chosen from the ladder so that all bias comes out of it.

Yep, that would be the fairest way, and is close to the current setup. The big difference being the AFL guarantees local derbies to reduce travel for Non Vic teams.

 

[Gibbke]

The only ways you will ever make the draw "fair":
1) Full 38 round season when Tassie joins.
2) Play each other once.
3) Conferences.

The first is not possible, and the second goes the other way and robs the clubs, AFL and us of a lot of footy.

Conferences solve every problem, especially if you Americanise it and make it 4-5 team groups based upon geography and rivalry (WA/SA, Q/NSW, and then two groups of Vics which can be rotated year to year...Tassie might end up in either interstate group). If every team has an almost identically constructed draw for the H&A within its group (Tassie will skew things a bit), then it doesn't matter what happens before finals start. A 5 team group would have 8 games H&A within its group, and one each for the rest, with an identical number of plane flights...if WC plays Brisbane in Qld, then it plays GC at home and Freo play Brisbane at home and Gold Coast at Cararra. Top team in each division 1-4 in the finals, then a bunch of wildcards for 5-8 or 5-10 or whatever...whatever, the main point is that two teams pitted against each other on the ladder, where it all counts, can't turn to each other and say "we had 11 interstate trips v finals bound opposition and you played 18 games at the G mostly v interstaters at the bottom of the ladder"...

Moot point...the AFL has said it doesn't want conferences anyway...