Opinion Time to change the finals structure

[hilly]

That was a reaction to clubs resting players in the lead up to finals.

Not overblown at all.

 

[Elmer_Hauser]

That was a reaction to clubs resting players in the lead up to finals.

Or gambling companies and gamblers being out of pocket for said players being rested.

 

[Danw0w]

Why is this thread back? We have the perfect finals system. Close thread.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Top 10, which is really two seperate final 5s
1,4,5,8,9
2,3,6,7,10

Week1 - the current bye week
4 games
1 and 2 have the bye
There is a QF and EF for both final5

Week2
4 games
Two semi finals in each final5

Week3
2 games
A PF for each final5

Week4
2 games
Each final5 has a final playoff

Week5
1 game
Grand Final, winner of each final5 plays off at the G in the GF

Eight is too many, even in a 20 team comp. Unfortunately they won't reduce that due to money.
So, just drop the pre-finals bye. Yes, teams tried to game the system a couple of times, but in doing so also flirted with form.

 

[Father Jack]

The pre-finals bye was Gilligan's idea.

Gilligan has gone, so should his stupid idea.

It's a necessary evil.

 

[Coolangatta]

Week One:

EF1: 3 v 10
EF2: 4 v 9
EF3: 5 v 8
EF4: 6 v 7

Two-lowest ranked losers eliminated, final 8 rearranged depending on who wins and loses.

For example, if teams 7-10 all win, 7th becomes 3rd, 8th becomes 4th, 9th becomes 5th, 8th becomes 6th

Week Two: Same finals eight system, just different rankings unless all of teams 3-6 win their finals.

Hypothetical based on 2023 finals series (I've decided winners in games that didn't happen in the series)

3 v 10 Port v Adelaide: Winner Adelaide
4 v 9 Melbourne v W. Bulldogs: Winner Melbourne
5 v 8 Carlton v Sydney: Winner Carlton
6 v 7 St Kilda v GWS: Winner GWS

Eliminated: W. Bulldogs and Sydney

New Top 8: 1. Collingwood 2. Brisbane 3. Melbourne 4. Carlton 5. GWS 6. Port 7. St Kilda 8. Adelaide

1 v 4 Collingwood v Carlton: Winner Collingwood
2 v 3 Brisbane v Melbourne: Winner Brisbane
5 v 8 GWS v Adelaide: Winner GWS
6 v 7 Port v St Kilda: Winner Draw, nah Port

4 v 5 Carlton v GWS: Winner GWS
3 v 6 Melbourne v Port: Winner Melbourne

1 v 3 Collingwood v Melbourne: Winner Collingwood
2 v 4 Brisbane v GWS: Winner Brisbane

1 v 2 Collingwood v Brisbane: Winner Collingwood

AFL would've loved this, Pies v Blues and Port v Crows.

 

[adammania9]

Or gambling companies and gamblers being out of pocket for said players being rested.

On the flip side, a week off before finals gives an extra week of rest and recovery to injured players. We want a higher standard of football and the best players playing finals, don't we?

 

[Dazzler9]

Should go the NFL way- bye before the GF, especially with the concussion protocols in place

Absolutely. You can bet your bottom dollar that they won't make the change until somebody misses a GF due to the 12 day protocol. Then all of a sudden they realise what a great idea a pre-GF bye is.

 

[magpielicious]

Absolutely. You can bet your bottom dollar that they won't make the change until somebody misses a GF due to the 12 day protocol. Then all of a sudden they realise what a great idea a pre-GF bye is.

A pre GF bye would most likely result in closer finishes. A lot of the blowouts (not all) are the result of the lower side managing to beat the higher team in the prelim resulting in a GF where one team played 4 games v one team only playing 3. It makes perfect sense to have the two teams in the GF at their absolute best.

On SM-N986B using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[juss]

The current system is good, the pre finals bye however has reduced the advantage of finishing top 4 however.

Get rid of the pre finals bye and it's just about as good as it could be.

These wild cards and top 10s and convoluted systems are just unnecessarily complicated for something that works quite well.

 

[Father Jack]

Much rather the pre-finals bye than teams resting players en masse in the weeks leading up to the end of the h&a season. Neither situation is ideal, but the one that compromises the last few weeks of the regular season is least ideal i reckon.