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A somewhat amusing article from Caro in The Age today. I was shocked when I read the headline - the AFL has admitted to getting something wrong?
If you check out the article the headline should actually read: Hawks got it wrong: AFL.
If you check out the article the headline should actually read: Hawks got it wrong: AFL.
THE AFL has conceded it made a number of errors with the 2009 home-and-away fixture that has prevented fans from attending games and could cost the competition another season attendance record.
League executive Gillon McLachlan pointed to the round-19 Hawthorn-St Kilda clash in Tasmania as a scheduling mistake, which came about following a request from the Hawks. The match could have attracted an extra 45,000 fans had it been played at the MCG. He hinted that the AFL would be less likely to co-operate with such club requests next season.
As the 16 clubs set about delivering their 2010 wish-lists into head office, McLachlan told The Age: "We will always try and support clubs in their requests, but in this case we might have got it wrong and it's costing people attending the game.
"In trying to find the right balance we might have lost sight of the bigger picture and the broader ideal of maximising attendances and to a lesser extent ratings. Did we get it right with Hawthorn? We need to discuss that with Hawthorn. They got what they wanted and the Tasmanian Government got what they wanted … but there is a bigger picture."
McLachlan's comments backed up those of AFL boss Andrew Demetriou who revealed three days ago that the league had invested in new analysis and a small team of experts scrutinising every game in the fixture as it related to venue, attendance, timeslot and television rating.
Demetriou told ABC radio that the data would be put into play next season and that club requests such as Hawthorn's to play more Victorian teams at Aurora Stadium would come second to maximising attendances. Demetriou also deemed the Hawthorn-St Kilda clash, which has become increasingly tantalising with the Hawks recent return-to-form, as a fixturing mistake.
"We need to increase the power of the fixture as a tool," said McLachlan. "We are looking at the attendance and rating of every game in the schedule and breaking down every possible combination. We obviously support what Hawthorn are doing in Tasmania, but it is one example of where we might not have seen the wood for the trees."
McLachlan's comments did not bode well for the AFL's current poor performers such as Melbourne which has pleaded in recent years for less Sunday games, requests which have largely fallen upon deaf ears. Given that the AFL seems certain to more heavily favour the big-drawing successful sides with marquee games, the struggling clubs could be forced to rely on the new equalisation funding policy as consolation.
"Success comes in cycles," said McLachlan. "Every team has its peaks and troughs."
St Kilda has not played at Aurora Stadium since 2006.
That club was one of three Melbourne teams to sell games to the Gold Coast Stadium in 2009, another factor harming crowds which will not happen next season.
Demetriou also said it was preferable that every team played at least two home-and-away games each season at the MCG to prepare for finals. The Saints do not play at the MCG until round 22 against Melbourne.
League executive Gillon McLachlan pointed to the round-19 Hawthorn-St Kilda clash in Tasmania as a scheduling mistake, which came about following a request from the Hawks. The match could have attracted an extra 45,000 fans had it been played at the MCG. He hinted that the AFL would be less likely to co-operate with such club requests next season.
As the 16 clubs set about delivering their 2010 wish-lists into head office, McLachlan told The Age: "We will always try and support clubs in their requests, but in this case we might have got it wrong and it's costing people attending the game.
"In trying to find the right balance we might have lost sight of the bigger picture and the broader ideal of maximising attendances and to a lesser extent ratings. Did we get it right with Hawthorn? We need to discuss that with Hawthorn. They got what they wanted and the Tasmanian Government got what they wanted … but there is a bigger picture."
McLachlan's comments backed up those of AFL boss Andrew Demetriou who revealed three days ago that the league had invested in new analysis and a small team of experts scrutinising every game in the fixture as it related to venue, attendance, timeslot and television rating.
Demetriou told ABC radio that the data would be put into play next season and that club requests such as Hawthorn's to play more Victorian teams at Aurora Stadium would come second to maximising attendances. Demetriou also deemed the Hawthorn-St Kilda clash, which has become increasingly tantalising with the Hawks recent return-to-form, as a fixturing mistake.
"We need to increase the power of the fixture as a tool," said McLachlan. "We are looking at the attendance and rating of every game in the schedule and breaking down every possible combination. We obviously support what Hawthorn are doing in Tasmania, but it is one example of where we might not have seen the wood for the trees."
McLachlan's comments did not bode well for the AFL's current poor performers such as Melbourne which has pleaded in recent years for less Sunday games, requests which have largely fallen upon deaf ears. Given that the AFL seems certain to more heavily favour the big-drawing successful sides with marquee games, the struggling clubs could be forced to rely on the new equalisation funding policy as consolation.
"Success comes in cycles," said McLachlan. "Every team has its peaks and troughs."
St Kilda has not played at Aurora Stadium since 2006.
That club was one of three Melbourne teams to sell games to the Gold Coast Stadium in 2009, another factor harming crowds which will not happen next season.
Demetriou also said it was preferable that every team played at least two home-and-away games each season at the MCG to prepare for finals. The Saints do not play at the MCG until round 22 against Melbourne.

