You’re right.
But no-one is cutting 40 games from the season.
I know you think it would be great if they did, but they won’t.
Also, unfair how?
Is it unfair now if a team loses its last four games and makes finals while a team that wins its last four doesn’t?
Is that really unfair?
I guess you could say, ‘Oh, but this team had injuries when they played them.’
But…I’m really kind of cringing as a point this out, but your 17 games and that’s it actually makes that worse.
Oh look I agree. They probably, almost certainly, won’t do it. But they should. It would not effect their bottom line in the way that they think it would. In fact, it would actually make the game stronger. But the AFL is run by short sighted fools who can’t see that.
If we are to choose between the unfair crap fixture we have now and some frankstein 17-5 scenario is honestly be more inclined to stick with what we’ve got now. I understand the arguments for 17-5, but they’re not strong in my view and I wouldn’t trust the AFL not to balls it up somehow. Stick with the (sh1tty unfair) devil you know, I say.
Give me an example of it even potentially being worse than now and I’ll consider it.
Because this system that we have now?
A team could potentially play the bottom five sides twice.
Tell me that’s fairer.
Can’t happen in 17+5.
Edit: I mean a potential finalist couldn’t. Play any of the bottom six twice.
Also, cutting 40 games at a conservative average of 30,000 per game is 1.2M tickets you’re not selling.
Maybe you could make that up during the year.
I doubt it.
That’s leaving aside 120 hours of advertising.*
*you know what I mean, not literal hours of advertising.
Or add 2 teams and make it 19 rounds. Which means only 8 less games than now.
A big chunk of those tickets are members, AFL members and MCC. Maybe memberships come down a little(a good thing?). But you don’t lose 1.3 M in ticket sales.
I was being very conservative.
And I was comparing it to now.
Not the ‘every game’s a blockbuster’ in the 17+5.
Well I’ve come up with a proposal in the past that has a state of origin week, and a 7-10 8-9 playoff week, and a legends / AFLW exhibition game. That’s three extra weeks.
FA Cup, solves all the problems with games. Knockout Comp with 32 teams is 5 weeks and 31 games. Gives some prominence to the best state league teams too.
Sorry mate I just don’t agree with 17-5. I don’t really have time to go into the finer details, but in summary, the division is what creates the unfairness.
The Top 6 get to play each only each other. This could be unfair in that the teams could be exhausted from playing 5 games in a row against top sides, and could leave them vulnerable in September against a 7th or 8th team who hasn’t had this burden. Or, it could be unfair in that it give those teams a more rigorous preparation than 7-8, who knows. It could also be unfair in that it could artificially protect a team on the decline, say a team in 5th or 6th that could have dropped out of the 8.
I hate the middle 6 system too. We have 6 teams only completing for 2 spots, where if you played a full 22 they could be competing for 3 or 4 or 5 spots, potentially. It could either advantage or disadvantage the two teams that make it. Will they be advantaged from having played easier games than the Top 6? Or will it disadvantage them because they haven’t had the workout that the Top 6 has had? Once again, who knows?
I really, really, hate the losers league bottom 6, who are relegated to playing for draft picks (maybe). An average incentive at best, but even with a good incentive they will still be awful games that nobody will be interested in (not even the fans of those teams). Its contrived drama, and fans will see it as such. What is real drama however, is when a bottom team (say a Brisbane for instance), starts to pick up towards the end of the season and knocks off a team in contention for the finals. That’s real, actual drama, and that wouldn’t exist under this system. It may also inhibit the development of those lower teams by denying them the chance to compete with the top 2/3rds of the comp.
And this is just scratching the surface. The current system is unfair. A 17-5 system could be unfair for any of the reasons above, or for a range of other reasons which couldn’t even be contemplated yet.
I agree with many of the points you make.
However, I’m encouraged by the fact that you say that finishing bottom (my apologies, top) or middle six could be fair or unfair on all parties.
As for the bottom six, how about the worlds universal language?
Cash?
Also I think you incorrectly assume that the last five rounds matter to the bottom six now, or in a 17 round season.
Lol. And if fans care whether drama is contrived or not.
You talk about soccer, how about all of their bullshit little cups?
I wonder what sort of premium you could put on +5 memberships or ticket sales…
Could just expand the AFLW season.
This seems so obvious that I feel bad saying it.
I’m not trying to be a prick really.
But get a Women’s EFC team and I might care.
No, I said that there could be an advantage or a disadvantage. Neither of which is fair.
Also, (and sorry I have to run) I’ve written an analysis on the financials of a 17 round season, it’s around somewhere if you want to read it. Long story short - they’d make up the money, and if they don’t wgaf?
I agree with an AFLW expansion (despite having no interest in it myself) and I wrote that in an earlier post I think
Would you care about a Wildcard Weekend?
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Is there an example of a team who was clearly the best team, but didn’t win the flag because of ‘the draw?’
And vice versa?
Or is the flag won by the team playing the best footy in September, regardless of the draw?
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I would be interested to see how they make up 1.2M ticket sales and 120 hours of viewing time.
Truly, I would.
And I’m kind of getting a bit of ‘it’s the vibe’ feel on your unfairness call.
Other than, we don’t know that it wouldn’t be unfair.
We don’t know that 17 H&A wouldn’t be unfair.
Going back to HAP’s, but what if a team is really good late in the season while another team is really bad?
Everything is unfair to the team that finishes ninth.
I’ve really gotta run, but how on earth are you arguing that each team playing each other once is unfair?!