Let's face it, the only way players of our code will ever represent their country is to play Ireland in the International Rules Series. The problem with this is that when players get the call up to the Australian team, they have no experience with the rules and round ball. Most of our training for this competition is focused on getting skill levels with the round ball to a playable standard.

My suggestion is:

To remove the pre-season cup and play a knockout International rules cup between the 16 AFL teams intermidetaly throughout the AFL season much like the FA cup is played during the Premier League Seson.

for example:

AFL SEASON

Round 1

Round2

Round 3

Round 4

*Round 1 International Rules Cup.

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

*Round 2 International Rules Cup.

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

*Round 3 International Rules Cup.

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

*Grand Final International Rules Cup

Round 18

Round 19

Round 20

Round 21

Round 22

AFL FINALS SERIES

Benefits I can see are:

-All players at all clubs will gain experience using the round ball on a rectangle field, with the strange rules.

-Marketing for clubs, Clubs will be able to sell the shirt sleeved style jumpers as official merchandise.

- Teams that are struggling in the Premiership Season may do better in the round ball game and give players, staff and fans of those teams something to look forward to.

-The NAB cup rules make the cup different from normal rules anyway. (9 point super goal = ridiculous.)

- The soccer like style of the game may help people that follow soccer pick up a love of our game. (One of my mate loves soccer and isn't that fussed on the AFL, but he enjoys the International Rules Games.)

So, any Comments?

Am I a genious or a moron?

I like the idea, but I really don't think the International Rules series is held in high enough regard to sacrifice the pre-season tournament.

No one gets all that excited about the NAB Cup, except to see the new recruits in action. But clubs use it to experiment with different game plans, blood young players and get used to playing as a team before the season proper. I'm not sure it would be wise to interfere with this preparation.

An idea I had was that the pre-season tournament could be for the players aged 23 and under from each club. At least they’d be competing for something worth-while; to see which club has the best young list.

But again, I don’t think it could work for the same reasons above.

EDIT: Sorry mate. I misread the proposed layout of the competition.

I thought you meant replace the pre-season with an international rules tournament.

Sod that, I miss out on 4 weeks of football, when I want to watch a code with a round ball I watch the EPL.

International rules is a waste of time and is boring.

I would personally prefer the season to be longer to lessen the Awfull bias the Draw each year has become. Ime sure the players love it but the International game means nothing to me. After its over i forget it quickly in the same vein as one day cricket. Interesting Idea though. The clubs would never risk players throughout the season for international rules-Too much Time & Money Invested. Tony Hall Knee Injury in 1989 changed all that thinking.

the International game means nothing to me. After its over i forget it quickly in the same vein as one day cricket.

It may mean nothing to most fans, but it meams alot to players to represent their country and let's face it, our game will never be an international force like soccer or rugby. Why not have a vechicle for players to experience the game before they get to an international level?

Most people do forget results from International League games, but would you forget so easily if it was AFL clubs playing each other throughout the season in domestic International compettition? I don't think we would.

The clubs would never risk players throughout the season for international rules-Too much Time & Money Invested. Tony Hall Knee Injury in 1989 changed all that thinking.

But what if there was substancial prize money at stake? I'm not sure on the prizes for the cups at the moment but I think it's:

NAB CUP: $500,000

Premiership CUP: $1,000,000

WIN BOTH: An extra $1,000,000

(Please tell me if these figures are wrong, I remember reading it somewhere.)

If the NAB cup was gone, then the prize for winning the Domestic International rules series would be $500,000 with the extra $1,000,000 if a team could win both that and the premiership cup.

More than enough incentive to play the "big" players.

NAB CUP: $500,000

Premiership CUP: $1,000,000

WIN BOTH: An extra $1,000,000

(Please tell me if these figures are wrong, I remember reading it somewhere.)

I'm pretty sure the AFL swiftly decided that the extra $1mil for winning both applied for that year & that year only.

Iirc they offered it in 2007 then quietly withdrew it in 2008 cos it looked like Geelong was a fair chance of actually achieving the feat.