Should there be two "byes" per season?

[daisycutter 29,614]

Happy with two byes.

Today I am off to the Amos, should get a win and no worry about the Dees losing.

Come to think of it I might approach the AFL for three next year.

sounds like 22 byes would suit you down to the ground od

[beelzebub 23,369]

I think I prefer the 6-6-6 over 3 rounds model in achieving byes to the 5-4 over 2 rounds. No right answer.

Can't help but feel this bye now is more about the finals teams. I know our young guys are probably tiring out but you could rest or manage some of them and have got on with the last 5 weeks.

But that's obviously different to the finals teams who probably benefit massively from a rest now and can go harder into finals.

This is for a different thread but the predictability of AFL finals and pretty much waste of the 5-8 clubs being any chance to get anywhere in them makes me think this bye is only for the 5 teams who have a shot at top 4.

youre a Demon...of course you do !!!

[titan_uranus 25,018]

I have no problem with there being byes, but the way they're being implemented is terrible. This 5-4 split is awful.

I'd prefer us to follow the NFL a bit on this one - have 18 consecutive weeks of 8 games per round, with two clubs on their bye. The first three and last three weeks of the year have the full 9 games per round, to start the year off with a bang and then build up to finals. For the middle 18 round, every week two sides rest and there are still 8 games every week. No split rounds, no weeks of no football, but still a 24-round season with two byes.

[old dee 23,790]

sounds like 22 byes would suit you down to the ground od

Well we currently have about eight weeks that we all know the result well in advance dc

Seriously though I find the season too long 18 Matches + finals a year would fine in my view.

For the bottom six sides the season goes on and on for no apparent reason

[What 18,810]

Yes there should be. I have played in semi professional level and that had two and it was the best 2 weekends I had during winter.

you must not have enjoyed your footy very much if the 2 best weekends u had during the season were weekends u didn't play

AFL players have become spoiled brats. No other professional sport that i know of has 2 extended breaks during the season

Look at the NBA. They have just a 5 day break mid-season for All Star weekend, and they play 82 regular season games plus playoffs

This new generation of AFL players are the softest in the history of the game

[dazzledavey36 54,917]

you must not have enjoyed your footy very much if the 2 best weekends u had during the season were weekends u didn't play

AFL players have become spoiled brats. No other professional sport that i know of has 2 extended breaks during the season

Look at the NBA. They have just a 5 day break mid-season for All Star weekend, and they play 82 regular season games plus playoffs

This new generation of AFL players are the softest in the history of the game

Name those other professional sport that are physically demanding on your body mentally and physically aswell as just completing a 6 month grueling pre season.

I'm coming from a players point of view the reason why they were the two best weekends because the times we had the byes I went away up the coast etc.. its refreshing and you defiantly come back a better fresher and a clear mind set. But I wasn't expecting you to understand..

Wayne Carey on triple M said he was all for players having two byes. Does that mean he has gone soft?? pfft

Im all for two byes but not the way its been done this year with the split round, that's the main issue not there.

Edited July 27, 2014 by dazzledavey36

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

I don't mind 2 byes but it's very unfair that we're always getting 3 every damn year!

The 2 that everyone else has.....and the one after about round 6 when our season is over.....

Oh....then there's always this little gem

Edited July 27, 2014 by Rusty Nails

[Little Goffy 14,542]

Two bye rounds is a ridiculous imposition...

Unless you care about quality of games in finals, longevity of players, interruptions to seasons from injury, and all that politically correct stuff...

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,754]

I'm interested in the idea posted above that rather than teams having byes, players have compulsory rests. So players would play a maximum of 21 (or 20) home and away games per season while the team plays 22. If nothing else, we'd find out how seriously the players want their "bye".

Perhaps it could end up being a mix. One bye for the team, so a 22 round competition is spread over 23 weeks and a maximum of 21 games per player. If this should come in, Jim Stynes' consecutive games record would stand for all time.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,215]

Try this one for size.

Find another 6 clubs QLD 1, NSW 1 SA 1 WA 1 TAS 2

Total 24 teams

Now make 2 divisions of 12 each division has 22 games playing each other twice

2nd div made up of the new clubs plus bottom 6 of existing.

When it comes to finals top4 of each division have a knockout. 1 v 4. And 2 v 3

The winners then X. play each other in preliminary finals with both divisions combined.

Winners go into GF and winner wins.

We may be competitive in Div 2 for a few years.

There's not even enough talent for 18 teams and you want 24? There should be about 12-14 teams ideally with the available talent. Reducing players on field/list sizes could help with this but the dinosaurs in charge will never let that happen.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,215]

you must not have enjoyed your footy very much if the 2 best weekends u had during the season were weekends u didn't play

AFL players have become spoiled brats. No other professional sport that i know of has 2 extended breaks during the season

Look at the NBA. They have just a 5 day break mid-season for All Star weekend, and they play 82 regular season games plus playoffs

This new generation of AFL players are the softest in the history of the game

You can't compare basketball (or baseball or soccer) to footy. Closest comparison is NFL in terms of physical and mental toll and they play 16 games a season with one bye and playoffs.

[Vipercrunch 2,827]

I don't mind the byes but hate the split rounds.

I would much prefer a total break from the AFL for a weekend and play and highlight the under 18 national champs. Really bring it to the fore.

Maybe if a second bye is needed, give the EJ Whitten game a total makeover and try and make some serious money for those charities. This years money raised was a pitiful joke apparently. A couple of State of Origin games of ex players, celebs and others, televised telethons, whatever to maximise the return for cancer charities.

Crap ideas maybe, but I just can't cop those split rounds.

[old dee 23,790]

I don't mind the byes but hate the split rounds.

I would much prefer a total break from the AFL for a weekend and play and highlight the under 18 national champs. Really bring it to the fore.

Maybe if a second bye is needed, give the EJ Whitten game a total makeover and try and make some serious money for those charities. This years money raised was a pitiful joke apparently. A couple of State of Origin games of ex players, celebs and others, televised telethons, whatever to maximise the return for cancer charities.

Crap ideas maybe, but I just can't cop those split rounds.

TV means you will never get a weekend without games S_T

[Vipercrunch 2,827]

Maybe - the broadcasters still get the same amount of broadcast games overall. Total viewer numbers is what they want and if numbers show the season lost momentum with the split rounds, I'm sure they would be keen on a better solution whatever that is.

The split opening round worked horribly as far as getting the season off with any real momentum. Ground availability played a part in that but the AFL is on the record saying it really flopped as far as getting things of to a flying start.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,754]

I can't believe it's been only two weeks (minus a day or two) since we last played. It seems more like the off season (without the "excitement" of trading, drafting and training reports which suggest that our players are not just stars but are stars that shine so bright they can be seen on a cloudy night). Please AFL, can we get rid of all byes? But if we must have a bye, please keep it to only one for the season.

Edited August 1, 2014 by La Dee-vina Comedia

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,754]

PS - I love Demonland. But two weeks of Demonland without any genuine football during the footy season tests us all.

[old dee 23,790]

PS - I love Demonland. But two weeks of Demonland without any genuine football during the footy season tests us all.

There are other things in life besides

(A) the MFC , try a different league

(B) and football in general

[monoccular 17,428]

I have mentioned earlier either in this thread or another of my dwindling interest in watching "neutral games", which is largely a result if the way the game is being played, and officiated these days with rolling mauls, packs, and little protection for the guy with the guts to get the hard ball.

But scheduling also has hit my interest, to the extent that I woke this morning to find that there was a game in Perth last night, and one that may have been worth a look.

Thursday nights!!!???

AFL - you are losing followers on a grand scale.

Fix the game and fix the scheduling.

PS: Is this a split round too?

Edited August 1, 2014 by monoccular

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,754]

I have mentioned earlier either in this thread or another of my dwindling interest in watching "neutral games", which is largely a result if the way the game is being played, and officiated these days with rolling mauls, packs, and little protection for the guy with the guts to get the hard ball.

But scheduling also has hit my interest, to the extent that I woke this morning to find that there was a game in Perth last night, and one that may have been worth a look.

Thursday nights!!!???

AFL - you are losing followers on a grand scale.

Fix the game and fix the scheduling.

PS: Is this a split round too?

Not only was it almost invisible by being played on a Thursday, but it didn't start until 8.10 pm Melbourne time. How many people missed the end because, you know, the next day was a working day and they had to go to bed?

As it happens, I saw most of the game including all the final quarter. Terrible standard made watchable by (a) being close and (b) Nate Fyfe's last quarter performance. I didn't see PA v Melbourne but the radio call made it sound similar. Just replace "Nate Fyfe's last" with "Jack Watts' third".

[bing181 9,231]

If anyone can find a competition that's anything like as physically (and mentally) demanding as AFL where there's a 22 game season with no breaks, I'd be interested to see it. If we wanted to limit the games to 80 minutes (rugby) or 90 minutes (soccer), perhaps ...

Resting players throughout the season is fine in theory, but I don't know that current lists are big enough to keep both a firsts and some semblance of a reserves side ticking over. Not to mention, very few players manage every game in a season in any case, and I can't see how team structures, training and meetings etc. would work with say a third of the players away for half a dozen weeks of each year.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,754]

If anyone can find a competition that's anything like as physically (and mentally) demanding as AFL where there's a 22 game season with no breaks, I'd be interested to see it. If we wanted to limit the games to 80 minutes (rugby) or 90 minutes (soccer), perhaps ...

Resting players throughout the season is fine in theory, but I don't know that current lists are big enough to keep both a firsts and some semblance of a reserves side ticking over. Not to mention, very few players manage every game in a season in any case, and I can't see how team structures, training and meetings etc. would work with say a third of the players away for half a dozen weeks of each year.

Doesn't this just mean the byes aren't as important as the players seem to claim they are?

[dee-luded 2,959]

If anyone can find a competition that's anything like as physically (and mentally) demanding as AFL where there's a 22 game season with no breaks, I'd be interested to see it. If we wanted to limit the games to 80 minutes (rugby) or 90 minutes (soccer), perhaps ...

Resting players throughout the season is fine in theory, but I don't know that current lists are big enough to keep both a firsts and some semblance of a reserves side ticking over. Not to mention, very few players manage every game in a season in any case, and I can't see how team structures, training and meetings etc. would work with say a third of the players away for half a dozen weeks of each year.

there was. a harder tougher game to rival this one & beat it.

[bing181 9,231]

Doesn't this just mean the byes aren't as important as the players seem to claim they are?

Because injured players sit around with their feet up, or pop interstate to visit their family?

A bye is a period off. No bye, no period off. Injured or not, it's still up at the crack of dawn, and days spent at the club.