Jump to content

Should there be two "byes" per season?

La Dee-vina Comedia
La Dee-vina Comedia
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

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 :)

  • Quote
    •  

    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 !!! :)

  • Quote

    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.

  • Quote
    •  

    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

  • Quote

    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

  • Quote

    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.

  • Quote

    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 :blink:

  • Quote

    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...

  • Quote
    •  
    • Author

    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.

  • Quote

    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.

  • Quote

    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.

  • Quote

    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.

  • Quote

    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

  • Quote

    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.

  • Quote
    • Author

    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.

  • Quote

    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

  • Quote

    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?

  • Quote
    • Author

    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".

  • Quote

    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.

  • Quote

    • Author

    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?

  • Quote

    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.

  • Quote

    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.

  • Quote
    •  

    Archived

    This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • PREVIEW: Essendon

      As the focus of the AFL moves exclusively to South Australia for Gather Round, the question is raised as to what are we going to get from the  Melbourne Football Club this weekend? Will it be a repeat of the slop fest of the last three weeks that have seen the team score a measly 174 points and concede 310 or will a return to the City of Churches and the scene where they performed at their best in 2024 act as a wakeup call and bring them out of their early season reverie?  Or will the sleepy Dees treat their fans to a reenactment of their lazy effort from the first Gather Round of two years ago when they allowed the Bombers to trample all over them on a soggy and wet Adelaide Oval? The two examples from above tell us how fickle form can be in football. Last year, a committed group of players turned up in Adelaide with a businesslike mindset. They had a plan, went in confidently and hard for the football and kicked winning scores against both home teams in a difficult environment for visitors. And they repeated that sort of effort later in the season when they played Essendon at the MCG.

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: Essendon

      Facing the very real and daunting prospect of starting the season with five straight losses, the Demons head to South Australia for the annual Gather Round, where they’ll take on the Bombers in search of their first win of the year. Who comes in, and who comes out?

        • Thanks
      • 478 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • NON-MFC: Round 05

      Gather Round is here, kicking off with a Thursday night blockbuster as Adelaide faces Geelong. The Crows will be out for redemption after a controversial loss last week. Saturday starts with the Magpies taking on the Swans. Collingwood will be eager to cement their spot in the top eight, while Sydney is hot on their heels. In the Barossa Valley, two rising sides go head-to-head in a fascinating battle to prove they're the real deal. Later, Carlton and West Coast face off at Adelaide Oval, both desperate to notch their first win of the season. The action then shifts to Norwood, where the undefeated Lions will aim to keep their streak alive against the Bulldogs. Sunday’s games begin in the Barossa with Richmond up against Fremantle. In Norwood, the Saints will be looking to take a scalp when they come up against the Giants. The round concludes with a fiery rematch of last year's semi-final, as the Hawks seek revenge for their narrow loss to Port Adelaide. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons besides us winning?

        • Thanks
      • 123 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • CASEY: Geelong

      There was a time in the second quarter of the game at the Cattery on Friday afternoon when the Casey Demons threatened to take the game apart against the Cats. The Demons had been well on top early but were struggling to convert their ascendancy over the ground until Tom Fullarton’s burst of three goals in the space of eight minutes on the way to a five goal haul and his best game for the club since arriving from Brisbane at the end of 2023. He was leading, marking and otherwise giving his opponents a merry dance as Casey grabbed a three goal lead in the blink of an eye. Fullarton has now kicked ten goals in Casey’s three matches and, with Melbourne’s forward conversion woes, he is definitely in with a chance to get his first game with the club in next week’s Gather Round in Adelaide. Despite the tall forward’s efforts - he finished with 19 disposals and eight marks and had four hit outs as back up to Will Verrall in the second half - it wasn’t enough as Geelong reigned in the lead through persistent attacks and eventually clawed their way to the lead early in the last and held it till they achieved the end aim of victory.

        • Like
      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • REPORT: Geelong

      I was disappointed to hear Goody say at his post match presser after the team’s 39 point defeat against Geelong that "we're getting high quality entry, just poor execution" because Melbourne’s problems extend far beyond that after its 0 - 4 start to the 2025 football season. There are clearly problems with poor execution, some of which were evident well before the current season and were in play when the Demons met the Cats in early May last year and beat them in a near top-of-the-table clash that saw both sides sitting comfortably in the top four after round eight. Since that game, the Demons’ performances have been positively Third World with only five wins in 19 games with a no longer majestic midfield and a dysfunctional forward line that has become too easy for opposing coaches to counter. This is an area of their game that is currently being played out as if they were all completely panic-stricken.

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • NON-MFC: Round 04

      Round 4 kicks off with a blockbuster on Thursday night as traditional rivals Collingwood and Carlton clash at the MCG, with the Magpies looking to assert themselves as early-season contenders and the Blues seeking their first win of the season. Saturday opens with Gold Coast hosting Adelaide, a key test for the Suns as they aim to back up their big win last week, while the Crows will be looking to keep their perfect record intact. Reigning wooden spooners Richmond have the daunting task of facing reigning premiers Brisbane at the ‘G and the Lions will be eager to reaffirm their premiership credentials after a patchy start. Saturday night sees North Melbourne take on Sydney at Marvel Stadium, with the Swans looking to build on their first win of the season last week against a rebuilding Roos outfit. Sunday’s action begins with GWS hosting West Coast at ENGIE Stadium, a game that could get ugly very early for the visitors. Port Adelaide vs St Kilda at Adelaide Oval looms as a interesting clash, with both clubs form being very hard to read. The round wraps up with Fremantle taking on the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium in what could be a fierce contest between two sides with top-eight ambitions. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons besides us winning?

        • Thanks
      • 273 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland
    View All