Wildcard Round

[SPC 2,877]

I don’t mind it to create some more interest. It could be 8v9 or more depending on number of teams on similar points, but seperated by %. While they are at it, they could also revise a better system for the bottom 4 to receive the 1st draft pick. Sick of watching the bottom teams stink it up. Perhaps the last 2 weeks they play a round Robin for access to the best pick. Finishing up with the final game of the wildcard round. 

[The heart beats true 16,450]

That week pre finals is a currently a stinker forced on us by Ross Lyon. Play some footy I say. The clubs 7-10th get more exposure to pressure, and it has no impact on the teams who deserve to really be there - in fact you could argue it makes their lives easier, and rewards them more.

[Viney Vidi Vici 116]

a 10th team getting in based off one game doesn't add up. play-ins in the US have some merit at least as it's a multi-game series so there's some credibility to a series win. a once-off game just isn't representative. There's so many examples of lower teams having one-off decent games and getting a win this season, and then haven't looked like finals contenders otherwise. 

[DemonWA 3,504]

I hate the AFL. Constant tinkering of rules, fixtures and structures. Just leave the game be FFS!

[layzie 29,289]

Why stop at 9th and 10th? How about two games in the bye week 9th vs 11th and 10th vs 12th for the chance to play in the spots suggested above? Extend the season another week, wasn't a problem for Gather Round! More football, more happy! 😝

[DistrACTION Jackson 6,496]

How about we just have an 18 team finals and hand out participation awards.

Seriously there is no reason to do this other than to have more games for the sake of it.

Maybe the AFL should focus on a fairer fixture rather than spending time talking about wildcard rounds.

Absolute peanuts.

[Bombay Airconditioning 5,945]

Umpiring needs to be looked at, intentionally out of bounds is a joke as are 8 metre kicks being paid. 
 

MRO / Tribunal currently a mess. 
 

The Brownlow and AA has lost its way.

19 teams and the thought of a twentieth team down the track is bafoonery at its greatest. The Suns in less than 9 months basically gave away their first rd draft pick in last years draft and just sacked another coach. The Eagles and North are getting smashed every week. Freo could also be looking for another coach shortly. People argue the competition is so even but as Geelong showed last week when it’s time to get serious there’s 4-5 teams than a massive drop off. I’m all for a team in Tassie, but it will struggle for reasons already discussed in other threads and it should only come in after another club has folded. It’s time to go North Melbourne….

For mine the only positive change that comes to mind in recent years is the 6 6 6 rule.
 

Andrew Dillon and co can sod off. 

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,499]

The draw as it currently stands recognises the positions of teams in the previous year. The top six teams from the previous year have a nominally tougher draw than the middle six, while the bottom six from the previous year have what should be the easiest draw. On that basis, the AFL could improve the equity of the draw by limiting the finals to the top six teams. 

I know it will never happen, though.

And as to the wild card round? What a waste of time it will be.

Edited July 18, 2023 by La Dee-vina Comedia
typo

[Bring-Back-Powell 13,335]

Brilliant idea for what's currently a dormant weekend of footy. The pre finals bye is a joke.

Friday night - 8 v 9 

Saturday night - 7 v 10.

Two exciting clashes. What more do you want.

Plus it gives clubs more of an incentive to finish top 6. Sixth position will essentially be the new 8th.

Absolutely in favour of this idea. And I think it will happen.

 

[Jaded No More 58,659]

3 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Brilliant idea for what's currently a dormant weekend of footy. The pre finals bye is a joke.

Friday night - 8 v 9 

Saturday night - 7 v 10.

Two exciting clashes. What more do you want.

Plus it gives clubs more of an incentive to finish top 6. Sixth position will essentially be the new 8th.

Absolutely in favour of this idea. And I think it will happen.

 

It makes finishing 7th or 10th basically irrelevant.

Why not just make it a top 10? or a top 6? Hell lets have North and West Coast compete to make finals.

The pre finals bye is there because teams going into finals desperately need it. Nobody finishing 7th wants to play yet another game to try and win the flag. You are basically ensuring that a team outside the top 6 will never win a flag again. 

[The heart beats true 16,450]

6 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

It makes finishing 7th or 10th basically irrelevant.

Why not just make it a top 10? or a top 6? Hell lets have North and West Coast compete to make finals.

The pre finals bye is there because teams going into finals desperately need it. Nobody finishing 7th wants to play yet another game to try and win the flag. You are basically ensuring that a team outside the top 6 will never win a flag again. 

That’s a great point about the top 6. I say bring it in this year, right now. On the condition that Geelong finish 7th.

[Smokey 4,146]

No.

I would express this in more colorful terms if DL didn't have a profanity filter. 

[Dee Viney Intervention 1,501]

You’ve got 24 rounds of football to earn the right to play finals. If you’re not good enough then you’re not good enough. I hope the clubs treat this idea with the contempt that it deserves.

[YearOfTheDees 3,106]

20 minutes ago, Dee Viney Intervention said:

You’ve got 24 rounds of football to earn the right to play finals. If you’re not good enough then you’re not good enough. I hope the clubs treat this idea with the contempt that it deserves.

They will offer some money and the clubs will fall for it again. 

[titan_uranus 22,635]

I hate this idea, more than most of the AFL's other yuck ideas. Hate it so much.

We don't need 10 out of the 18 sides making finals (because let's be honest, this wildcard round isn't a chance to play finals, it is an extension of finals).

We don't need a side finishing 10th (that's in the bottom half of the league) getting a shot at knocking out the side who finished 7th. 

I hear some say "but it incentivises finishing 6th". We already have that - 6th gets a home final. We also already have massive incentive to try to get up to 4th.

Right now we have a league where the evenness of the middle of the ladder makes for an exciting last 6-8 weeks of the H&A season, but that is largely because of the scarcity of finals spots. It's exciting because we know that only three of St Kilda, the Dogs, Essendon, GWS, Carlton, Adelaide and Richmond are going to make finals. Allowing 9th and 10th to join in renders these last six weeks less exciting - they're all going to make it anyway.

[Macca 16,173]

If we didn't have the weekend off (as it is now) then I'd be ambiguous about the play-in games but the weekend off leaves a big void and I don't know anyone who likes it (the weekend off)

But I see the 2 extra games as not being harmful.  And if we happened to finish 9th or 10th one year we'd all be in on the play-in

I can't imagine anyone protesting against their team being in a play-in game

So we might not like it but we'd still support it!  haha

 

[Deebauched 1,219]

9 hours ago, Sydney_Demon said:

I'm totally against it. It's an idea that has been stolen from American sports, particularly the NBA. I love NBA Basketball but the Finals Format is a joke. Basically they play 82 games to eliminate 10 out of 30 teams. It probably works in America where it's just a way of providing meaningless entertainment and generating lot's of income, which pretty much summarises the American psyche. Surely having 8 out of 18 teams play finals is enough. If we have a Wildcard Round there'll be more teams playing Finals than not FFS.

Of course, they've already introduced it for the VFL this year but at least there's 21 teams competing for 10 spots. It's basically close to impossible to win from outside the Top 4 now (it's happened once in the last 23 years) and if this is introduced as it applies in the VFL then the 7th to 10th sides will have to win 5 consecutive games.    

..... close to impossible to win from outside top 4,

,..... Chris Scott says....Hold My Beer!!!!

[Demonland 65,951]

20 minutes ago, Macca said:

If we didn't have the weekend off (as it is now) then I'd be ambiguous about the play-in games but the weekend off leaves a big void and I don't know anyone who likes it (the weekend off)

Max Gawn might like it

[Macca 16,173]

3 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Max Gawn might like it

The players in general and therefore the clubs would prefer the weekend off but the punters?

I believe the weekend off gives a free kick to the NRL

A better idea would be for the weekend off to be a celebration of football

Under 18 championships, All the GF's ... WAFL,  SANFL, VFL.  Country & Suburban finals and the AFLW

What we get now is not very much and as previously stated, the supporters in general do not like it

[kev martin 9,236]

I am a yes.

Evens up a unleveled fixture a bit.

Has the game more focused on the end of season form, so teams can build and try things earlier on and still get a chance to play finals.

More teams stay alive come the end of the season, so less going through the ropes, and keeps more H&A games relevant.

Top 4 get an even greater advantage with week off.

If they are good enough they get a chance.

More do or die footy.

 

[whatwhat say what 19,286]

it's a purely financial move by the league and would mean no more silly bye week before the finals starts

it's going to happen

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,499]

12 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

it's a purely financial move by the league and would mean no more silly bye week before the finals starts

it's going to happen

In itself, a wild card weekend doesn't necessarily mean there would be no more bye week. The AFL could theoretically start the season one week earlier and still have a bye and a wildcard round at the end of the season. After all, just wait for coaches of teams who finish 7th and 8th arguing that its unfair to have to play an extra week when teams above them have a bye. It would be stupid to have a wildcard round and also a bye because teams finishing 1 to 6 would have a two week bye, but doing stupid things hasn't stopped the AFL before. 

[Skuit 9,307]

Was dead against it, to membership microwaving proportions, then decided on reflection that I really don't care all that much compared to other things. Probably won't impact on world hunger or peace or global warming (except for the ongoing, more tempting finals starvation of Essendon fans lol). 

My proposal for the Americanisation of football - before even the Americans have thought of it - is as follows: the top four teams, in order, can nominate their opponents from the bottom half of the eight. Two lowest ranked losers out and repeat the process, with a reordered ladder according to H&A position and winners/losers. 

It gets rid of the prelim finals bye and adds an extra match ($). Makes H&A incrementally more important by position, and removes travel bias and form flux. It also expands the combo of potential grand-finalists to infinity (a thing mathematics work on). Moreover, 'nomination day' would be an event of its own, and create crazy rivalries. 

Thought-test scenario based on current ladder positions. Who does Collingwood pick as an opponent? Probably wants to avoid Essendon in p8. Maybe St Kilda? Then Port picks Essendon at home, or maybe Brisbane, to bump them down the list or have them potentially eliminated. MFC picks the Bulldogs of course. 

Ask me anything. 

 

 

 

 

[Bombay Airconditioning 5,945]

18 minutes ago, Macca said:

The players in general and therefore the clubs would prefer the weekend off but the punters?

I believe the weekend off gives a free kick to the NRL

A better idea would be for the weekend off to be a celebration of football

Under 18 championships, All the GF's ... WAFL,  SANFL, VFL.  Country & Suburban finals and the AFLW

What we get now is not very much and as previously stated, the supporters in general do not like it

How so? League is slowly dying.

[Demon Disciple 11,071]

8 teams playing finals in an 18 (soon 19) team competition makes qualifying for finals a more worthwhile achievement, it also rewards the better teams. The prestige of the finals needs to be maintained.

Imagine rewarding the 10th best team with a spot in the finals. Talk about rewarding mediocrity.