I’d like to see the home and away draw be mostly a draw rather than a fixture with 22 playing rounds, 18 teams, marquee games and final 8.
First 17 rounds:
each side plays each other once
Each 2 yrs each club must request 2 to be fixed date marquee games with consent of other club. Home/away one each, will be assigned. Every attempt made to honour blockbuster dates, subject to master calendar. Club must choose 2 different marquee oppo clubs. You get either 8 or 9 home games.
second block of 5:
Every 3 yrs teams are distributed to a A, B, C group based on weighted finish order for last 3 yrs. Eg. If you finish 1,3,8 your weight is 12 and you’ll be pool A if this was lowest, otherwise B if 2nd lowest etc.
In 2nd block you play each of the other sides in the same A, B, C group as your club once. You get 2 or 3 home games but your season total home is 11.
I think this feature is fair, transparent and has minimal but essential change. The draw shouldn’t be used for equalisation, we have drafts and caps for that….