A coronavirus-disrupted AFL season unveiled some innovations that should stay but others that should go

[Dry Rot]

Thoughts? I do not agree with all of his conclusions

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-26/coronavirus-forced-afl-to-make-innovations-in-2020-season/12811688

[bornadog]

Looking at the headings in the article:

*No to night GF

* No to shorter quarters

* No to Flexible fixtures

* No to pre finals bye

* yes to Dreamtime in NT

[soupman]

Looking at the headings in the article:

*No to night GF

* No to shorter quarters

* No to Flexible fixtures

* No to pre finals bye

* yes to Dreamtime in NT

I was expecting it to be like most of the AFL journos articles where they can't declare their love for change quick enough but really the whole article was a vote for normality (and quite in line with the average footy fan i suspect).

[azabob]

Looking at the headings in the article

Night GF

A big no.

I could live with a 3pm start.

Shorter Quarters

Yes - 18 minute quarters.
Until the game becomes more attacking it needs to be reduced.
I am finding the game was dragging big time in 2019 when there live. I wonder if this also has to do with our on field performance?

Flexible fixtures -

Yes for me. In 6 week blocks. This is great for TV and will ensure good games for prime time.
AFL should strongly consider a 17 game season.

Pre finals bye

I have a soft spot for the pre finals bye for obvious reasons.

Dreamtime in NT

Makes total sense. A no brainer.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Looking at the headings in the article

Night GF

A big no.

I could live with a 3pm start.

Shorter Quarters

Yes - 18 minute quarters.
Until the game becomes more attacking it needs to be reduced.
I am finding the game was dragging big time in 2019 when there live. I wonder if this also has to do with our on field performance?

Flexible fixtures -

Yes for me. In 6 week blocks. This is great for TV and will ensure good games for prime time.
AFL should strongly consider a 17 game season.

Pre finals bye

I have a soft spot for the pre finals bye for obvious reasons.

Dreamtime in NT

Makes total sense. A no brainer.

I personally think that the shorter Qtrs make the game even more defensive focused. The intent was to mean players were fresher for the compressed number of games.
Like most changes coaches seek to make it work for them tactically irrespective of the AFLs intent. As endurance athletes a shorter Qtr just meant that coaches could press them up and down the field for a longer period of the game.
Get the Qtrs back to 20 minutes plus time on, further restrict interchange, and l think that's our best bet to getting more scoring.

[Axe Man]

There's no reason they can't have a dreamtime at the G and a dreamtime in NT in the same round is there? Send Richmond and Essendon to NT and let some other sides have the game at the G.

[bornadog]

Flexible fixtures -

Yes for me. In 6 week blocks. This is great for TV and will ensure good games for prime time.
AFL should strongly consider a 17 game season.

A couple of things for me on this one.

1. Supporters like to book ahead their travel plans so they can lock in cheap flights/accommodation etc.

2. I can see the TV stations manipulating this so they have Collingwood/Richmond and other big clubs on every single Friday night. I am a firm believer that TV exposure should be shared around.

On the 17 games, for me the season becomes too short. 22 games is about right, but the fixture should be that teams get to play each other twice over a period of 4 years and there shouldn't be manipulation of the draw like it is now eg 4 VIC teams playing each other twice each year to create an artificial blockbuster.

Also, be prepared to significantly reduce income from broadcast rights if 5 fewer games are played.

[Ozza]

Night Grand Final is an emphatic 'no' for me. I know all us Melbournians were locked down - but it still felt very different and not for the better. If the AFL Grand Final is going to be an event that is out of reach to attend for most people and families, then the least they can do is make it accessible for families on TV. Just thinking about the GF parties/barbeques all over the state and country normally - it is so much easier for families to do this throughout he afternoon and into the early evening.

Shorter quarters - I think 18 mins might be the right compromise. The game was marginally too short this year, but I can agree that it was a little long before.

Floating Fixture - happy with this but I think 8 week blocks gives people enough time to book.

Pre-Finals bye - against the majority I know, but I'm fine with it. If there is a chance to get the best players on the field and ready to go for the finals, and freshen up players a bit to put on the best spectacle, then I can live with one weekend off footy.

Dreamtime at the G - probably don't have a strong opinion as to where its played - as its an Essendon/Richmond game that I've never gone to.

[bornadog]

Pre-Finals bye - against the majority I know, but I'm fine with it. If there is a chance to get the best players on the field and ready to go for the finals, and freshen up players a bit to put on the best spectacle, then I can live with one weekend off footy.

One issue is the top teams can end up playing one game in a month. Are you happy with that?

[soupman]

2. I can see the TV stations manipulating this so they have Collingwood/Richmond and other big clubs on every single Friday night.

How is this any different to what has been happening for years? At least in this scenario we get whichever of the big clubs is good instead of Carlton 7 Fridays straight.

I also agree the games need to be shared around, but seeing as the AFL can't see the forest for the trees anyway this is better than them giving Essendon 6 Fridays for the season before realising they are shit.

[bornadog]

How is this any different to what has been happening for years? At least in this scenario we get whichever of the big clubs is good instead of Carlton 7 Fridays straight.

I also agree the games need to be shared around, but seeing as the AFL can't see the forest for the trees anyway this is better than them giving Essendon 6 Fridays for the season before realising they are shit.

I can agree with that - just stinks the current setup.

[DOG GOD]

Night Grand Final is a big fat NO. I hated it. The day dragged, and the game just felt like a normal Saturday night game. I know it was under COVID circumstances, but it should always be an MCG day game.

Shorter quarters - I personally liked this. I do agree with a possible 18 min quarter.

Floating Fixture - if it’s a 22 round game, I’d like to see the first 11 games announced first, and then about round 6-7 the remainder announced.

Pre-Finals bye - it helped us no doubt and I’d like to see it stay, although it does tend to make the season lose a bit of momentum, so 50/50 on this.

Dreamtime at the G - no real opinion on this, but no way does the AFL move the MCG game to Darwin.

[comrade]

Night GF - definitely not.

Shorter quarters - I prefer longer games. Rewards the grinders like Macrae and Hunter.

Floating fixture - yeah, fine.

Pre-finals bye - I'm ambivalent on this. Liked it in 2016 obviously but it is a momentum killer.

Dreamtime in NT - no reason one can't be played at the MCG and in NT on the same weekend.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Night GF - To be honest I couldn't care one way or another. The pre-game and half-time was way better at night and it allowed me to actually do stuff during the day. There's plenty of things to do on a given saturday so we shouldn't have to "sit around" as such. Dealing with change is a necessity in life and we'd all adapt. I do understand the family component though.

Shorter quarters - Don't want 16 but would be happy with 18 or 20. Ideally we keep it at 20 if the AFL is brave enough to implement ways to get the game moving faster.

Floating fixture - Doesn't bother me but I do prefer knowing in advance which games I can attend.

Pre-finals bye - I don't like the momentum kill but it certainly makes the first week of finals a far better spectacle. Having the best ready to go is a huge plus. I'd prefer it stay but the implications of the top teams having two weeks off in a 4 weeks span is far from ideal.

Dreamtime in NT - Do one in NT and another at the G.

[soupman]

Night GF: Hate it. Makes all the cultural traditions around the event harder to execute and fits perfectly with the theme of the AFL where they keep making changes that aren't for the fans. Not ideal for families, and I really enjoy having such a major event during the day when basically every other event in our lives occurs in the evening.

Shorter Quarters: Not a fan. I would like the full 20 minute quarters back but expect 18.

Floating Fixture: With plenty of notice sure why not. It hopefully means teams in the second half of the year will get timeslots more on merit than reputation. Like BAD I'd ideally like the AFL to share the games around more and help give smaller clubs exposure but i guess with a floating fixture at least we are only forced to watch the good "big" clubs in prime time. I watch most games anyway so doesn't make too big a difference personally.

Pre-Finals Bye: I like that it gives every team the best opportunity to field a full strength side which is definitely something we should be trying to do, although I can concede it may be a bit disruptive to the flow into finals. An alternative could be to have a split round a couple of weeks out from finals, so in a 23 round season maybe round 20 or 21. It gives teams that week to take stock before they enter than final run of games, means games flow into finals well, and the weekends could be filled out with other events (ie. A women's rep game, U18 clash). The downside would be it could prolong the death of the shit teams seasons but otherwise i feel it could capture the best of both worlds, a rest that doesn't negatively impact finals.

Dreamtime in NT: Like others are saying why not both?

Additional VAR/Goal Review: If you want to make quarters not feel like they are dragging so much why don't we put a 20 second time limit on goal reviews? If it's not clear within that timespan then bad luck umpires call. Makes them less disruptive and prevents us spending over a minute trying to spot a change in the blur.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Night GF: Hate it. Makes all the cultural traditions around the event harder to execute and fits perfectly with the theme of the AFL where they keep making changes that aren't for the fans. Not ideal for families, and I really enjoy having such a major event during the day when basically every other event in our lives occurs in the evening.

Shorter Quarters: Not a fan. I would like the full 20 minute quarters back but expect 18.

Floating Fixture: With plenty of notice sure why not. It hopefully means teams in the second half of the year will get timeslots more on merit than reputation. Like BAD I'd ideally like the AFL to share the games around more and help give smaller clubs exposure but i guess with a floating fixture at least we are only forced to watch the good "big" clubs in prime time. I watch most games anyway so doesn't make too big a difference personally.

Pre-Finals Bye: I like that it gives every team the best opportunity to field a full strength side which is definitely something we should be trying to do, although I can concede it may be a bit disruptive to the flow into finals. An alternative could be to have a split round a couple of weeks out from finals, so in a 23 round season maybe round 20 or 21. It gives teams that week to take stock before they enter than final run of games, means games flow into finals well, and the weekends could be filled out with other events (ie. A women's rep game, U18 clash). The downside would be it could prolong the death of the shit teams seasons but otherwise i feel it could capture the best of both worlds, a rest that doesn't negatively impact finals.

Dreamtime in NT: Like others are saying why not both?

Additional VAR/Goal Review: If you want to make quarters not feel like they are dragging so much why don't we put a 20 second time limit on goal reviews? If it's not clear within that timespan then bad luck umpires call. Makes them less disruptive and stops these awkward stops in the game.

Having clear HD/4K cameras would speed things up. Honestly it's pathetic viewing in 2020 staring at blurry vision to see if something was touched. I agree with you though. The Goal Review was put in place to pickup on the obvious. If it's not obvious in say 20 seconds then yeah umpires call. But more often than not we're reviewing a touched call and having high quality vision would mean we'd likely come to a conclusion within 10 seconds.

[SquirrelGrip]

Night GF

No no no no no.

The whole day lost its excitement and anticipation, regardless of the game. Also, I'd rather be hooning down Barkly Street around 7pm than midnight after we win the flag.

It's also hopeless for families.

Shorter Quarters

I'm unsure about this. It made sense for this year, but defensive structures work better in shorter quarters as players don't tire as much. Longer quarters make the game better offensively.

Also what is the impact of this on the game in general outside the AFL? Will all leagues go shorter?

Flexible fixtures -

Yes. We'll know who is playing each other in each round at the start of the year - it will just be fixturing of that round that is flexible - maybe 6 weeks out? So you can still book your weekend to Sydney but you won't know what day & time they are playing until 6 weeks out.

Pre finals bye

It seems to work fine and means the finals teams are closer to full strength. Also, it gives a free weekend to support local footy at finals time, which we obviously missed out on this year.

Dreamtime in NT

It's Doug Nicholls round, so I'd say Essendon-Richmond at the G on Friday night, then Bulldogs-whoever in Darwin on the Saturday night. If we had the permanent Dreamtime game in Darwin, that could be a stepping stone to attract more indigenous talent.