Future Fixturing

[The Coon Dog]

Currently the AFL fixture is 'set in concrete' around October each year. All 8 games are scheduled for specific days & times.

The NRL on the other hand create a fixture which is much more fluid. By that, they determine at the outset which teams clash in which rounds. 6 weeks prior, they then determine days & times.

2 vastly different approaches, one most of us are familiar with & have grown up with, the other something probably not given too much thought to.

One of the beauties of the AFL system is it allows you to plan ahead, particularly if you intend travelling interstate & need to pay for flights & accomodation.

Perhaps the downside of the AFL system is best represented in the Friday night clashes last week & this week. It comes back to the broadcasters. They would much rather do the Collingwood v Bulldogs tonight than the St.Kilda v Fremantle clash.

The broadcasters tip in an extroadinary sum of money & probably epect to have a great say on fixturing than they currently do, who could blame them. If you & I were tipping in the sort of money they do, then I'm sure we'd like to have a greater say in those issues affecting us.

I have to admit, I love Friday night football. I love it when we play & I love sitting at home watching it when we don't play.

Last Friday's Essendon v West Coast match was an awful spectacle, exactly what you would expect watch 2 of the competitions cellar dwellars.

Is it time for the AFL to look at adopting the NRL method, giving clubs & supporters a minimum of 6 weeks notice so that those teams performing well are rewarded with better scheduling?

Thoughts?

[Topdog]

Great post TCD. FNF is absolutely brilliant but I couldn't even bring myself to watch the game last week and I won't be doing so tonight.

Like you said the convenience of the planning for interstate is great so perhaps 8 weeks notice is a little better to help out. Having said that as games interstate are only played on Sat and Sun (95%) it shouldn't make too much of a difference.

This flexibility would also enable them to change venues which they probably would have done for the game this weekend. Collingwood vs Dogs is a definite sell out game at the Dome and would have gotten close to 70K at the G.

[LostDoggy]

Most big sports around the world already do this.

I don't think I would be the first to say that the AFL, while progressive in some ways, is generally an incredibly conservative (and frustratingly so) organisation presiding over a very blinkered and narrow-minded consumer base. It was someone from the Swans the other day talking about how only in the last 5 years (with Roos) have footy tactics been truly widely influenced by elements from other sports like netball and water polo and soccer, and basketball with the rolling substitutions etc. This is unbelieveable, that a 150 year old code has kept itself so distant from the rest of the sporting landscape to the point that keeping possession was seen as a revolutionary concept in 2002.

To answer your question, TCD, of course it would make a lot more sense to fixture flexibly. That way you actually create far more REAL blockbuster games than a few artificially 'fixtured' ones like Anzac Day which has been recently more mismatches than blockbusters, and blockbusters based on genuine merit, not on some seemingly fixed-in-stone status quo of the 'big clubs'.

But sense is a commodity sorely lacking in the Big House.

[1eyedog]

Currently the AFL fixture is 'set in concrete' around October each year. All 8 games are scheduled for specific days & times.

The NRL on the other hand create a fixture which is much more fluid. By that, they determine at the outset which teams clash in which rounds. 6 weeks prior, they then determine days & times.

2 vastly different approaches, one most of us are familiar with & have grown up with, the other something probably not given too much thought to.

One of the beauties of the AFL system is it allows you to plan ahead, particularly if you intend travelling interstate & need to pay for flights & accomodation.

Perhaps the downside of the AFL system is best represented in the Friday night clashes last week & this week. It comes back to the broadcasters. They would much rather do the Collingwood v Bulldogs tonight than the St.Kilda v Fremantle clash.

The broadcasters tip in an extroadinary sum of money & probably epect to have a great say on fixturing than they currently do, who could blame them. If you & I were tipping in the sort of money they do, then I'm sure we'd like to have a greater say in those issues affecting us.

I have to admit, I love Friday night football. I love it when we play & I love sitting at home watching it when we don't play.

Last Friday's Essendon v West Coast match was an awful spectacle, exactly what you would expect watch 2 of the competitions cellar dwellars.

Is it time for the AFL to look at adopting the NRL method, giving clubs & supporters a minimum of 6 weeks notice so that those teams performing well are rewarded with better scheduling?

Thoughts?

Spot on, I turned it off at 3 quarter time (something I never do). I love watching Friday night footy as well but at least tonight there is a chance that one of the teams will make the 8 and thus be our potential competition. If the Saints lose tonight, it's all over IMO (it may be already). Freo played well last week so it may at least be a contest, of course I'd much rather watch two top 8 teams slogging it out on a Friday night though.

[craigsahibee]

It has to happen, if not before the next lot of TV rights are up for grabs, certainly as part of the next agreement.

Last Friday nights game was a disgrace and tonights has the potential to rival it.

Agreed, changes to the fixture 4 - 6 weeks out may impact on the travel arrangements of some, but if the change in policy is made aware to the public at the time the fixtures are released, the public could make flexible travel arrangements at the time of booking.

Personally, I am all for it.

[Sockeye Salmon]

While in theory this sounds fine, however I would have massive concerns about this in practice.

Certainly the TV stations would manipulate this simply to put the best game on that involves Collingwood or Essendon rather than the best game.

Strict guidelines such as the highest placed teams on the ladder at the time rather than some TV execs idea of what will rate.

I could easily see Bulldogs v Swans bumped for Collingwood v Richmond.

[The Coon Dog]

Certainly the TV stations would manipulate this simply to put the best game on that involves Collingwood or Essendon rather than the best game.

Strict guidelines such as the highest placed teams on the ladder at the time rather than some TV execs idea of what will rate.

Good points SS, at the end of the day, the AFL must be the one's to decide which games get 'prime time', not the TV execs.

[The Pie Man]

Good points SS, at the end of the day, the AFL must be the one's to decide which games get 'prime time', not the TV execs.

And the tv execs seem to be having a big hand in many of the AFL's decisions lately......(grumble grumble, AFL sell outs over day GF, grumble bitch moan, AFL should tell stations what to do with the game all the time not the other way, around grumble bitch, rhnbtlr get over it)

[Sockeye Salmon]

Good points SS, at the end of the day, the AFL must be the one's to decide which games get 'prime time', not the TV execs.

As long as the TV execs pay a gazillion dollars for the rights the AFL will always do as they're told.

[LostDoggy]

As long as the TV execs pay a gazillion dollars for the rights the AFL will always do as they're told.

That is the problem with the AFL today, all they ever do is designed only to benefit themselves, which means that they will only schedule large drawing teams for good timeslots. All this does is make the strong teams stronger and the weak teams weaker.
I miss the days back when the AFL had some heart.

[Sedat]

The AFL over-reacted by giving us so many Friday night games in 2007 after our strong 2006 season. And they over-reacted once again by scheduling us to play against Hawthorn in Tassie, Collingwood home game at TD and Geelong as Kardinia Park this year on the back of our poor last 7 games in 2007. There never seems to be any balanced rationale thought to the draw.

[Topdog]

Another pretty poor display of top league football but at least the game is interesting this week.

[The Pie Man]

Another pretty poor display of top league football but at least the game is interesting this week.

Tonight? Atrocious

[LostDoggy]

That's two crap Friday nights in a row.

[Topdog]

First half was at least interesting.

2nd half was ****ing terrible and I fell asleep with 15 minutes left in the last quarter. Judging by the final score I think I missed about 5 points.

[LostDoggy]

I want those 2 and a bit hours of my life back. That was one of, if not the worst game that I have ever seen.

[The Pie Man]

I want those 2 and a bit hours of my life back. That was one of, if not the worst game that I have ever seen.

Agreed - everyone I spoke to last night over beers felt the same, I couldn't believe the Saints players were so happy with the win, it was freakin ugly

With so many talls out, so Collingwood do the same today (flood) ?

[westdog54]

Currently the AFL fixture is 'set in concrete' around October each year. All 8 games are scheduled for specific days & times.

The NRL on the other hand create a fixture which is much more fluid. By that, they determine at the outset which teams clash in which rounds. 6 weeks prior, they then determine days & times.

2 vastly different approaches, one most of us are familiar with & have grown up with, the other something probably not given too much thought to.

One of the beauties of the AFL system is it allows you to plan ahead, particularly if you intend travelling interstate & need to pay for flights & accomodation.

Perhaps the downside of the AFL system is best represented in the Friday night clashes last week & this week. It comes back to the broadcasters. They would much rather do the Collingwood v Bulldogs tonight than the St.Kilda v Fremantle clash.

The broadcasters tip in an extroadinary sum of money & probably epect to have a great say on fixturing than they currently do, who could blame them. If you & I were tipping in the sort of money they do, then I'm sure we'd like to have a greater say in those issues affecting us.

I have to admit, I love Friday night football. I love it when we play & I love sitting at home watching it when we don't play.

Last Friday's Essendon v West Coast match was an awful spectacle, exactly what you would expect watch 2 of the competitions cellar dwellars.

Is it time for the AFL to look at adopting the NRL method, giving clubs & supporters a minimum of 6 weeks notice so that those teams performing well are rewarded with better scheduling?

Thoughts?
I love the idea.

The only real sticking point, and with forward planning it really won't be, is the 6-day break rule, i.e. whoever has been scheduled to play the Sunday in the previous round can't be scheduled for the Friday night fixture, and I'm guessing the AFL would want a clause inserted so that a team coming off a 6 day break doesn't play a team coming off an 8 day break all that often.


I want those 2 and a bit hours of my life back. That was one of, if not the worst game that I have ever seen.

The only saving grace for the evening was the final of "World's Best Putter: Australia", that followed. In pouring rain at Moonah Links it went to 4 playoff holes.

Ironic really, these blokes are putting in pouring rain and the Saints and Dockers put on a stinker under a closed roof.