2016 AFL Fixture Discussion

[radiojake]

Really? What if going into the last game we are in equal 8th and we
play West Coast and the other team play Carlton for the second time?

Should we be expected to beat a better opponent whilst our competitor doesn't have to?

It's okay to point out we've been shafted with this draw.

But that has always been the case since teams don't play every other team twice...

Crows finished top 6, so hence the harder draw -

Considering the perpetual flak I've read since 2012 about soft draws, I'm personally glad there is no way we have to hear that next season. If we don't make the finals, we weren't good enough - Simple

 

[Alex99]

I know not many will like this idea as they won't ever consider the segmentation of conferences but the AFL should consider breaking the clubs up into 2 pools. Not an A grade or B grade or even a North, East, South or West but into a Pool 1 and a pool 2 (or A and B).

The AFL should drop the NAB Cup and increase the amount of games everyone played per year to 25.

If the AFL divided the current 18 teams into 2 groups of 9 - we could start to see some sort of fairness over a 24 month period. Instead of the alleged 4 year cycle that isn't followed anyway.

The way it woyld work is, everyone in pool A would play everyone else in pool A twice = 8 teams x 2 = 16 games with a bye or 2 allowed as well. Something the AFL PA are continually pushing for.

Then you have your cross over games, Pool A play everyone in pool B once and vice versa. Every year teams will alternate home and away. So, if Richmond are not in the same pool as Adelaide, this year we will play Richmond at the Adelaide Oval but next year we must play them in Victoria.

Hypothetical pool A

1) Adelaide
2) Port Adelaide
3) Geelong
4) Western Bulldogs
5) Gold Coast
6) Brisbane
7) Carlton
8) Collingwood
9) Essendon

So, everyone from Pool A plays everyone twice. Then play pool B once

Hypothetical pool B

1) West coast
2) Fremantle
3) Sydney
4) GWS
5) St Kilda
6) Hawks
7) Richmond
8) North Melbourne
9) Melbourne

So, everyone from pool B plays everyone twice. Then play pool A once

That gives every team 25 games a season. We will never have a 36 round season.

 

[FR0GGY]

It's a good idea, but would change that you play everyone in your pool once then everyone in the other pool and then play your own again, but no ideas will work while they still have their blockbuster games every year and the tv stations have a say.

 

[Alex99]

It's a good idea, but no ideas will work while they still have their blockbuster games every year and the tv stations have a say.

They can still have blockbuster games.

Essendon can still play Collingwood on ANZAC day but they may only play each other once a year. No one really cares about the second Collingwood vs Essendon game.

 

[Elite Crow]

But that has always been the case since teams don't play every other team twice...

Crows finished top 6, so hence the harder draw -

Considering the perpetual flak I've read since 2012 about soft draws, I'm personally glad there is no way we have to hear that next season. If we don't make the finals, we weren't good enough - Simple

So it's always been the case one top 6 team doesn't play a bottom 6 twice?

No issues with a harder draw, but can't see why the 6th ranked team would have arguably the hardest draw.

Personally I'd be glad we made the 8 based on a hard draw, not miss out based on the hardest.

 

[radiojake]

well maybe they're retrospectively making up for 2012 when we got toplay both Gold Coast and GWS twice, even though earlier in the year they said that no teams will get that draw..

whatever... just bring on March already

 

[cm_perfect]

Does CD release a "Hardest Draw" list after the fact to show how accurate to their preseason predictions are?

 

[Scrotes2000]

I like that we're going to be really tested.

We'll know if we're good enough fairly early into the season, if it turns out we're not - can start focusing on what we need to change to really contend.

Scraping into the eight every year is not what we're looking for.

 

[fabs33]

We certainly got a difficult draw, possibly unfair when you consider where we finished this year. That said, fire forges steel and this will be a perfect opportunity to teach our squad how to play to the standard needed to win the ultimate prize.


And if we don't make the finals at least we get a better draft pick.

 

[CrowAboutIt]

I got Carlton vs Richmond, they must hate me. Fair enough.

Adelaide vs Geelong at home for my bday!!

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Really? What if going into the last game we are in equal 8th and we
play West Coast and the other team play Carlton for the second time?

Should we be expected to beat a better opponent whilst our competitor doesn't have to?

It's okay to point out we've been shafted with this draw.

We have hardly been shafted!

If we are a decent side, making the finals won't come down to the last game as that suggests we are barely making up the numbers.

You need to beat the best to be the best. Benchmarking yourself to below average is aiming for mediocrity.

 

[Elite Crow]

We have hardly been shafted!

If we are a decent side, making the finals won't come down to the last game as that suggests we are barely making up the numbers.

You need to beat the best to be the best. Benchmarking yourself to below average is aiming for mediocrity.

When you're the only top 6 team not to play a bottom 6 team twice and you've been rated as being in the top 2 for hardest draws what do you call it?

Were we a decent side this year? How many games were we ahead of 9th? How about 6th spot? What if we are fifth and miss out on top 4 by one game and teams 1-4 had the easier draw? No big deal?

No one is benchmarking ourselves below average, I don't know why this similar theme keep getting thrown out. We shouldn't expect a soft draw or want it, just a fair hard draw, the same as our opponents? Is that to much to ask?

 

[Damp Squarie]

Run fast is not a game plan. Take note, Kern.

Is Burgess still employed?

 

[beartoo]

Is Burgess still employed?

Under false pretences methinks.

 

[Damp Squarie]

No one is benchmarking ourselves below average, I don't know why this similar theme keep gets thrown out. We shouldn't expect a soft draw or want it, just a fair hard draw, the same as our opponents? Is that to much to ask?

Weve had soft draws for the last 3 years so yes, I reckon it is.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

When you're the only top 6 team not to play a bottom 6 team twice and you've been rated as being in the top 2 for hardest draws what do you call it?

Were we a decent side this year? How many games were we ahead of 9th? How about 6th spot? What if we are fifth and miss out on top 4 by one game and teams 1-4 had the easier draw? No big deal?

No one is benchmarking ourselves below average, I don't know why this similar theme keep getting thrown out. We shouldn't expect a soft draw or want it, just a fair hard draw, the same as our opponents? Is that to much to ask?

Imo, we will end up playing a bottom 6 team twice, as teams unexpectedly fall & go up the ladder.

Guess I believe in only concerning myself with things I can control & accepting challenges full on. Can there be any bigger challenge of making the finals when your coach was killed?

If we make the finals, there will be no one saying we got it easy... & if we miss out, then the reality is we are not good enough & the major reason for missing won't be our draw - it will be poor form.

 

[Elite Crow]

Imo, we will end up playing a bottom 6 team twice, as teams unexpectedly fall & go up the ladder.

Guess I believe in only concerning myself with things I can control & accepting challenges full on. Can there be any bigger challenge of making the finals when your coach was killed?

If we make the finals, there will be no one saying we got it easy... & if we miss out, then the reality is we are not good enough & the major reason for missing won't be our draw - it will be poor form.

But that's the thing, we might miss out on the finals because of the draw. Two sides lined up playing the same teams, then one plays a Carlton and the other a West Coast. That's not missing finals because of poor form that's directly because of the draw otherwise you are suggesting a team beating Carlton is in better form and that flys in the face of not wanting to make the finals on the back of a soft draw.

And it's not just making the finals, it's possibly the difference between finishing 5th or 6th or top 4.

Anyway this has been done to death, my point in raising it as a dodgy draw is to bring some balance to "you've got to play the best to be the best" attitude whilst the other teams have been given a leg up and not caring about it.

 

[subaru]

Port's draw hurt them badly this year. We could face the same problem next year. But we really need to be able to knock off the Richmonds and Norths and Dogs if we want to be competitive. And we should be able to beat anyone at home.

The losses to Carlton and Brisbane was what hurt them. They did ok against top sides....made it even more delishhhhious....

 

[subaru]

When you're the only top 6 team not to play a bottom 6 team twice and you've been rated as being in the top 2 for hardest draws what do you call it?

Were we a decent side this year? How many games were we ahead of 9th? How about 6th spot? What if we are fifth and miss out on top 4 by one game and teams 1-4 had the easier draw? No big deal?

No one is benchmarking ourselves below average, I don't know why this similar theme keep getting thrown out. We shouldn't expect a soft draw or want it, just a fair hard draw, the same as our opponents? Is that to much to ask?

Agree to an extent however 2015 season West Coast would have started as a bottom 6 side.

Each year there are snakes and ladders teams...hopefully, we are a ladder team and the 5 that finished above us are the snakes !
Now THAT would be irony.

 

[baldandbroke]

But that's the thing, we might miss out on the finals because of the draw. Two sides lined up playing the same teams, then one plays a Carlton and the other a West Coast. That's not missing finals because of poor form that's directly because of the draw otherwise you are suggesting a team beating Carlton is in better form and that flys in the face of not wanting to make the finals on the back of a soft draw.

And it's not just making the finals, it's possibly the difference between finishing 5th or 6th or top 4.

Anyway this has been done to death, my point in raising it as a dodgy draw is to bring some balance to "you've got to play the best to be the best" attitude whilst the other teams have been given a leg up and not caring about it.

I can guarantee you, we will not miss the finals because of the fixture.

You seem to be making a few giant assumptions - none of which are helping you realise the problems with rating a fixture based on last year's ladder which was a result of another unbalanced fixture, based on another false rating system. It's folly.

You are like Abe Simpson yelling at a cloud.

In an 18 team competition, played across the country - with 10 of the teams based in Victoria ... how is it EVER going to be fair and balanced without 34 home and away rounds?

The best you can hope for is that our team is good enough to somehow get the wins to get into the top 4, and then has a real shot at the premiership. The rest is stuff and nonsense.

If you are saying that the teams we play will have an influence on our chance of success or failure - yep, of course. But you can only dissect that in hindsight.

It's more than just who you play - it's:

• injuries to us and them
• sickness of us and them
• form of us and them
• suspensions for us and them
  
• previous games of us and them
• travel of us and them
• etc ...

Oils ain't oils.

 

[Crow_Magnon]

Everyone plays each other once, then the other 4 games are against teams are those closest to them on the ladder the previous year.

E.g. Hawks play the top 5 (2nd thru 5th), WC play 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th, and we'd play 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th twice, etc...

Seems the only fair way to me (but of course it'll never happen)...

 

[DD#23]

funniest thing I've heard about the draw so far is a bombers supporter at work saying the AFL hate them and their draw is harder than ours because they go to Perth and Adelaide twice

 

[Elite Crow]

I can guarantee you, we will not miss the finals because of the fixture.

You seem to be making a few giant assumptions - none of which are helping you realise the problems with rating a fixture based on last year's ladder which was a result of another unbalanced fixture, based on another false rating system. It's folly.

You are like Abe Simpson yelling at a cloud.

In an 18 team competition, played across the country - with 10 of the teams based in Victoria ... how is it EVER going to be fair and balanced without 34 home and away rounds?

The best you can hope for is that our team is good enough to somehow get the wins to get into the top 4, and then has a real shot at the premiership. The rest is stuff and nonsense.

If you are saying that the teams we play will have an influence on our chance of success or failure - yep, of course. But you can only dissect that in hindsight.

It's more than just who you play - it's:

• injuries to us and them
• sickness of us and them
• form of us and them
• suspensions for us and them
  
• previous games of us and them
• travel of us and them
• etc ...

Oils ain't oils.

So when the AFL design the draw they lump the teams into groups based on their ladder position this year. Therefore when assessing whether their allocation of games is fair you have to base it on this years ladder position.

Odds are the bottom 6 next year won't be the same but at the time of draw being decided they decided to give us 1 game against the bottom 6 and the other teams 2. There is no denying that.

And of course a lot of factors go into whether a team makes the top 8, one of the most important is the quality of the opposition you play.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Only concern yourself with things you can control.


Take all challenges full on!

 

[Elite Crow]

Only concern yourself with things you can control.


Take all challenges full on!

It would help if people stop bumping my posts on the subject, over discussing it