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There has been a lot of talk recently about VicBias, the lopsided draw and a number of other anomalies that give a club an advantage or a disadvantage depending on who they are, where they are based etc.
For some time now, I've been a strong advocate for some transparency & equity in the fixturing but haven't come up with the ideal model due to the number of clubs in the competition.
However, I'd like to see the AFL implement these models in line with current competition numbers and the mooted changes for the future :
18 Teams
The current clubs are divided into three groups of six according to their final ladder positions from the season immediately prior (1-6, 7-12, 13-18).
Rounds 1-5 : club plays the other 5 teams in their ladder group
Rounds 6-17 : club will play the other 12 teams that were not in their ladder group
Rounds 18-22 : club plays the other 5 teams in their ladder group a second time
Each club is given 11 home games & 11 away games.
198 home & away games per season in total.
Some of the marquee games like the "traditional" Rich V Carl season opener may not be played at that time of year due to the way the fixture is structured via the ladder positions. If it means that the "Big Four" only play each other once in a season then so be it.
20 Teams
With the addition of Tasmania & say ……Canberra, there is 20 teams, the clubs are divided into four groups of five according to their final ladder positions from the season prior (1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20).
Rounds 1-4 : club plays the other 4 teams in their ladder group
Rounds 5-15 : club will play the other 11 teams that were not in their ladder group
Rounds 16-19 : club plays the other 4 teams in their ladder group a second time
Each club is given either 10 home games & 9 away games or 9 home games & 10 away games, each club has that h&a ratio reversed the next year so it always evens out for memberships etc.
190 home & away games per season in total.
22 Teams
Working on the theory that another two clubs will join the competition making it capped at 22 in total, there would be no need to have any fixture weighting based on ladder positions.
Rounds 1-21 : club plays every other team in the competition once per season
Each club is given either 10 home games & 11 away games or 11 home games & 10 away games, each club has that h&a ratio reversed the next year so it always evens out for memberships etc.
231 home & away games per season in total.
For some time now, I've been a strong advocate for some transparency & equity in the fixturing but haven't come up with the ideal model due to the number of clubs in the competition.
However, I'd like to see the AFL implement these models in line with current competition numbers and the mooted changes for the future :
18 Teams
The current clubs are divided into three groups of six according to their final ladder positions from the season immediately prior (1-6, 7-12, 13-18).
Rounds 1-5 : club plays the other 5 teams in their ladder group
Rounds 6-17 : club will play the other 12 teams that were not in their ladder group
Rounds 18-22 : club plays the other 5 teams in their ladder group a second time
Each club is given 11 home games & 11 away games.
198 home & away games per season in total.
Some of the marquee games like the "traditional" Rich V Carl season opener may not be played at that time of year due to the way the fixture is structured via the ladder positions. If it means that the "Big Four" only play each other once in a season then so be it.
20 Teams
With the addition of Tasmania & say ……Canberra, there is 20 teams, the clubs are divided into four groups of five according to their final ladder positions from the season prior (1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20).
Rounds 1-4 : club plays the other 4 teams in their ladder group
Rounds 5-15 : club will play the other 11 teams that were not in their ladder group
Rounds 16-19 : club plays the other 4 teams in their ladder group a second time
Each club is given either 10 home games & 9 away games or 9 home games & 10 away games, each club has that h&a ratio reversed the next year so it always evens out for memberships etc.
190 home & away games per season in total.
22 Teams
Working on the theory that another two clubs will join the competition making it capped at 22 in total, there would be no need to have any fixture weighting based on ladder positions.
Rounds 1-21 : club plays every other team in the competition once per season
Each club is given either 10 home games & 11 away games or 11 home games & 10 away games, each club has that h&a ratio reversed the next year so it always evens out for memberships etc.
231 home & away games per season in total.
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