This is probably the only realistic option to assist the WA clubs in regards to reducing the air time.
Trade off is those with young families may not like it if they are away from home for an extended period.
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Mega Thread VICBias - Genuine Discussion
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Trade off is those with young families may not like it if they are away from home for an extended period.
Gather Round is a real kick-in-the-teeth for WA teams. There's nothing in it for West Coast or Freo. Nice concept, but the WA teams should just stay out of it.
This year Freo had a month of away games due to Gather Round. Didn't have a game the members could go to from 23 March to 27 April. Imagine if that was a Vic team!
fn bollocks.
Selling games is probably the best solution that has been floated. The problem I have with it is, why is it West Coast/Fremantle's problem to fix an AFL issue?
The AFL cant fix geography, so the fact is WA teams will always face a bigger travel load.
Compared to a purely random fixture, the AFL already
Rarely schedules WA teams outside of WA in pre-season
Locks in 2 derbies every year
Sends WA teams to SA (shortest trip) as away side most frequently
Sends WA teams to NT as away (short trip again)
Next obvious step is for WA teams to start doing some blocks of games away instead of continually going back and forth across the continent.
The AFL stopped Melbourne clubs selling games directly to opponents back in the mid 2000s, as it is an obvious compromise to the fixture.
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There was no logistical reason why Gather Round could not be at Perth.
I imagine though a fair few clubs would've baulked at that idea - wonder who?
That Freo block was indeed BS - and this is from a WC fan. The uproar if that happened to Collingwood would be deafening. Yeah, technically one was a derby blah blah - but you still have four in a row that a Freo member could not get preferred access to.
Forward Press
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Gather Round offers very little to any clubs apart from the SA clubs.
A good concept for a footy tragic to fly over and see 6 or so games on a weekend or the SA tragic to get some extra games in, but it is about making some extra cash for AFL and SA economy.
It is a little gift to SA, so no wonder WA fans would be upset. But it aint just the WA clubs, why are QLD clubs hit with an extra trip?
A month of away games, fn bollocks.
Freo had 2 away games, rd 4 and rd5. Freo were in Perth in R3, Rd6 and rd7.
The exact schedule as the Pies, who had double away in Rd4 & 5, between MCG games in Rd3, Rd6 and Rd7.
Sorry, I think you've misunderstood. You said the AFL have reduced the travel for WA teams. I was asking what they have done. Your answer is that it's geography and listed some things that have been around since 1997.
What have they done to reduce the travel?
2 on, 2 off would make the most sense and with 5/6 day breaks in between each game on the road. This would maximise the time they spend back at home
Nothing, he just keeps regurgitating the same rubbish.
What's this winter festival Fox Footy are reporting? Basically a free home game for WC and Freo to "fix" the draw?
Next the QLD and NSW clubs will be asking for the same to equalise things. And we'll just go in circles.
Next the QLD and NSW clubs will be asking for the same to equalise things. And we'll just go in circles.
By design, the AFL Fixture is not random.
Part of the key design component is to minimise WA clubs travel.
If they adopted a fair and random home and away fixture, WA clubs would travel more than they do currently.
A random fixture would see them
Play away in pre-season
They wouldn't get a gauranteed away game in Perth
They wouldn't travel to NT (no teams there)
They would head to QLD and NSW more (the big trips)
They would head to SA less (the short trips)
It was the Swans CEO that said in an interview WCE/Freo should get an extra Perth game.
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This bloke is so good he can even predict with certainty what a random draw would mean. Must be banned from every roulette table in town
If a random fixture, with the same 11 away games and 18 teams, WC would not play away to Fremantle every single year.
It is pretty obvious stuff, and basic primary school maths is all it takes to work out what the long run average would be.
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Let me tell you a way to make a random fixture fairest, make it 22 rounds H&A amongst 12 teams with 2 from WA and only 5-6 Vic.. Then the only randomness is the order you play teams in, not which teams you actually play.
It would also fix a few of the other things that are unfair like
1. Collingwood would travel to WA every year, twice, without fail. Something that outside the COVID hub has happened once in the past 25 years or something. Instead of us having 10x the number of long haul flights a year that you do, we'll only have 5x, still shit but better than the current scenario.
2. Collingwood would play only 12 games a year at the MCG, 11 home and one away to their co-tenant. Same as the WA teams have at Optus. Not your 14 games.
You know what might happen then, with random fixture ordering, a hilarious scenario where Collingwood had to play away in Perth round 20, MCG round 21, and fly back to Perth for their second away game here round 22. Can you imagine the squeals? Collingwood have to fly across the country twice in a fortnight! Computer says yes
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It's not exactly great for Vic teams either. we've played both Pies and Tigers, games that are restricted due to ground size (Saints Tigers regularly draw more than 40k and it's held at a ground that holds 10k. It stinks period for everyone bar the SA teams who not only get a free home game but the Thurs/Fri TV slot to boot.
Freo played Adelaide April 6 at Optus, 2 home games in the opening 3 rounds and 3rd HG in Round 8, the only anomaly is gather round, which is shit for all bar the SA teams.
we had
tigers in SA
GWS in Canberra
HG vs Dogs ( 2nd HG @ round 6 )
Port in Port
4 games in 20 days, 3 of them interstate and round 8 is just our 3rd home game
Imagine if that was a WA Team!
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Big Vic clubs get a free ride from the AFL on so many things.
Do they ever play at schitt venues like Ballarat, Alice Springs, Hobart, Launceston, Kardinia Park?
No, that's dished out to WA, SA, QLD, NSW clubs.
Yet Big Vic clubs had the offensiveness to whinge, which is what they do, about extra Business Class seats for WA teams.
Yep, that's all Vicbias
Do they ever play at schitt venues like Ballarat, Alice Springs, Hobart, Launceston, Kardinia Park?
No, that's dished out to WA, SA, QLD, NSW clubs.
Yet Big Vic clubs had the offensiveness to whinge, which is what they do, about extra Business Class seats for WA teams.
Yep, that's all Vicbias
Thanks for that. Good info on Qld/NSW
It doesn't really answer the question though.
Freo/WC still travel interstate 11 times this year wouldn't they?
eg - Freo play in Alice this week, then Marvel, Optus, SCG, Optus and then down to Tassie. 5 states in 6 weeks.
I'm just asking what the AFL has done to reduce the travel for WA clubs.
Whatever it is - it's not working.
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