FOR the past few months I have been completing an internship at AFL House, working across a range of departments and projects. One of the really exciting projects I have been involved in has been the development of the MyAFLSeason website, as well as being part of the team reviewing and assessing fan submissions on fixture options.
Over the next couple of weeks I will use this blog to present a few of the more interesting ideas to help give you a picture of what is coming in.
The finals models initially presented on the site were the current final-8, a final-10 and two final-12’s. In addition, there has been quite a bit of interest from fans in a final-9, with several different models submitted.
Is it possible that these models have been submitted from frustrated Richmond supporters, who since the introduction of the final 8 in 1994 have finished 9th on no less than 6 occasions!
When assessing the ideas we first look at whether it follows the basic principles set out for our final series. A final 9 is a difficult system to develop,particularly with the requirement to have two preliminary finals on the one weekend before the GF. What is does present is the opportunity for 50% of the teams to make the finals which is now the case with 8 of the 16 teams competing for the Premiership in September.
In one of the final-9 models (sent in by Luke Dixon), week 1 has 8 v 9 playing in a single elimination final to progress to a current 8 system for the remaining weeks. Whilst that does work, factors to consider are; is one game in week one of the finals enough?; do teams lose momentum by resting that week?; are teams 5,6 and 7 really deserving of a rest?
Another final-9 idea (from David Hunt) suggests the top team has week 1 off and the remaining teams play in week 1 like this - 2 v 9, 3 v 8, 4 v 7 and 5 v 6. From there, the three lowest ranked losers are eliminated, with five teams progressing to week 2, along with the top team who had the week off. Week 2 then has three games, with the 3 winners and highest ranked loser progressing to the Prelim. This is where the problems begin for me - it basically means a loser from week 2 makes the Preliminary finals. I like the fact that in the current model all teams in the preliminary final go in with winning form and a degree of confidence.
What the above shows is that a final-9 model is without doubt the most difficult model to run - perhaps one fan summed it up best with his comment “No other final-9 idea works! Believe me I’ve tried them all.” No one said it would be easy but I know a challenge is what everyone loves, and good luck Tigers fans, although it may be too little too late.
If you have a plan for a final-9 system, or any other feedback, let us know if the comments field below.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
