ALL THIS debate about how the draw will work once two more teams are introduced into the AFL has got me thinking. And what I have come up with is in the mould of European soccer's Champions League.

Now concentrate as this could get complicated, but I think the advantages are overwhelming.

There would be two seasons that run simultaneously during the year – the AFL Premiership season (what we currently have), and the Champions League (a new addition).

For the Premiership season, I favour the 17-round model as outlined in the discussion paper released by the AFL Players’ Association earlier this week. There’s no denying it would be a much fairer method of fixturing with every team playing each other once. If you play a home game against one team one year, it can be reversed the following season.

I’m happy to keep the current finals system in place with the top eight teams playing off for the premiership over four weeks.

But here’s where it gets a little tricky.

Under my proposal a brand new competition, the Champions League, would be formed. It would be made up of 32 teams in total and would include all 18 AFL sides, the top four VFL and SANFL clubs from the previous season, both grand finalists from the WAFL and the reigning premiers from the Queensland, Sydney, Northern Territory and Tasmanian state leagues.

It would be a straight knockout competition with five Champions League rounds replacing the five Premiership rounds lost with the reduction from 22 rounds to 17 in the season.

The first Champions League round would kick off after the third round of the Premiership season and would continue at regular monthly intervals until the final which would take place between rounds 15 and 16 of the Premiership season.  

The minimum number of matches an AFL team would play is 18, assuming a round one exit in the Champions League and a bottom-10 premiership finish.

The maximum would be 26 assuming they took out the highly-coveted Premiership-Champions League double.

Teams eliminated from the Champions League in the preliminary rounds get the weekend off in the latter rounds of the competition.

Of course, with such a huge departure from the current system, there will be some issues to overcome.

AFL-listed players at state league clubs would not be allowed to compete against their own clubs in the Champions League unless given permission by their club to do so.

It would also require some restructuring on behalf of the state leagues in terms of how their fixtures are formulated, but I believe non-AFL teams will receive huge benefits from participating in a Champions League.

It is great reward for teams who have had success the previous year as well as giving added incentive to do well in their own leagues.

They would be exposed to AFL standard play and administration, AFL grounds and crowds, and AFL prize money. Their players may even get a chance to impress AFL scouts by playing well enough to catch their eye, seeing them possibly head to an AFL club the next year.

It would be very interesting to watch how AFL teams would strategise with which players they play every week, who gets rested when and where, and which younger players they give the responsibility of carrying their team’s hopes.

It also adds another dimension for AFL fans and sponsors. AFL teams that are set to struggle in the premiership because of re-building or ability will still have an opportunity for success by having another competition to play in, plus teams can play younger players in the Champions League if some of the guns need a rest – added exposure is great for the clubs, players and the fans.

I know it’s a massive departure from what we’ve become accustomed to as AFL players, administrators and fans, but keep an open mind and have a look at how the new Premiership-Champions League fixture might look.

THE DRAW:
WEEK 1 - Premiership round 1
WEEK 2 - Premiership round 2
WEEK 3 - Premiership round 3
WEEK 4 - Champions League round 1 (32 teams across 16 games)
WEEK 5 - Premiership round 4
WEEK 6 - Premiership round 5
WEEK 7 - Premiership round 6
WEEK 8 - Champions League round 2 (16 teams across 8 games. Those teams eliminated in round 1 have a weeks break)
WEEK 9 - Premiership round 7
WEEK 10 - Premiership round 8
WEEK 11 - Premiership round 9
WEEK 12 - Champions League quarter-finals (8 teams across 4 games. Those teams eliminated in round 1 or 2 have a weeks break)
WEEK 13 - Premiership round 10
WEEK 14 - Premiership round 11
WEEK 15 - Premiership round 12
WEEK 16 - Champions League semi-finals (4 teams across 2 games. Those teams eliminated in round 1, 2 or 3 have a weeks break)
WEEK 17 - Premiership round 13
WEEK 18 - Premiership round 14
WEEK 19 - Premiership round 15
WEEK 20 - Champions League Final (2 teams across 1 game. Those teams eliminated in round 1, 2, 3 or 4 have a weeks break)
WEEK 21 - Premiership round 16
WEEK 22 - Premiership round 17
WEEK 23 - 26 - Premiership final series – same as current system.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or the clubs.