WHAT THEY SHOULD DO ...
The Sunday Age
Sunday March 14, 2010
WHAT THEY SHOULD DO is introduce a two-division promotion/relegation fixture for the AFL from 2012.Based on ladder positions at the end of the home-and-away season in 2011, division one (10 clubs) would play 22 rounds with each club playing its opponents twice and four of the other nine clubs a third time.Division two (eight clubs including Greater Western Sydney) would play 20 rounds with each club playing each other twice and six of the seven clubs a third time. Each division would have a top-four final series played over three weeks with the division two grand final taking place two weeks before the division one grand final. Each year, the grand finalists in division two would be promoted to division one, and the bottom two clubs in division one would drop to division two.Such an arrangement would mean the season can accommodate two breaks for each division (for split rounds or a state-of-origin match) as well as a pre-season competition.This model is superior to the current fixture where clubs play eight of their 15 competitors once only with the seven return games varying in difficulty and played at different times during the season.If the current fixture model were to continue in 2012, a relatively long season of 22 rounds would have to be extended to a longer season of 26 weeks with increased problems for fairness and equity.Because the new promotion/relegation model from 2012 would be based on 2011 ladder positions, it would be critical that the current fixturing model be improved for 2011 to minimise inequities, notwithstanding that 2011 is a one-off year with 17 teams and club byes.A two division promotion/relegation fixture from 2012 may be a radical approach but should be pursued as a long-term solution to scheduling problems for an expanding competition. It is worthy of introduction even on a trial basis for say, three to five years to establish its impact and to determine if it continues or the AFL reverts to scheduling arrangements similar to the present.
© 2010 The Sunday Age