Wildcard finals, 'qualifying month' and more. Eddie McGuire wants to add more games to the AFL fixture to create a fairer fixture for the clubs, the AFL and fans. See his plan and have your say ...
Paywall: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/afl-fixture-2023-champion-datas-indepth-analysis-for-every-team/news-story/e6c2f8c94a8cb47c6937e8b66fd40a4a--------------------------------
Under his plan, all teams would play each other once, with a Rivalry Round and Gather Round to also be included – making it a 19-game home and away season.
Gather Round would have opponents drawn out of a hat in a TV spectacle, while Rivalry Round would see non-Victorian teams face their crosstown rivals as Victorian teams would get their longstanding rival on a rotational basis.
Then McGuire’s plan gets really bold – holding a three-week qualifying period to see where teams finish up on the ladder.
Teams would be ranked on their results after being divided into a top six, middle six and bottom six, before 14 teams get a week off while the bottom four fight it out for a chance to stay alive.
The two losers would be eliminated, leaving 16 teams to be split into a two division finals race – odds (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15) and evens (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16).
The grand final would then be held between the winner of the odds finals series and the winner of the evens finals series.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/eddies-bold-fixture-fix-revealed-with-plans-for-bizarre-wildcard-finals-run/news-story/2363887d73c4ee300b0b7fe753c82f32
