Ed's Finals and competition fixture plan

[MJ23]

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/eddie-mcguire-says-nab-challenge-winner-should-get-an-afl-finals-wildcard/news-story/deed83fda669ec0f715d5d86b80e435c

COLLINGWOOD president Eddie McGuire wants the winner of the preseason competition to gain automatic entry into the finals as part of a dramatic fixture shake-up.
McGuire also urged the AFL to introduce a conference system whereby clubs were split into a top-12 and bottom-six after Round 17.
Under McGuire’s radical proposal, the top-12 teams would play each other over the remaining six rounds for finals positions, while the bottom six would battle each other for another finals wildcard spot and the No.1 draft pick.
“What you end up getting is that every game will mean something,” McGuire said on Triple M this morning.
McGuire said the competition at the bottom half of the ladder would mimic the excitement of the relegation battle in the English Premier League.
But the most radical component is offering a finals wildcard to the winner of the pre-season competition in a bid to entice teams to play stronger sides.
McGuire ridiculed the current NAB Challenge format, saying “no one is really caring” about the “glorified practice matches”.
“The start of the season doesn’t have much zing,” McGuire said.
“It is just hit and giggle. You just want to get through without injuries.”
Each clubs will play three pre-season games starting next month as part of the current format to help warm-up for the regular season.
But clubs are loathe to expose their superstar players to injury risk and carefully manage players’ playing loads in the NAB series.
McGuire said splitting the ladder into a two-tier system at Round 12 would make the late-season games more meaningful for the bottom sides.
He said offering the top draft pick as a prize to the bottom six sides would also ward off any threat of tanking in the final rounds.
The season length would remain 23 rounds to keep the broadcasters on side. Shortening the season would decrease the value of the lucrative broadcast rights.
“Good teams will still win the flag, more teams will make the finals,” he said.
“By Round 12 the bottom five or six teams are usually cooked, anyway.”
EDDIE’S PROPOSAL
- 17 Rounds where every team plays each other once
- After 17 rounds competition breaks into top 12 and bottom six
- Top 12 then play the last six rounds to determine finals positions.
- Bottom six play off during the last six rounds for a wildcard entry into the finals
- Winner of the NAB Cup also gets a wildcard entry into the finals
- 12 finalists break into two six team conferences culminating in the Grand Final

[Dave The Man]

Having NAB Challenge Winner get the Finals is the most Stupid Thing I have heard from ED

[RudeBoy]

It's all about making more money. I don't like it.

The pre-season comp is called the 'pre-season' comp for a reason. It's about providing quality practice games to prepare for the real season.

[BazBoy]

If I were Ed I would turn my attentions to CFC and what internal assistance
the board can offer for what we play for --not NAB tinkering and not being
the "Man United" of Aus footy as he once suggested.

Get behind your clubs sucsess and growth

[BEAMER09]

Your serious Ed?
We all know the NAB challenge is a joke SO leave it as a joke!!!

[Lazza]

Stupid bloody idea. He is now being a total dickhead.

I'm afraid Eddie's ego may be getting a bit out of control.

He needs to rein it in fast and just concentrate on Collingwood.

[MagpieBat]

[MJ23]

Geeze, didnt think being CFC president precluded you from having an idea or opinion.

Not that I agree with the Finals wild card idea however the two tiered comp after 17 rounds has merit. Im sick of tanking and the bottom team automatically getting the 1st pick which can then be held to ransom. All because a club simply "gave up trying to win" better than everyone else.

[BEAMER09]

[Dave The Man]

This is what I think of the Idea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM3M5TudUvU

[simon tonna]

i like it. the whole comp needs a shake up.

anything, anything to break up the modus operandi
of the glorified pracco matches and season.

[Dave The Man]

[stui magpie]

I don't like the idea of a wild card to the finals from the NAB cup. I'd rather just have the NAB cup, if it happens at all, so be a round robin series of practice matches. If you want to get serious footy earlier, scrap the NAB cup and start the season earlier.

The idea of splitting the league after round 17 I can work with provided there's some incentive for the bottom 6 to not put the cue in the rack. Not sure if a finals wild card is appropriate as the team would likely get flogged in the first round.

Any ideas like this really need detailed consideration as they absolutely invoke the law of unintended consequences.

[Tannin]

Good on you Eddie! It might not be the perfect answer, but it's 1000% better than the current system.

As for those objecting to making the pre-season competition meaningful .... do try to think things through. Either the pre-season comp isn't supposed to be a meaningful competition at all, in which case it's not a "cup" or a "challenge" or a "pre-season competition", it's just some practice matches, in which case it is stupid to call it anything other than what it is: match practice.

OR it is supposed to be something actually worth doing and worth watching, in which case it need to have a prize worth competing for - and a wildcard entry into the finals is the perfect prize. It should be the last-placed finals berth (equivalent to 8th in the current system) so that the pre-season winner has incentive to play out the season proper at full-tilt hoping to earn a higher finish and a better chance at a flag.

Far too often, a team starts the season flying and does brilliantly, only to be struck down by a series of terrible injuries and their year is rooted by the end of May. They have nothing to play for, and by the time their injured players get back it's too late to make the finals and they have lost a whole year. This would fix that: if they are good enough to win the pre-season comp, they they gewt a chance in September .... but only a slim chance,. so they have to have a real red hot go at it.

Good thinking Ed.

PS: I'm so bored with the crap psudo-football of the pre-season comp that I'd far, far rather watch the cricket. But the cricket finished in November this year after only three matches. (Well, you could count the West Indies games as "cricket" if you wanted to. I wouldn't. I've seen better cricketers in the NAB Cup. So it's either swear off sport completely, or watch the stupid, meaningless pre-season rubbish. Sigh.)

[Damien]

Don't bag the bloke for having the kahuna's to put an idea out there.

It solves two problems:

Makes the NAB cup relevant
Eliminates perceived or real tanking

I think it has merit.