EDFL coaches’ verdict on prospect of top-five finals system in 2020
As suburban leagues wait to see if their teams will take the field in 2020, EDFL coaches have called for a change to the finals system in the competition’s top flight as part of a reduced season.
Local Footy
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Footy. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Essendon District Football League coaches have thrown their support behind a change to the competition’s finals structure if a shortened season is given the green light.
With the six metropolitan leagues, including the EDFL, to meet on May 12, hope remains a nine-round season will be ticked off.
The EDFL’s top flight – Premier Division – houses 10 teams and a top-four finals system.
But coaches believe there is merit in a top five, which would extend the finals series by a week, given the condensed 2020 campaign.
“I find it a little bit strange in a 10-team competition that there hasn’t always been a final five,” Avondale Heights boss Patrick Byrne said.
“I think it’s just better long term for the competition to have that, especially when you’ve got promotion and relegation. To have half your teams involved in finals is probably a good thing, and it’s better for the comp on the monetary side of things to have that extra final.
“In my view, it’s good for everybody really.
“In a shortened season you’ve only got to drop one game at the wrong time and maybe have one bad week and that can really, really impact whether you play finals or not.
“If you have a bad injury run and a bad couple of weeks, that’s your season over.”
MORE LOCAL FOOTY NEWS
A LOOK BACK AT ABERFELDIE’S PERFECT 2015 SEASON
PUSH FOR AFL TO BANKROLL VFL SEASON
CLUBS SPLIT ON LOCAL FOOTY RETURN AS D-DAY LOOMS
EFL’S BEST 20 PLAYERS OF THE PAST 20 YEARS
HOW MANY GAMES ARE NEEDED FOR LOCAL FOOTY’S RETURN?
But Byrne acknowledged there were challenges associated with a move this year, pointing to the need to complete the season in a limited period and allow for summer sport to commence.
Introducing a top five would extend the finals series to four weeks.
It would also reward the minor premier with a rest in the opening week, but there is the potential for the best-performed team of the regular season to have two weeks off between the end of the home-and-away season and the grand final.
Supporters of a top-four system believe that can hamper continuity, while it is also unlikely a fifth-placed side would be capable of winning three cut-throat finals to advance to the decider.
The Western Region and Northern leagues are among the suburban competitions that have a five-team finals series in their top grades.
Strathmore coach Matt Horne is open to a top five but added the financial issues related to the coronavirus crisis could prove a stumbling block if crowds were not allowed to attend matches.
Horne said an extra finals spot would create hope for teams who have spent recent seasons occupying the lower reaches of the ladder and expected a closer competition would be staged in a reduced season.
“If it is a nine-game season, every game means a little bit more,” Horne said.
“A win or loss can determine your season a little bit more. If a team does cough up a game or two they’re not expected to, it might give them a chance to make a run for that fifth position.
“I see merit in it.”
Essendon Doutta Stars coach Kyle Hardingham called for a top five to be implemented beyond this year.
“Having a top five, you’ve got more of an opportunity for a bit of a shake up in the finals,” he said.
“In a top four, you can generally pick who’s going to win or who’s going to be the top two. The top two usually go all the way.
“Not only this year but moving forward, I think it’s something they’ve got to look at.”
AFL Victoria’s head of community football Stephen O’Donohue said the sport’s state-level governing body was awaiting the AFL’s next move before it provided further direction to community competitions, with the State Government’s current plan to lift stage-three restrictions on May 11.
EDFL chief executive Ian Kyte said any potential changes would be considered once a decision was made on the viability of the season.
“We’ll consider everything once we know what the season looks like,” Kyte said.
“At this stage, I can’t give you a lot of information because we’re waiting on May 11 before we know what we can and can’t do, when we may be able to start and when we may be able to finish.”
WHAT A LEADER LOCAL FOOTY SUBSCRIPTION GIVES YOU ACCESS TO
— Match reports, features, player and coach movements and analysis of all the leagues across Melbourne.
— Unprecedented AFL coverage.
— All the latest football news from across the country including Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph and Courier-Mail.
— Latest news and videos from the world’s leading leagues.
— Exclusive digital stories and videos before they go to print.