AFL CEO conference meetings float radical ideas to transform fixture

Fixture integrity concerns were at front of mind at last week’s CEO conference, with club bosses backing one new concept that could change the finals race as we know it.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 16: Bombers players remonstrate with James Sicily of the Hawks after he gave away a free kick to Andrew McGrath of the Bombers during the round one AFL match between Essendon Bombers and Hawthorn Hawks at Melbourne Cricket Ground, on March 16, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Fixture integrity issues could be solved when Tasmania enters the AFL with an 18-round home-and-away season canvassed at last week’s chief executive’s conference.

The brainstorming session raised several radical ideas that would totally revamp the fixture, including a reduced season where 19 clubs all play each other once.

Under that model, there would be 16 clubs who qualified for a pre-finals tournament.

They would be split into groups of four to play three remaining matches.

Those games would determine either a club’s seeding position in the finals or whether they progressed through to September.

The trickiest part was what to do with the bottom three clubs and how to find meaningful content to fill the remaining weeks.

State of Origin or representative football could be used to fill some of that void.

There is widespread support to improve the integrity of the fixture, which has come under renewed fire following the introduction of Opening Round and Gather Round.

The Devils’ 2028 arrival could shake up the AFL fixture. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The fixture is regarded as the best tool for driving interest and revenue for the code and the discussion was born around throwing up different concepts to chase the next level of growth.

There is a 32-week window – which takes in pre-season, the home-and-away season and finals – to maximise returns.

Wildcard weekend – where seventh and eighth would host 10th and ninth respectively for the final two places in the top eight – received overwhelming support.

One club boss pointed out that premierships were already almost impossible to win from seventh or eighth on the ladder. But the response to that was that wildcard weekend would create 10 finalists, meaning clubs further down the ladder would remain in contention to get into 10th and so their seasons would remain live for longer.

Then, there would be two extra teams to make finals and two extra teams to win a final – and the emotional joy attached to that would be significant.

The support was so strong from both clubs and the league that the idea is likely to be tabled to the AFL Commission, and potentially ratified, before the Devils enter the competition in 2028.

That means wildcard weekend is a real possibility to take place for the first time in 2025.

The AFL led the fixture discussion, which also threw up multiple ideas to stage in-season tournaments.

The premise was that two clubs already compete for a trophy with a medal for the best player on the ground in several rounds and so that idea could be expanded to include multiple clubs.

Darwin was suggested as the home for a possible in-season tournament. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The most basic concept centred around a cluster of clubs playing a round-robin tournament at one location with silverware, medals and prizemoney up for grabs.

Those matches would all still count for premiership points.

For example, four clubs could play each other on the Gold Coast during school holidays in a bid to attract tourism dollars and add extra significance to those games.

One club boss suggested Darwin as one location in what would be effectively a mini version of Gather Round. Alternatively, clubs could be split into groupings and a block of the fixture would be set aside for them to play each other for a championship.

They could be grouped by geographical location, ladder seedings or randomly and the competition could even be staged over a multi-year period.

The brutality of the sport meant it was unlikely that a final would be staged as an extra game that did not count towards the home-and-away season.

But an executive member at one club has floated the idea that the winner of a final could also receive a bonus premiership point, which could serve as a tie-breaker for a club hoping to scrape into the finals.

AFL CEO Andrew Dillon. Picture Newswire / Sharon Smith

There was a strong belief that the construct of the fixture originated from a localised inter-suburban VFL competition and it was time to innovate.

But in-season tournaments would have to carry genuine meaning otherwise they risked effectively being exhibition events that would fall flat with football fans.

“An in-season tournament would still use the meaningfulness of premiership points – but you’re creating a secondary way to measure some of those matches that could result in cups, prizemoney, honours and achievements,” one club boss said.

“We’ve got cups and medals for single matches. This would be trying to do it in a multi-team way.”