Leave-the-game alone brigade must step aside for AFL’s latest innovation

The leave-the-game-alone brigade have had a tough time lately, lamenting changes to the AFL fixture yet celebrating Gather Round, which is why the AFL must pursue Wildcard weekend.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 15: Andrew Dillon, CEO Elect of the AFL is seen during the 2023 AFL Round 18 match between the Collingwood Magpies and the Fremantle Dockers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 15, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The leave-the-game-alone brigade have had a tough time of it lately.

They have railed against rule changes like the stand rule only to see the footy freed from congestion to allow the big key forwards to dominate.

They scream for the AFL to retain its current finals fixture while celebrating the spectacular success of Gather Round.

Footy has always been an evolving beast which thrives on innovation.

Through constant rule changes or from fixture overhauls like Friday night footy 40 years ago with this year’s successful trial drawing 83,638 fans to a Queens Birthday eve clash between Essendon and Carlton.

Right now a wildcard weekend that gives two or four teams a chance to play their way into September is just a discussion point for AFL chief executives as Andrew Dillon puts his stamp on the competition.

Opening up that play-in tournament for teams as low as 10 teams on the ladder probably rewards mediocrity through the home-and-away season.

It is why a single Friday night game between teams ranked eighth and ninth on the ladder – rather than playing 7 v 10 and 8 v 9 – holds much more appeal.

Andrew Dillon has put the possibility of a wildcard weekend to teams. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Play it on the weekend of the pre-finals bye, pack out the MCG, sell off the game as a separate TV property to secure a couple of million bucks from Seven or the highest bidder.

And even consider an All Star game on the same weekend between players from the bottom nine teams.

But the leave-the-game alone argument just doesn’t wash any more.

As the league has expanded so too has the finals format across 12 different finals formats.

From seven different versions of the final four to a final five (1972-1990) to two versions of a top six (1991-1993), to two versions of the top eight (1994 to the present).

So the current top eight system has been in vogue for less than 30 years.

Football is an entertainment product and yet the last 6-8 weeks of the year produce a raft of dead rubbers between irrelevant sides.

Currently, the Giants would battle the Bombers on wildcard weekend. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

It is why the league is not proposing Thursday night football after round 15 in its next TV deal – the blockbuster games are harder to find as teams fall from contention.

Any initiative to keep sides in the running for longer is worth considering.

How would a single wildcard game work if transplanted into this year’s fixture?

In a best-case scenario Carlton and Richmond might finish eighth and ninth and play at the MCG for the right to take on the fifth-placed side in week one of the finals.

On current ladder position Essendon would host GWS at the MCG for the right to take on the Cats.

A team winning a play-in game to make finals might not compete for the flag.

But in the NBA’s most recent season the Miami Heat won the play-in game for eighth spot (from six points down with 7.12min on the clock against Chicago) and rode their momentum all the way to the NBA finals.

It was a compelling underdog story powered by Jimmy Butler’s star performances as they battled and ultimately fell to the No. 1 seeded Denver Nuggets.

A league that has just found a way to secure $30 million from the South Australian government each year for Gather Round must not rest on its laurels.

In any decision there is a balance of tradition and marching into a brave new world but if the league listened to the naysayers every time it would never get anything done.