The 'Ideal' AFL

[Jimmy]

In Sydney today I heard on talk back radio after the Cats/Suns game a caller suggest an 'ideal' AFL, with 12 teams to centralise the talent pool etc.

We have (and will see more of in 2012) seen so far 2 games this round and 1 last round be absolute blow outs. The Port game right now is looking real bad. I feel that in the next few years, with the mediocre talent running around, we will see a greater divide between top 5/6 and bottom 5/6, basically creating a joke of a national competition.

With 10 Vic/Melbourne based clubs, there is clearly too many there. How do you see an ideal AFL?

Firstly, which clubs in Vic need to merge/disband and secondly, do we need to see either a division and/or conference set up ala the NFL either done geographically or otherwise?

I feel that with the money involved in this league, the AFL, that its 99.9% a business with little passion/history with almost half the clubs realistically less than 30 years old almost. Fans in Melbourne I feel sorry for as their league has been ripped apart, and many teams losing their souls, however, they have to face the facts that some teams need to merge or fold for the overall integrity of the AFL competition.

Would love to hear your thoughts from those, especially the old timers and the youngsters. Where do you see the AFL going in 10-15 years time?

[stampy]

its obvious that 18 teams will be about 4 too many

[Jimmy]

My ideal AFL is below. Now, as its a national comp, you cant really get rid of or do anything with the non-vic clubs so those 8 (as of 2012) are staying.

Geelong
WB
North Melb
Carlton
Melbourne
Essendon
Richmond
Collingwood
St Kilda
Hawthorn

These are the current Vic clubs. Below is how I think they should be split up. Its tough to do this but this is what Andy D wants, a National comp so you cant have 10 local teams in a National comp so deal with it.

Hawthorn/St Kilda merge to be the Hawthorn Saints
Melbourne/Richmond - Melbourne Tigers

North Melbourne to join the VFL or disband
Western Bulldogs to join the VFL or disband

This creates 14 team comp with 6 teams in Vic (still too many for my liking but this is a start)

so you have in no particular order

West Coast
Fremantle
Adelaide
Port Adelaide
Brisbane
Gold Coast
Sydney
GWS

Geelong
Essendon
Carlton
Collingwood
Hawthorn Saints
Melbourne Tigers

This creates less mediocre players and greater competition. Plus, more players staying in the SANFL

Feel free to change around which clubs you would like to have merge, i just did it for geo purposes.

Be interested in your opinions

[Adelaide Hawk]

The AFL wants 18 clubs for TV rights, so nothing will change. People keep telling me the game has never been better. I don't believe them.

[Adelaide Hawk]

Hawthorn/St Kilda merge to be the Hawthorn Saints

You'd have be joking.

[dedja]

NIMBY ...

[heater31]

The AFL wants 18 clubs for TV rights, so nothing will change. People keep telling me the game's bank accounts has never been better. I don't believe them.

edited for accuracy.....

[Jim05]

North should of been moved to the Gold Coast and been the GC Roos and Bulldogs could have moved to Sydney and became the GWS Bulldogs. Two re-located sides would have been better than starting new clubs in those areas

[Rik E Boy]

Hawthorn/St Kilda merge to be the Hawthorn Saints

You'd have be joking.

He's gotta be taking the piss. Hawthorn have quite healthy membership numbers and the Saints aren't exactly struggling but hey let's merge em so we can keep Port Power and GWS in.

The ideal AFL was the 16 team comp we had last season minus the rules committee and umpires with microphones.

regards,

REB

[LMA]

The ideal AFL in this current era without clubs being phased out would of been 16 teams. Move 2 of the struggling Vic clubs to Gold Coast and Tassie, forget about GWS will be a massive flop. Scrap pre season cup, have a TRUE home & away season of 30 rounds, the top 4 play off in finals over 3 weeks. Increase the player lists and interchange to accomodate the extra games in a season, which with this concept would only be marginally more than what they play now.

But I think the AFL are so pro expansion, ala Adolf, that in 10 years we'll have to go down the Yankee road of divisions

[Jim05]

The way AFL is going we will have a team in NZ within 10 years. I did hear Demetriou say earluer in the year that he hoped to play a match for premiership points overseas within a couple of years.

[Jimmy]

My real ideal afl would be the original 12 teams the vfl had prior to the swans moving to Sydney. But hell freezing over is more likely going to happen.

No way they can get rid of any interstate teams so there will have to be changes to the Vic clubs. Maybe my suggestions aren't ideal for the merging clubs but something has to happen.

Keep the suggestions coming.

[Adelaide Hawk]

The way AFL is going we will have a team in NZ within 10 years. I did hear Demetriou say earluer in the year that he hoped to play a match for premiership points overseas within a couple of years.

I think Demetriou was working with NASA, very interested in the Juno spacecraft to see if the AFL can set up a team in Jupiter. The only problem is the five-year, 1.7 billion-mile trip.

[Sojourner]

The AFL seem to model themselves in some ways on the EPL competition, as in the other thread, Mid Season Trading is now going to become a reality. It follows that the AFL going to two divisions will be the next decision taken, and most likely it will be 20 teams initially with sides coming in from Canberra, Darwin and Tasmania, with relocations occurring also to make up the numbers.

The reason that the AFL will go to a Premier league and a Championship league is simply because of the more money that it will generate and the opportunity ti presents to make the game truly national and to crush the NRL in the process, they have not spent millions of dollars on Auskick in NSW and Qld just to advertise the game, it has been done to openly attack the NRL who are the main competition on the east coast.

Two divisions of ten, bottom two sides drop down, top two sides go up. everyone plays each other twice, two finals series and importantly for TV ratings two Grand Finals each season.

Watch this space!

[Jim05]

The way AFL is going we will have a team in NZ within 10 years. I did hear Demetriou say earluer in the year that he hoped to play a match for premiership points overseas within a couple of years.

I think Demetriou was working with NASA, very interested in the Juno spacecraft to see if the AFL can set up a team in Jupiter. The only problem is the five-year, 1.7 billion-mile trip.

One hell of a boys weekend for the supporters though

[Jim05]

The AFL seem to model themselves in some ways on the EPL competition, as in the other thread, Mid Season Trading is now going to become a reality. It follows that the AFL going to two divisions will be the next decision taken, and most likely it will be 20 teams initially with sides coming in from Canberra, Darwin and Tasmania, with relocations occurring also to make up the numbers.

The reason that the AFL will go to a Premier league and a Championship league is simply because of the more money that it will generate and the opportunity ti presents to make the game truly national and to crush the NRL in the process, they have not spent millions of dollars on Auskick in NSW and Qld just to advertise the game, it has been done to openly attack the NRL who are the main competition on the east coast.

Two divisions of ten, bottom two sides drop down, top two sides go up. everyone plays each other twice, two finals series and importantly for TV ratings two Grand Finals each season.

Watch this space!

Dont forget the best of 7 grand final

[Adelaide Hawk]

Mid Season Trading is now going to become a reality.

I'm actually laughing at this concept. Can you imagine all those 'homesick' AFL boys able to handle being traded to an interstate team mid-season? We haven't really embraced the concept of a national competition yet, so I can't see mid-season trading being a smooth transition.

You look at the NBA in the states where a player can be a Boston Celtic one day and then be expected to line up for the Los Angeles Lakers the next day across the other side of the country because he's just been traded. I can't see that happening in the AFL for quite some time.

[Jimmy]

Mid Season Trading is now going to become a reality.

I'm actually laughing at this concept. Can you imagine all those 'homesick' AFL boys able to handle being traded to an interstate team mid-season? We haven't really embraced the concept of a national competition yet, so I can't see mid-season trading being a smooth transition.

You look at the NBA in the states where a player can be a Boston Celtic one day and then be expected to line up for the Los Angeles Lakers the next day across the other side of the country because he's just been traded. I can't see that happening in the AFL for quite some time.

The NBA pays players a minimum 10x more than the least paid afl player so they can afford that 'lifestyle'. It won't work here.

[CUTTERMAN]

Going back to your initial post Jimmy, this whole ideal went out the door when WA cracked and broke ranks, closely followed by our Port Adelaide brothers. Now that we've had over 20 years "agreeing to this deal/comp" it's as good as set in stone that it will be a Victorian centric competition for a long time to come, those that sold out to it and those that were forced into it may now be reaping the wrath. Hindsight however is an agreeable companion.
The whole comp as a national ideal has been shafted from the start and will be into the near future. The only time I will take it seriously is when they 1. Take ANZAC day seriously and 2. Host the GF outside of Melbourne.

[gadj1976]

In Sydney today I heard on talk back radio after the Cats/Suns game a caller suggest an 'ideal' AFL, with 12 teams to centralise the talent pool etc.

We have (and will see more of in 2012) seen so far 2 games this round and 1 last round be absolute blow outs. The Port game right now is looking real bad. I feel that in the next few years, with the mediocre talent running around, we will see a greater divide between top 5/6 and bottom 5/6, basically creating a joke of a national competition.

With 10 Vic/Melbourne based clubs, there is clearly too many there. How do you see an ideal AFL?

Firstly, which clubs in Vic need to merge/disband and secondly, do we need to see either a division and/or conference set up ala the NFL either done geographically or otherwise?

I feel that with the money involved in this league, the AFL, that its 99.9% a business with little passion/history with almost half the clubs realistically less than 30 years old almost. Fans in Melbourne I feel sorry for as their league has been ripped apart, and many teams losing their souls, however, they have to face the facts that some teams need to merge or fold for the overall integrity of the AFL competition.

Would love to hear your thoughts from those, especially the old timers and the youngsters. Where do you see the AFL going in 10-15 years time?

I've had this conversation with mates regularly over the past 2-3 years.

My major question to anyone that queries the amount of teams in the AFL is, if you are running a business that is profitable, why the hell would you rationalise the competition? Any business that makes money would expand if they believed their business model was successful, marketable, profitable and sustainable. You mightn't have the quality of people available in that industry NOW, but you can sure get them! I hear third hand that the business I now work for had 10 employees in the 80's, but now it has over 3000 employees. Do you think they were thinking about reducing the business ventures on the basis of the talent pool available?

The comment I hear repeatedly is that there are "too many teams in Melbourne" which is just ridiculous. It doesn't matter where you are located these days, you are open to national, and perhaps international recognition and sponsorship (Carlton - Malaysia airlines, Collingwood - Emirates). So being a "North Melbourne" located in North Melbourne or Albany makes little difference it's about what you offer the sponsor in the end.

So, I can see in the not too distant future 20/22 teams. Tassie, perhaps Northern WA having a side.....dunno....

I have seen/read stories about young multi talented sports people saying they choose AFL over cricket because there is an ability to earn good dollars due to the availability of making the top echelon of players in the AFL, versus the ability to make the final 20'odd contracted players of Cricket Australia (mind you, that's changing with the 20/20). If you have the ability to make the grade in AFL and earn good dollars, and be amongst 800 players (AFL) versus the ability to make the grade amongst 20 players (cricket), really its a no brainer!

So in my eyes, reducing the number of teams at the top level actually will diminish the number of people striving to make the top grade, thereby weakening the entire competition.

I can actually see what the AFL is trying to do....in a twisted sort of way and I sort of agree with it in principal (GWS and GCS aside).

I know I'll be lambasted for saying what I feel, but that's ok. The topic is open for discussion.....