Finishing top in the AFL

[Sojourner]

I think that the current situation where a club finishes top of the ladder and gets no reward for it is absurd. You get a garanteed home final and the double chance, as do the next three sides.

Suggestions have been put forward that the club that finishes first should get the first round draft pick, that is fine yet still hardly enough compensation for the effort the players and staff have put in to get the club to first place through the year.

My suggestion would be that there needs to be a massive wad of cash of prize money given out for to the side that finishes on top, maybe even more than the Grand Final winner gets, the difference being that the side that finishes second doesnt get a cent.

That way the players and staff can divide the prize money between themselves as they see fit. Considering all the effort they have put in I think that they have well earned that payment above the salary cap for their efforts!

[blink]

I always thought that there was a cash bonus for finishing top of the ladder after the home & away season?

If there isn't, there should be. If there isn't some kind of bonus, then what is the difference between finishing 1st or 2nd?

[Hondo]

It's all about the finals, rightly or wrongly. The minor round is just to set you up for taking the next step and the higher on the ladder you finish the > your chances of getting to the GF. Finishing first you get:
- guaranteed home finals if you win 1st game (avoid any risk of MCG taking your home game away)
- double chance if you lose week 1 (which West Coast did LY)

The only difference to the second team is that you get to play the 4th team 1st up instead of 3rd. So not much advantage for finishing first.

Altho I have always felt the minor premier should get more recognition, within reason, for performance over the course of 22 weeks; a quick tour of this site tho will tell you that supporters don't rate minor premierships or even prelim final wins ... it's all about the GF.

Some coaches may also feel that too much reward for minor premierships will distract the players from the real goal of playing each season, and may resist any reward for the players ... you know, the job's not done at round 22.

As an aside, the AFL is one of the few sports internationally where any second-chance is given in finals. The NFL, for example, is brutal - one loss and you are out doesn't matter if you finished with the best record by 10 games.