Forget fairness: AFL’s fixture of inequities and quirks does the sport few favours | AFL

It began on a bus in Detroit. A number of AFL executives on an NFL Tremendous Bowl junket have been sitting subsequent to the Canadian software program guru Rick Stone. For years, the AFL fixture had been completed by hand, after which on a spreadsheet. With two new franchises coming, and with billions of broadcast {dollars} at stake, they wanted a extra subtle mannequin.

“I used to be doing manufacturing scheduling on the time and it’s not an enormous leap from that to sports activities leagues scheduling and optimisation,” Stone informed AFL.com.au final 12 months. “The software program could be very related for all of the leagues. However the guidelines and the priorities are very totally different for each league.”

The AFL is upfront about its priorities. “The 2 KPIs of the fixture are broadcast viewership and attendance,” fixture boss Josh Bowler mentioned. It’s a mixture of algorithms, favours and compromises. It’s one of many AFL’s major levers to appease, to reward, to penetrate difficult markets and to supply a leg up.

However finally, it’s about satisfying the host broadcasters. The previous AFL chief govt Andrew Demetriou, who’s being touted as the following chair of the AFL Fee, was on radio final week speaking in regards to the prospect of a common mid-season bye. He recalled [not always his strong suit] many a gathering the place Channel Seven and Foxtel executives shouted down the mere suggestion of it.

Demetriou’s successor, Gillon McLachlan, negotiated a $4.5bn broadcast rights deal that handed a rare quantity of energy to the host broadcasters. They need double-up, blockbuster video games between big-drawing conventional rivals. They need to play each Thursday night time. Hell, they’d make them play each night time if they may get away with it. A semblance of evenness, equity and readability are pushed properly down the checklist of priorities.

It has taken practically 4 months, however now that each one groups have had a minimum of one bye, you’d assume we’d lastly have a way of the ladder and the place every groups stands.

However there’s so many inequities and quirks that skew and confuse issues. Carlton’s win on Friday was a whole efficiency, a complete domination, and absolutely the clearest signal but that they’re able to contend for a premiership. However their draw is totally nonsensical.

By the second week of August, Carlton may have performed Collingwood, North Melbourne, Richmond, Port Adelaide, GWS and Geelong twice. However they received’t but have performed Hawthorn, West Coast or St Kilda. Equally, the Giants simply performed their second Sydney derby in seven weeks, however don’t play Fremantle for the primary time till spherical 23.

Their major contenders all have their very own inherent benefits and drawbacks. Essendon, who play North Melbourne and West Coast twice, play their subsequent eight video games in Melbourne. Collingwood performs seven of its remaining 9 house and away video games on the MCG. In the meantime, if Sydney end first and win two house finals, they received’t have performed or skilled on the MCG since April.

It’s swings and roundabouts after all. The Swans had two byes earlier than many different golf equipment even had one. Heading into spherical 15, the ladder leaders had loved 33 extra days relaxation between video games than West Coast and Geelong.

It means we must be cautious of leaping to conclusions on groups and on coaches. Simply over a month in the past, a number of outstanding commentators had Luke Beveridge’s head on the chopping block, a spotlight which has since shifted to the 2 South Australian coaches. Brisbane had an particularly troublesome draw within the first few months, however play six of their final 9 in Queensland, and utterly outplayed Port Adelaide on Saturday.

“There’s no manner that you can take a look at the draw and say it’s honest anyplace,” the Magpies coach, Craig McRae, mentioned earlier this 12 months. It’s going to at all times be imperfect. The one factor that may simplify it – slicing the season again and having every staff play one another as soon as, with a double up derby and/or blockbuster sport – will after all by no means occur.

However there are some fundamental tenets that may make it much less compromised and complicated. The primary can be to the countenance the concept of a common week or fortnight off, on the identical time every season. The second can be to handle the alternatives for non-Victorian groups to play on the MCG. The third can be to simply accept that the introduction of opening spherical and collect spherical have utterly upended the fixture, to the purpose the place a number of groups had loved two byes earlier than others had one break. And eventually, as vital as attendances and eyeballs on screens are, equity and fundamental comprehensibility must be afforded vaguely equal weight.

Every little thing in regards to the AFL is compromised. Taking part in the grand remaining on the MCG yearly compromises it. Having a CEO who goes on to run Tabcorp compromises it. However there needs to be a greater solution to fixture the 18 groups – one which strikes a steadiness between industrial imperatives, excessive efficiency and equity, and on the very least, one which is sensible.