Fix the split!!!!!

[Chookbilly]

Look, I'm aware the AFL is unfair anyway, and it's a business so they really couldn't give a damn about equality, but seriously they could at least fix the split round conundrum and not be so transparent in their cheating.
It's already bad enough that all teams don't play each other an equal amount of times.

It really is quite simple. Every team that plays in the second week of the split round NEEDS to play another team from the second week in the following round. Otherwise you have teams having a two week break against teams off a one week break.
And this will happen to us again when we play richmond in a fortnight.
We should have been fixured to play one of Geelong, St.Kilda, Melbourne or Adelaide.

I'm frustrated that it happens to Sydney year after year, but it's just as frustrating to see that they only managed to get it right for Melbourne & St.Kilda.
Geelong, Adelaide & Collingwood all get reamed along with Sydney.

AFL.... IT'S NOT THAT BLOODY HARD!

[laughingnome]

It really is quite simple. Every team that plays in the second week of the split round NEEDS to play another team from the second week in the following round. Otherwise you have teams having a two week break against teams off a one week break.
And this will happen to us again when we play richmond in a fortnight.

Huh? Richmond will be coming off a one-week break - the played last night. They miss one week, the week we are playing Collingwood.

The break rubs both ways. I think one of the problems we have trying to beat Collingwood in this match year after year is that we don't come off the break as well as other teams do, and by the time we shake the cobwebs out Collingwood has streaked ahead. Who's to say that against Richmond we will do the same to them? Or maybe they'll be well placed after a week of rest. I think that in the scheme of things that it all balances itself out. Luck of the draw with how each team is travelling, the same as the fixture as a whole.

[Damien]

Sydney and Collingwood request for the game to be on the bye (i.e the only game of the whole weekend), so I don't think the Swans see it as a big issue.

In anycase, I think we are better off getting Richmond after they have a week off and we have played.

[Big Al]

Fix the split!!!!!

Richmond are a young side with a little bit of momentum so the bye actually works in the Swans favour.

[Chookbilly]

Huh? Richmond will be coming off a one-week break - the played last night. They miss one week, the week we are playing Collingwood.

Hmmm, try that again..... I think you'll find Richmonds next game is in 2 weeks. And that's obviously what I meant. Were you really under the impression I thought richmond had 2 rounds off?

Looks like the AFL aren't the only ones who can't understand this.

Every team that plays in the first week of the split round will either play a team with the same time off, or a team that has had less time off.
Every team that plays in the second week will have less time off than their next opponent unless they play another team from the second week.

[Chookbilly]

Sydney and Collingwood request for the game to be on the bye (i.e the only game of the whole weekend), so I don't think the Swans see it as a big issue.

In anycase, I think we are better off getting Richmond after they have a week off and we have played.

Well that would be all well and good if our game was the only game for the weekend, but there are 3 next week.
It's been a few years since that actually happened and I can't see it happening again.

[BSA5]

The split round should be 4 games either side. The 8 teams that play the second week should play one of the other 7 that play that week. Otherwise it's inherently unfair.

[laughingnome]

Hmmm, try that again..... I think you'll find Richmonds next game is in 2 weeks. And that's obviously what I meant. Were you really under the impression I thought richmond had 2 rounds off?

Looks like the AFL aren't the only ones who can't understand this.

Every team that plays in the first week of the split round will either play a team with the same time off, or a team that has had less time off.
Every team that plays in the second week will have less time off than their next opponent unless they play another team from the second week.

But where do you want it to end? Should Sydney only play Collingwood, Adelaide, Melbourne, Geelong and St Kilda for the rest of the year because we all got the week off at the same time? What's the difference between making it arbitarily resume after one round as opposed to two?

Also: it's one week off. The players still train (as Sydney did on Monday and Wednesday of the previous week), have a four day weekend and resume training fo the Collingwood Match on Monday. I call that a week off. Two weeks off implies that the players are doing nothing for two weeks.

[Chookbilly]

But where do you want it to end? Should Sydney only play Collingwood, Adelaide, Melbourne, Geelong and St Kilda for the rest of the year because we all got the week off at the same time? What's the difference between making it arbitarily resume after one round as opposed to two?

Also: it's one week off. The players still train (as Sydney did on Monday and Wednesday of the previous week), have a four day weekend and resume training fo the Collingwood Match on Monday. I call that a week off. Two weeks off implies that the players are doing nothing for two weeks.

Ok you really are nit-picking now.
when I said Richmond has 2 weeks off compared to our 1 week, I obviously was not talking about gameday matches, as we obviously don't have another match break after the collingwood game.

Let me explain AGAIN in terms that you may understand. I'll use the term week for a gameday match (as that seems to be the only way you understand the term).

Richmond have just played on the weekend, we play next weekend. Correct?
We play Richmond the following week. Correct?
= Richmond have 1 week off going into our match, we have 0 weeks off.

I am simply saying that for the round after the split, all the teams that played in the second week of the split should be playing another team from the second week of the split.
This means that also all teams that played in the first week of the split would also play another team from the first week of the split in the following round.

SO, the round after the split -
= All first week teams have 1 week break and play another team off a 1 week break.
= All second week teams have 0 week break and play another team off a 0 week break.
AND
= All first week teams go into the split round with 0 week break and play another team with 0 week break
= All second week teams go into split with 1 week break and play another team with 1 week break.

THAT IS FAIR

Can people seriously not understand this?
We play the home and away season to finish in the top 4, and win the first week of the finals to gain a week off, because it's an advantage!
There is no reason for the AFL to fixture a week off advantage only to certain teams in the H&A.

[laughingnome]

I've understood what you're saying all along, I just think you're splitting hairs. And again; why not extend your philosophy to round 15, 16 or 17? One team has been playing for longer than the other; surely it's not "fair".

[Chookbilly]

Well now I think you're splitting hairs, as every team will have played the week before in rounds 15, 16 & 17.
Quite cleary I am aiming at making the split round as fair as possible, and my suggestion is it.

[jono2707]

I think the split round is great and the only thing that needs to change is that we beat Collingwood...

[Captain]

100% agree with the OP.

[BSA5]

I've understood what you're saying all along, I just think you're splitting hairs. And again; why not extend your philosophy to round 15, 16 or 17? One team has been playing for longer than the other; surely it's not "fair".

But by that stage, the difference is negligible. All teams have played the previous week, it's all good. Yes, to draw a very long bow, you could say that the logic applies for the rest of the season, but it's clearly impossible to do anything about it for the rest of the season, and the difference is tiny, so it's not worth bothering about. However, when one team has come DIRECTLY off a week's break and the other hasn't, that's somewhat more of a difference, don't you agree? And it's a problem that is easily remedied, so why they don't do it, I don't know.

[Matty10]

I agree, it should be a split four - four, with each team playing another from the same split group the following round. After that it should not matter.

Having said that, next year we will have a bye each week, so I imagine that it would be a regular thing to play a team who has had the week off when you have not.