Finals

[rb4x]

The order of the top eight almost certainly will be changing this weekend unless the teams ranked 3-6 all lose which is improbable or Richmond and St Kilda play a draw which is unlikely. Lets assume that Richmond beat St. Kilda. The key then is GWS v the Cats. If GWS win then Richmond will be 3rd and the Cats 4th. If the Cats win they will go 2nd and GWS is likely to drop to 4th depending on %age but definitely at least 3rd. If Richmond lose to St Kilda then it is almost certain that either Port or the Swans will take 4th as I expect at least one and likely both to win. If both win then %age is again the key with the Swans needing to have about a three goal better win than Port to go ahead of them.

[grarmy]

Just slightly off topic, but I'd love to see the State of Origin rectified for the boys, too. But, have the teams from WAFL, SANFL, VFL, NEAFL.

Great idea! Worthy of further investigation.

[penga]

Great idea! Worthy of further investigation.

If you think about it, too, if these blokes got a run in a State of Origin game, they would be playing for their lives!! The ability to showcase your skillset nationally would be a massive motivator, and would display the passion required for these games to work.

[Hotpotato]

It's a terrific idea...
the bye week is as boring as parliament .

[Faunac8]

Amazing, the top 5 at round 6 will highly likely be the same top after this weekend, and in the same order!

If I remember correctly an article appeared around that time highIighting that historically there is minimal change in the top 8 after the first 8 weeks and that the Swans would struggle to even finish with a positive win loss ratio let alone play finals.
Historically being the operative word ????
I for one never lost faith that we would be playing finals .
Our club has assembled a team with too much class ,character and pride for them to not be there.
Supporting the Swans through the late 80's and early 90's was a challenge ( and after reading the posts of those from before my time I assume it was that way through 50's, 60's and 70's as well ) but the last twenty years or so have been golden years.
Yes another cup or two would have been nice but such prolonged excellence has been experienced by very few other clubs throughout AFL history and, as a supporter, I consider myself very lucky to have shared in their success.

[ugg]

If you think about it, too, if these blokes got a run in a State of Origin game, they would be playing for their lives!! The ability to showcase your skillset nationally would be a massive motivator, and would display the passion required for these games to work.

Rep games between state leagues already exist.

VFL falls to WAFL in State Game - VFL
NEAFL wins arm wrestle over gutsy Tasmania at Blundstone Arena – NEAFL

[bloodspirit]

So the only real reason to play the last 16 rounds of the season is so that we can get into the 8. Otherwise, they didn't need to both with
them, and the GF could have been played on the Queens Birthday weekend.

[penga]

Rep games between state leagues already exist.

VFL falls to WAFL in State Game - VFL
NEAFL wins arm wrestle over gutsy Tasmania at Blundstone Arena ? NEAFL

Was not aware of this at all.

[S.S. Bleeder]

If you think about it, too, if these blokes got a run in a State of Origin game, they would be playing for their lives!! The ability to showcase your skillset nationally would be a massive motivator, and would display the passion required for these games to work.

That's a great idea Penga. The AFL team will never authorise their players to play, and rightly so. Therefore, a state of origin for the next level down would be perfect. It would be a great opportunity for the public to see players who potentially deserve a spot in the seniors. It also minimises the risks for AFL clubs (assuming they might let their rookies and fringe players play). The state leagues would need to coincide the ends of their H&A seasons with the AFLs in order to make this work.

[barry]

Poor fixturing (game times) by the AFL will mean the saints will probably know they can't make finals before they play Richmond, so our top 4 chances take a further dive.

Saints v tigers should be the Friday night game.

[ugg]

Could never happen given the Tigers played in Perth on Sunday

[Matty10]

Poor fixturing (game times) by the AFL will mean the saints will probably know they can't make finals before they play Richmond, so our top 4 chances take a further dive.

I am not really sure that is the fault of the AFL - there have not been many who would have been able to predict all the possible permutations, even with a few weeks out. And trying to predict how each team will respond in a final round clash is always difficult (even when they are knocked out of contention).

[aardvark]

There has been quite a bit of discussion down here about starting all the round 23 games at the same time. Apart from the TV issues I think it's a fantastic idea.

[Rob2120]

There has been quite a bit of discussion down here about starting all the round 23 games at the same time. Apart from the TV issues I think it's a fantastic idea.

This is what is done in European football leagues. It is very exciting. Sure it would lead to less time slots to show games live, but how many people actually watch 9 games or even watch more than 1 full game. I reckon the rating for that round would be bigger than the grand final as everyone who isn't at a game would be watching.


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[Thunder Shaker]

There has been quite a bit of discussion down here about starting all the round 23 games at the same time. Apart from the TV issues I think it's a fantastic idea.

Or even just start games involving similarly-ranked teams at the same time. It's unfair that Port will go into their game knowing the exact margin they need to beat the Gold Coast by to finish ahead of us - or below us, if they wanted to avoid certain teams in the finals like the Crows.

To make the fixture fair, I would even go as far as having a floating fixture for round 22 as well so round 23 has no constraints.

My round 23 would look like this (close to current round layout due to the need for pay TV coverage, some minor tweaks to make matches start at the same time):

Friday night - Geelong vs GWS (Best game of the round, has no influence on who makes finals or top four)
Saturday afternoon (same time) - Sydney vs Carlton, Port vs Gold Coast (before Richmond vs St Kilda, must be played at the same time)
Saturday Twilight (same time) - Essendon vs Fremantle, West Coast vs Adelaide (two sides playing for 8th; extra Saturday game)
Saturday night - Richmond vs St Kilda, Hawthorn vs Western Bulldogs (Remaining two sides playing for 8th. If it wasn't for existing pay TV contracts I would have all four late Saturday games starting together)
Sunday afternoon - Brisbane vs North Melbourne, Collingwood vs Melbourne