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The general consensus seems to be that interstate clubs deserve a home final if they have EARNED it....but I just wanted to pose the question, how much reward do you actually deserve for finishing 1st or 2nd?
The reason I ask is that I think most would agree that home ground advantage for the interstate clubs is probably greater than home ground advantage for melbourne clubs. Amongst the reasons for this are:
- it can have a tremendous advantage in being able to cope with high temperatures in september, especially for the Weagles and Brisbane
- there is some advantage in having a stadium that is full of your own supporters. Interstate clubs, especially Adelaide I think, have 90-95% of supporters at home games...which we suspect (know) may have impact on umpires??? But the support alone must be an advantage. (At least we get significant supporters when we have to play in Melbourne)
-interstate clubs are better at travelling, because we do more of it. So travelling for a Melb club is more of a concern - perhaps except for the extremes, i.e. WA travelling to QLD and vice versa.
I am not saying all the advantages are for interstate clubs, just that I think the + and - are in the favour of home ground advantage is higher for interstate clubs
The other factor in whether clubs 'earn' the right is that the draw isnt equal - clubs do not play every team twice, once at home and once away. If they did I would have no qualms at all with the clubs finishing top claiming that they have 'earned' the right. There are inequities in the draw - some clubs can have a much easier draw - for example, which clubs this year have had two games against Carlton, Hawthorn, Collingwood versus having two games against the West Coast, Adelaide, StKilda? We have a significant advantage in the draw in that we get 12 games in Sydney plus we play the Kangaroos at a neutral venue. So clearly the draw isnt equal, so it is not an absolute given that the clubs that finish first and second are the best two teams
So what advantage do they have the right to?
If you finish first or second, you get a home game in the first week....Advantage No 1...and a significant one
If you win this game, which they should, you get advantage No 2...a week off. This is harder to measure in terms of advantage, but if you have key players with injury probs or niggles they get to rest up, while your opponent for the following week is playing a hard tough finals game. Whilst some may argue that by playing games every week you keep your momentum going, I still think having a week off is a plus.
Even if you lose that first week, you have still got some advantage from having finished first or second.....you get a second chance
Of course, if you finished first, and win your first final, the added advantage is a home preliminary final. The fact that (at the moment) this isnt a guarantee if you finish second is the clear advantage in finishing first. Should there be some reward for finishing first rather than second (other than you play Team 4 in the first week of the finals)? I think there should.
Okay...I am almost at the end of my thoughts/musings/rant/diatribe/whinge (cross out whichever you think is inappropriate)...however...
The one thing I do agree with is that it is unfair for an interstate team that finishes 2nd (lets say Sydney cos I like the idea of us finishing second this year) having to play a prelim final in Melb...especially if the club we play is a Melb club.
The overall thing that I dont want to happen is that two teams reach the Grand Final because they have had home ground advantage in the finals....rather than the simple fact that they have clearly, absolutely, been the best two teams for the year.
So, and I have to admit that i didnt see this conclusion coming when i started typing, the issue isnt where the finals are played...this issue is fix up the draw....so that it is even....teams playing each other twice, one at home, one away...teams cant sell their home games interstate.... a 30 game season at the moment (get rid of the pre-seaon comp...if Carlton can win it, its a joke).
It wont happen...30 weeks is too long in such a physical game as AFL, especially with reduced playing lists meaning its harder to rest players and players play when they are injured. 30 weeks with a mid season break means you'd start the seaon earlier, end the season later = more games in the heat etc
So the answer is....I dont have the answer...I am not sure anyone does...so now there is a new question?
do i just delete this post? and pretend I hadnt started? Or do I press the "Submit New Thread" button and risk earning the ire of all who read this and strike me down for posing the unanswerable question?
Well I am a brave man...and a persistent one...after all I have been a Swans supporter for 43 years....so I will press Submit...and hope that maybe one of you wise and wonderful RWO readers has the answer...or at least some original thoughts/insults
The reason I ask is that I think most would agree that home ground advantage for the interstate clubs is probably greater than home ground advantage for melbourne clubs. Amongst the reasons for this are:
- it can have a tremendous advantage in being able to cope with high temperatures in september, especially for the Weagles and Brisbane
- there is some advantage in having a stadium that is full of your own supporters. Interstate clubs, especially Adelaide I think, have 90-95% of supporters at home games...which we suspect (know) may have impact on umpires??? But the support alone must be an advantage. (At least we get significant supporters when we have to play in Melbourne)
-interstate clubs are better at travelling, because we do more of it. So travelling for a Melb club is more of a concern - perhaps except for the extremes, i.e. WA travelling to QLD and vice versa.
I am not saying all the advantages are for interstate clubs, just that I think the + and - are in the favour of home ground advantage is higher for interstate clubs
The other factor in whether clubs 'earn' the right is that the draw isnt equal - clubs do not play every team twice, once at home and once away. If they did I would have no qualms at all with the clubs finishing top claiming that they have 'earned' the right. There are inequities in the draw - some clubs can have a much easier draw - for example, which clubs this year have had two games against Carlton, Hawthorn, Collingwood versus having two games against the West Coast, Adelaide, StKilda? We have a significant advantage in the draw in that we get 12 games in Sydney plus we play the Kangaroos at a neutral venue. So clearly the draw isnt equal, so it is not an absolute given that the clubs that finish first and second are the best two teams
So what advantage do they have the right to?
If you finish first or second, you get a home game in the first week....Advantage No 1...and a significant one
If you win this game, which they should, you get advantage No 2...a week off. This is harder to measure in terms of advantage, but if you have key players with injury probs or niggles they get to rest up, while your opponent for the following week is playing a hard tough finals game. Whilst some may argue that by playing games every week you keep your momentum going, I still think having a week off is a plus.
Even if you lose that first week, you have still got some advantage from having finished first or second.....you get a second chance
Of course, if you finished first, and win your first final, the added advantage is a home preliminary final. The fact that (at the moment) this isnt a guarantee if you finish second is the clear advantage in finishing first. Should there be some reward for finishing first rather than second (other than you play Team 4 in the first week of the finals)? I think there should.
Okay...I am almost at the end of my thoughts/musings/rant/diatribe/whinge (cross out whichever you think is inappropriate)...however...
The one thing I do agree with is that it is unfair for an interstate team that finishes 2nd (lets say Sydney cos I like the idea of us finishing second this year) having to play a prelim final in Melb...especially if the club we play is a Melb club.
The overall thing that I dont want to happen is that two teams reach the Grand Final because they have had home ground advantage in the finals....rather than the simple fact that they have clearly, absolutely, been the best two teams for the year.
So, and I have to admit that i didnt see this conclusion coming when i started typing, the issue isnt where the finals are played...this issue is fix up the draw....so that it is even....teams playing each other twice, one at home, one away...teams cant sell their home games interstate.... a 30 game season at the moment (get rid of the pre-seaon comp...if Carlton can win it, its a joke).
It wont happen...30 weeks is too long in such a physical game as AFL, especially with reduced playing lists meaning its harder to rest players and players play when they are injured. 30 weeks with a mid season break means you'd start the seaon earlier, end the season later = more games in the heat etc
So the answer is....I dont have the answer...I am not sure anyone does...so now there is a new question?
do i just delete this post? and pretend I hadnt started? Or do I press the "Submit New Thread" button and risk earning the ire of all who read this and strike me down for posing the unanswerable question?
Well I am a brave man...and a persistent one...after all I have been a Swans supporter for 43 years....so I will press Submit...and hope that maybe one of you wise and wonderful RWO readers has the answer...or at least some original thoughts/insults
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