Re: A coronavirus-disrupted AFL season unveiled some innovations that should stay but others that should go
Night GF
No no no no no.
The whole day lost its excitement and anticipation, regardless of the game. Also, I'd rather be hooning down Barkly Street around 7pm than midnight after we win the flag.
It's also hopeless for families.
Shorter Quarters
I'm unsure about this. It made sense for this year, but defensive structures work better in shorter quarters as players don't tire as much. Longer quarters make the game better offensively.
Also what is the impact of this on the game in general outside the AFL? Will all leagues go shorter?
Flexible fixtures -
Yes. We'll know who is playing each other in each round at the start of the year - it will just be fixturing of that round that is flexible - maybe 6 weeks out? So you can still book your weekend to Sydney but you won't know what day & time they are playing until 6 weeks out.
Pre finals bye
It seems to work fine and means the finals teams are closer to full strength. Also, it gives a free weekend to support local footy at finals time, which we obviously missed out on this year.
Dreamtime in NT
It's Doug Nicholls round, so I'd say Essendon-Richmond at the G on Friday night, then Bulldogs-whoever in Darwin on the Saturday night. If we had the permanent Dreamtime game in Darwin, that could be a stepping stone to attract more indigenous talent.
"I'll give him a hug before the first bounce and then I'll run into my pack and give them orders to rip him apart."