AFL ponders possibility of play-off wildcards

[Hotdog60]

THE AFL has raised the radical possibility of a ''wildcard'' play-off for the last spot in the eight in an expanded competition, but does not plan to tamper with the finals system.

The league yesterday said that it was considering a system in which the eighth, ninth and 10th teams would vie for the final spot in the eight at the end of the home-and away-season, as a means of maintaining interest in an expanded, 18-team competition.

The AFL's chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan yesterday said that the feedback from fans was ''don't touch the finals'', but there was supporter ''ambivalence'' about the shape of the home-and-away season, which McLachlan said would be either 22 or 23 weeks in 2012. ''What we might do is look at the structure where you have more people that are eligible for the top eight with a possible wildcard,'' he told the Melbourne Press Club yesterday.

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[Desipura]

tigers will finish 11th and still not play finals.

[mighty_west]

tigers will finish 11th and still not play finals.

....

[LostDoggy]

So would the Top 7 get a week off while the wildcard matches are played? Do we get to see 3 teams all play against each other in one game?

Or do all teams need to play 2 matches in one weekend?

This is Aussie Rules, not some American sport. Don't change it. If you aren't good enough to make the 8, you don't play finals simple.

[Desipura]

Wildcards.....bloody hell, was is this becoming a tennis event?

[Sockeye Salmon]

Wildcards.....bloody hell, was is this becoming a tennis event?

So Collingwood finishes 9th and they put them in as wildcard to bump up attendances and ratings.

[LostDoggy]

What the heck is a wildcard in a H&A competitive format? The concept of a wildcard is a player that would usually be there but for extenuating circumstances (like Goran Ivanisevic), or a replacement for a drop out (like Denmark in Euro '92 when Yugoslavia got banned), or for a 'promising young player' in tennis Grand Slams, all special, unique situations as befits the term 'wild' card.

None of those concepts apply to a league format where you get flippin' three quarters of a year to determine final placings -- nothing 'wild' about that. What's the point of 8th place then? You may as well finish 9th, there's absolutely no difference. It's a consolation prize that is worth as much as an actual prize, when there is no need for a consolation prize. At this stage you might as well not have a H&A season, just have a 28-week extended finals series.

[Dancin' Douggy]

Hate it hate it hate it.
What's next? Trampolines in the goal square?

[Throughandthrough]

What's next? Trampolines in the goal square?

Awesome idea!

[Dancin' Douggy]

Hmmmmm. What about lingerie?

[KT31]

Hmmmmm. What about lingerie?

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