AFL unveils wildcard weekend
AFL boss Andrew Dillon reckons clubs have responded positively to the league’s finals shake-up that will give ninth and 10th teams a chance to win the flag.
Incentive for a top-six finish and more âgames of consequenceâ are among the motivators for the AFLâs finals shake-up, according to league boss Andrew Dillon.
The AFL on Monday confirmed the divisive tweaks to the finals system with the addition of two wildcard games.
The extra fixtures, to be played on the weekend that had been reserved for the pre-finals bye, will pit seventh against 10th and eighth against ninth.
The top six sides will continue to enjoy a week off while the highest-ranked winner of the two matches will secure seventh place and the other winner will secure eighth place heading into the first full week of finals.
That means a team could finish the regular-season in ninth place, but then contest a finals campaign as the seventh seed.
You might like
âOur fans love finals games, so we think it provides opportunities and hope for our fans,â Dillon said.
âIâve got plenty of good feedback from the clubs overnight.
âOur fans love finals and they love games of consequence.
âWe know those games are the best-attended and most-watched on television.â
Stay informed, daily
The move comes after one of the tightest fights for a finals berth in recent history, with Western Bulldogs (14-9) boasting the best season for a team in ninth in AFL history.
If the wildcard round was in place this year, seventh-placed Gold Coast would have hosted Sydney (10th), and Hawthorn (eighth) would have played the Western Bulldogs (ninth).
The play-in finals concept was introduced by the NBA in 2020 and has since been adopted by the NBL.
âI donât think it rewards mediocrity,â Dillon said.
âIt makes that gap between sixth and seventh something clubs will strive for.
âYouâll have a big difference between first and second with the home final.
âThird and fourth, you get the double chance.
âFifth and sixth you get the week off and seventh and eighth you host a home wildcard final.â
Dillon confirmed the extra fixtures would count towards the Gary Ayres Award for the best player of the finals series.
-with AAP
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.
