The AFL does not control the weather.
Try as they might, an organisation that can barely work out which way to put their pants on in the morning is not going to be capable of predicting how the weather will look in a couple of months’ time. Hell, even the Bureau of Meteorology is hit-and-miss over any stretch of time longer than five days.
But you know what the AFL is in control of?
The fixture.
And scheduling four games on opening weekend of the season, despite how many of their bread-and-butter supporters are against it, has backfired spectacularly on them.
It probably serves them right, however, it is unfortunate that it also impacts supporters.
I’m not one that buys too heavily into the AFL versus NRL stuff, even with shots fired back and forth at each other like kids wielding NERF guns. Really, the two sports co-exist in Australia quite nicely, and nobody has their nose put out of joint about the other too much.
So, it makes me feel a little pissed off that this “let’s get one up on the NRL” attitude, by structuring the fixture to zero in on the rugby-dominated states, is part of the reason we now have an opening round that will feature just two games.
Yep, in an 18-team competition, we are now about to witness the most underwhelming start to an AFL season in history.
Cancelling two games out of nine is not a big deal. Two out of four… a bigger deal.
And whilst it is easy to blame the cyclone for cocking things up, there are other issues that have contributed. Do you think anyone will learn a lesson, here?
I doubt it.
But here it is, anyway.
All Summer, AFL fans read the news of their team’s additions, injuries, and stories of who is “training the house down”. It is all foreplay – the match sims, the AAMI Series… it is all a mechanism to build towards a crescendo that should be Round One. We look forward to it. There is genuine excitement about the footy season starting. Hell, I was watching the Fox Footy promo last week, and got goosebumps – that’s how much of a footy tragic I am.
But oh no… that is not good enough for the AFL. They need something more – “let’s screw over those NRL guys… we’ll be so smart!”
No, you’re not. You’re anything but.
Not only have you put all your eggs in that one basket, you have also caused the momentum the pre-season generates to screech to a halt. You have effectively taken what should be the time of the season that supporters of all clubs are champing at the bit to get things underway, and you have delayed it.
Unnecessarily.
Again.
Yes, it is a bastard that a cyclone is going to make landfall somewhere around the time of the games scheduled for Queensland. Yes, it is a shame that those two games are now being postponed.
But make no mistake about it, the lack of other games occurring during the opening weekend is your bloody fault! Not the weather. Not some unfortunate set of circumstances. Yours!
You made the decision to have ten clubs wait a week whilst you play out your fantasy of dominating the NWS and Qld media landscape. The opening of the AFL season gets attention, anyway. Fans are pumped.
The Lions are the reigning premiers. They could have played the South Gympie Under 14s and drawn a crowd for Round One, as they hoist their flag.
Sydney are hosting the Hawks – two contenders. Play that in Round One, and they’re going to get numbers, regardless of who else is playing.
GWS are hosting the Pies. Do you really think that the Magpie Army won’t show up to watch their team because there are other games on?
And Gold Coast… well, they drew 22K people to opening round last season. They averaged 15K at home, so in this regard, the game worked for them. That said, the Bombers always draw a crowd, wherever they play, and Gold Coast would not be an exception, even if it was held in Round One.
The league did not need a watered down version of the competition to start the season. We just wanted footy. You have us 44.4% of the action we wanted, and now that has dropped to 22.2% of what we would normally get from any full round. Again, not blaming the AFL for a cyclone – but the lack of other options was absolutely a choice; a poor one.
So, well done, AFL.
Well done for completely botching the first round of the season for the second year in a row.
Well done for shunning those in your heartland of Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia, for the second years in a row, too
And well done on getting one up on the NRL… oh boy, you really showed them this year! You’ll have completely ruined their Vegas trip.
Time to give the footy back to the people, stop attempting to play chess when you’re struggling to get your head around checkers, and please, for the love of god, try not to believe you’re the smartest people in the room, when your pig-headedness to run with this split-round format (and the sub-rule, for that matter) against the wishes of so many, helped bring this shit show about.
And before I sign off, even if the technology is one day made available to you, don’t even think about ever trying to control the weather… just concentrate on putting those pants on. Remember, one leg goes in the right hole, and one in the other hole. Get that right first.
It might take you a while.
Enjoy “Opening Round”.
*Sigh*
Please understand this is not being flippant about the danger to residents in Queensland. If I were a Lions or Suns player, I would not have been inclined to go anywhere else other than home to look after my loved ones at this time. Postponing the games is not the issue – poor fixturing to make a point, is.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. You can see the amount of care that goes into it. I love footy, I love writing about it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Without you, this whole thing falls over. Sincerely… thank you – HB
Like this content? You could buy me a coffee – I do like coffee, but there is no guarantee I won’t use it to buy a doughnut… I like them more. And I am not brought to you by Sportsbet or Ladbrokes… or Bet365, or any of them.
