In Round 23 of this year’s AFL season, Adelaide Crows player Ben Keays kicked a goal in the final minute of play to keep his team’s finals hopes alive.
Or so he thought.
Keays’ goal was incorrectly ruled a point and as a consequence the Crows narrowly lost, meaning they were out of contention for finals.
Just one month earlier, future AFL CEO Andrew Dillion and the 18 club CEOs discussed the potential of a wildcard round being introduced in the coming seasons. A wildcard round would pit seventh on the ladder against tenth, and eighth against ninth, with the winner of each advancing to finals.
Had a wildcard round been in place this year, the Crows would have qualified and could still potentially play finals. However, there are still questions about whether the AFL should make this change.
Different leagues around the world have already tested the concept. The VFL are doing it this year, guided by the belief that it will add more intrigue to the competition. In the NBA it was brought in via a ‘play-in tournament’ which is essentially the same as the wildcard round, and saw major success. This still hasn’t stopped the wildcard round topic being heavily debated.
Former Western Bulldogs and Richmond player Jordan McMahon, who played from 2001-2009, tells upstart that a wildcard round could help limit tanking. This is when a team tries to lose on purpose in order to finish lower on the ladder by the end of the season and get a better draft pick.
“I think it’s a very smart thing to the AFL to introduce because it will stop tanking. As teams who are 13 and 14 at the end of the season, their games become so important and can make a push for finals,” he says.
Long-time VFL/AFL commentator Tim Lane takes a different view.
“I think any benefit for any team that is 12 or 13 is fairly nebulous and so I can’t see it’s worth making any significant change like this with a view to do something about tanking,” Lane tells upstart.
While having a wildcard round may not completely stop the bottom two or three teams resigning to their seasons, it will help the fourth and fifth-last to compete until the end of the year.
McMahon points out that the introduction of a wildcard round would also mean there would be less games at the end of the year that don’t mean anything in relation to finals.
“For the teams sitting in 13 and 14 their matches at the end of the year became vital, not just dead rubbers,” he says.
“My opinion is it has to be done; it will pay dividends for the AFL. It will put more bums on seats, it will increase viewership due to importance of ladder positions and the potential of playing finals.”
McMahon finished ninth twice in his career, once in 2005 for the Bulldogs and in 2008 for the Tigers. He believes that had there been a wildcard round during his career, his teams could have won at least one final.
“I don’t think either of those teams would have won the flag, but I think we had enough momentum to get to a prelim,” he says.
“With the Bulldogs we finished the year with a bang, and I think we would have been dangerous in the finals, absolutely.”
Money is a major motive behind the wildcard round consideration. Just last year the AFL signed a broadcast deal with Channel 7 and Foxtel for a combined total of $4.5 billion. With the addition of wildcard rounds in the future this figure will only go up. The money will help the clubs as over half of the 18 AFL clubs are in debt.
Lane believes the money coming in would have to be significant but advises caution when it comes to what the AFL does to earn it.
“I think at times you need to draw the line when it comes to commercial opportunities. The game walks a fairly fine line on its decision-making process about these various possibilities and cover the traditional values,” he says.
“I’m always inclined to err on the side of sticking with traditional values until something is too compelling.”
Photo: Kick at goal by Sheeps R Us available HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. The image has not been modified.
