Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd has called out the AFL, saying the league would be a “laughing stock” if a finals wildcard round was introduced.
It comes after two-time premiership-winning Geelong coach Chris Scott raised similar concerns around the AFL’s “integrity” being further “compromised” by the proposed additional round.
“To throw in the 10th team having another opportunity to make it … we’d be a laughing stock,” Matthew Lloyd said on Nine’s Footy Classified on Wednesday night.
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“We have, in elite sport, by global standards, one of the most compromised competitions that you could possibly imagine,” Scott said on Wednesday.
“Play two teams five times, uneven numbers, oh let’s just thrown in a ‘gather round’ and compromise the competition even more.
“If these things are really, really important from a fan perspective or from a commercial perspective, they’re worthy of thought, I would just ask that the integrity of the competition is given as much thought.”
But journalist Damien Barrett explained the merit in a likely six-six-six format after round 17, which would see sides compete for relevant spots on the ladder and “create some interest” in the latter part of the season, tying it to a wildcard finals round.
“To have the top six play off for the top six spots, change the order, the middle six play off for seventh and eighth, and the bottom six to play amongst each other and create some interest within those late-season games which we are not getting now with the various fixturing,” Barrett said on Footy Classified.
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“What this six-six-six arrangement could do is bring in this wildcard component to the unknown and keep the competition open in that space.”
The AFL would still need to fixture in return matches such as the western derby, the Showdown and other rivalries, with Geelong champion Jimmy Bartel against the proposal all together.
“It’s already compromised as it is because we’ve got 18 teams in a 24-round competition,” Bartel said on Footy Classified.
“Let’s take Collingwood for example. If they clear out and finish four games on top of the ladder, what does it look like for the top six? Are they … starting at zero again, where’s the benefit of them being so far ahead of the rest of the competition?
“Are we going to have a lottery system, adding more balls?”
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