AFL shouldn’t be spooked by NRL’s Origin behemoth as it weighs up mid-year competition

4 hours ago 3

Whether the AFL proceeds with the concept of a mid-year competition, separate from the home-and-away season, it is clear that there is a wish to generate – or maintain – interest for teams that are losing or have lost the finals fight.

It is completely reasonable to consider an NBA-style tournament, which, in effect, might represent a reprise of the old night series – the Ansett Cup was one version – that sat inside the regular season.

It is not to this column’s jaded taste, and I doubt that most fans will support a mid-year tournament, given their innate opposition to radical reforms.

Many, however, will favour the parallel proposal, as The Age’s Sam McClure reported, of a regular season that is cut back to 20 games, when the Tasmania Devils arrives, with one game added for rivalry round (showdowns, derbies, blockbusters in Melbourne) and another for Gather Round.

The Devils’ scheduled entry in 2028 provides a great opportunity to re-shape the fixture. It was this recognition that framed the proposal.

The old night series had some value – and was even taken semi-seriously by clubs. Kevin Sheedy certainly used to cite night premierships on his resume, as did Denis Pagan.

But the franchise diminished over time, as night footy became entrenched in the “real” season, and it dwindled further into irrelevance once the good teams used it merely as a vehicle to prepare for the season proper.

What the AFL and some clubs have recognised, though, is that their competition does not have any meaningful prize besides the premiership cup (the same applies to the AFLW); Michael Voss, unlike Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham, does not have another trophy on the line to salve his reputation/job (not that it saved Ange).

It is also evident that the AFL is cognisant of the NRL’s State of Origin juggernaut for television ratings, which is the near-equivalent to four grand finals (if there is a deciding game in the series) in terms of audience.

But the AFL cannot come up with anything that beats or competes with Origin, precisely because their regular season is the crown jewel, and it is the AFL clubs, not states, that hold the deepest tribal affinities.

Origin’s success derives from being more important to fans – in Queensland and NSW – than the humdrum NRL games each weekend; it is an elevated product, the true peak for the sport (including the international games).

The AFL, by the way, is looking at a return of its own version of State of Origin, which lacks the binary two-state narrative.

The problem of dead rubbers, or dud games, in the home-and-away season in the AFL has been pronounced in 2025.

The injury ravaged Essendon won’t compete for finals in 2025.

Look back to the ladder at the corresponding round (17) 12 months ago. The first shock is that Carlton were second (11 wins, five losses), and it was also startling to see Essendon, beneficiaries of a friendly fixture, placed fourth (10-6) and ready for their descent.

Most important, though, was that Hawthorn were then 13th, with eight wins and eight losses, and the Hawks were at the beginning of a roll that would take them within a kick of the top four.

Today, only nine teams can make the finals, unless you believe the Swans are capable of winning all seven games left. Thus, there are four fewer teams in the hunt than at the same stage of last year. In 2023, it wasn’t quite as close run as last year, but Carlton, which was 11th, did make the finals – and won through to the preliminary final.

It is right for the AFL to have a mid-year tournament on the table for discussion, even though it’s not for everyone, and to work out if it will genuinely improve the audiences and experience for fans, especially for those who are stuck following perennial non-contenders (St Kilda and Essendon lately).

Mark Evans, the Suns’ chief executive, floated the concept several weeks ago of an in-season event that counted towards the final ladder. This was not where the discussion was centred when the CEOs and AFL hierarchy convened last week, but in effect, Evans is floating an in-season form of a wildcard.

It is conceivable that, as one club boss suggested, the mid-season concept would end up as an under-23 or under-21 style. “You’re not going to see Scott Pendlebury in a mid-week competition,” he said, speaking figuratively (Pendlebury would be 40 in 2028).

Some fans will read this and fear another incarnation of AFLX. At least, in the discussions to date, there’s been no hint of modified rules out on the field.

Before charging down the road of the NBA mid-season series, it would be wise, though, for the clubs and league to wait and see if 2025 is a genuine anomaly when it comes to the number of teams in contention for finals berths.

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