Long story short: Everyone should get the fuck out of AFL's way and accept whatever token gesture they get in return.

Likely to be the solution that satisfies everyone - negotiations are stalled because for the moment the AFL is refusing to help Cricket Victoria financially, but you'd have to think that eventually the AFL will offer money - two extra rounds from mid-March allowing an extra 300+k to attend games? Surely someone is doing the sums right now.

I wouldn't put it like that.

The fact remains that the MCG is currently locked up for an extra two weeks by cricket on the off-chance that Victoria hosts the Sheffield final in front of around 2,000 spectators.

Whichever way you look at it - it's a waste of a valuable resource.

Two extra rounds of footy at the MCG would bring in 300+k fans at that time of year.

Ratings for last night:

@MediaweekAUS: Fri TV #AFL 761k Seven 539k (Mel 416k Ade 123k) 7mate 222k (Syd 25k Bri 27k Per 170k) #AFLFreoBombers

This bit is interesting: 7Mate actually won the ratings in Perth last night:

@MediaweekAUS: Fri TV #AFL #1 TV channel in Perth last night 7mate 22.8% (Seven 20.7% Nine 10.6% TEN 7.5%) #AFLFreoBombers

No Fox figures yet.

Attendance for Freo vs Ess last night:

35,963

It's got nothing to do with drop in pitches.

It's official add Melbourne to the list of no hoper clubs , maybe time for 2 divisions

That was some 3rd quarter by the Swans. 3 nice, easy wins to warm up for Geelong next week, that should be a good one

Attendance of 11,092 for GWS vs Saints today at Manuka.

@MediaweekAUS: Fri STV #AFL #AFLFreoBombers 310k #FoxFooty Essendon_FC @Fremantle_FC

Total ratings for Freo vs Ess of 1,071k (5 city metro FTA plus Fox)

Less than 13k for the big Brisbane derby, pity appears the only decent game today.

You must think the AFL is stupid, they won't be cutting their own lunch like that.

Am I the only person wondering why North Melbourne had to play the previous 3 premiers in the opening 3 rounds?

Because the draw is made for ratings and maximise crowds not what is fair and equitable

I have been a LT NM fan but being out of finals contention pretty much with a couple more loses means that I will watch even less games as the season progresses. NM have a problem with clinching the win and putting teams away and has been doing so for the last few years they are the nearly team and seem to go missing when the pressure is on. See last few finals games.

The AFL needs to consider at least 2 conferences as watching your team get hammered each week does more LT damage. I think 2 divisons would work well how do not know how it should done . Too many teams not enough talent and too many one sided boring games played in park grounds or empty stadiums is just a bad look. If not keep bailing out non performing clubs while the gap between the haves and have not continues to grow and the haves start to jump up and down on why they have too keep paying for clubs who cannot get their house in order.

Edited by Justafan: 14/4/2013 06:32:06 AM

Attendances for round 3 so far:


Fremantle vs Essendon - 35,963
Nth Melb vs Sydney - 13,223
Melbourne vs West Coast - 18,571
GWS vs St Kilda - 11,092
Geelong vs Carlton - 43,241
Gold Coast vs Brisbane - 12,961

I'm very happy to leave it to the A-League to experiment with a 2nd division.

Conferences work in the USA especially with so many weak teams might leave a bit more interest in the season

Edited by Justafan: 14/4/2013 02:32:58 PM

Quite disappointing.

Bet the Foxtel ratings follow the dive in attendances

And only got 73K on Fox

Attendances for today's games:

Tigers vs Dogs: 44,045
Pies vs Hawks: 72,254
Port vs Crows: 41,649

The mullets.

Why.

First time below 300k this season. Cannot wait for the Melbourne v GWS blockbuster next week, only chance of a win this year for either team?

Complete attendance figures for an up to Round 3:

Freo vs bombers: 35,963
Nth vs Swans: 13,221
Mel vs WCE: 18,571
GWS vs St Kilda: 11,092
GC vs lions: 12,961
Blues vs Cats: 43,241
Tigers vs Dogs: 44,045
Pies vs Hawks: 72,254
Port vs Crows: 41,649

Total for round 3: 292,996
Round average: 32,555

Total for season to round 3:
1,009,599

Average after round 3:
37,393

SOUTH STRAAYYAAAAA

EAD Collingwood.

The conference structure in the NFL is born of history and complexity. Introducing it to the AFL would be difficult and problematic. Especially with 18 teams - you can't divide that evenly.

Also, the NFL system works because of the americanised 'grading' system of the draw (ie the .500 'system') which the AFL and their neanderthal fans would never accept. Not that the NFL fans are necessarily markedly smarter, but they're resistant to such change in their schools of thought.

When I'm sober I'll elaborate on how a conference system in the AFL would work. But right now I'm tired and rugged up in bed and my mental capacity stems as far as a bon mot and changing my tunes.

The other thing is that the US has at least 25 cities with million plus populations (counting the greater metropolitan areas of those cities), while Australia only has five, and even then, ten of 18 clubs are in one city (counting Geelong).

The AFL has a club in the 6th largest metropolitan region in Australia (Gold Coast), and that is likely to remain a small club forever.

A third club in Perth and a Tassie club would all do well, but that would pretty much be the full extent of any future expansion.

20 clubs could fit into four conferences, having two conferences in Victoria, one conference incorporating WA and SA, and the final conference incorporatating Qld, NSW and Tassie, but you can see already that problems arise with that, so not sure about it. For example, the fans of that Tassie club would be wanting to play the traditional clubs, not the new Northern teams.

The mathematics of it works out fine: play the 4 clubs in your conference twice for 8 games, play everyone else once, for 15 games, total of 23 rounds, pretty much spot on in total.

But not really sure if Australians would take to the idea.

SEVEN’S AFL: SUNDAY AFTERNOON FOOTBALL Network 7 632,000 0 353,000 0 199,000 80,000

Fox ratings still to come.

Dees are gone. That club is useless and the fans are leaving in numbers.

Here's a news flash for those who have not followed much sport in their short lives: all clubs will go through a bad patch (I'm talking about in Australia). The Demons' worries, and the level of the thrashings they are receiving, are NOT unprecedented, not even close.

In 116 years, the VFL/AFL has only lost one club in its entirety, one re-located and another two were forced to merge, and that's it after 116 years of continuous competition.