AFL teams throwing matches? Bring in relegation!

Crikey.com reports that there is increasing concern that AFL teams are throwing matches.

Herein I think lies the benefit of football's relegation system. Essendon, Carlton and co would be going hammer and tongs to stay out of the "drop zone" and, so, you see dogged battles by desperate teams.

The problem is, in Australia we have such huge geography that speaks against such a system compared with, for instance, the UK. However, air travel is getting cheaper and the AFL rosters are big enough - in my view. It would never happen though, because the VFL and SANFL are now set up in such a way that you'd get eg Port Adelaide Magpies promoted and playing against Port Power, or Box Hill promoted and playing against Hawthorn - both affiliated club situations.

So, I think this "dead rubber" issue for the AFL is another potential selling point for the A-League. In their initial draft document they considered whether to have promotion and relegation, and there is a 5-year embargo. Having said that, there was supposed to be an embargo on new teams for 5 years but we have O'Neill talking about 2 new teams in at least 18 months (see here for a recent article in Melbourne's Age newspaper about the viability of a Socceroo Scott Chipperfield-led Wollongong franchise). So maybe the 5-years isnt hard and fast. I suspect that Adelaide City for instance is hanging in there in the top league in SA the "Super League" (which they currently lead), with Damien Mori as their coach, building a supporter base and player recruitment system just in case a promotion-relegation system comes into the A-League.

This post is rambling away into oblivion, so I wrap up: The AFL needs a relegation system, but can't. The A-League has the potential for a relegation system, but for the time being won't. With an 8-team league (at present) the need to avoid "dead rubbers" is a little less of an issue as all teams potentially are in with a chance for longer in the season. However add 2 more teams and maybe one relegation slot would be worth considering. Frankly, if the A-League introduced relegation then it would be a sign that there are big dollars in football and we have well and truly turned a big corner in getting marketshare in the Australian sporting market.