The AFL keeps missing the point. After another long, meaningless pre-season, round one was limp and unimaginative. That the round was split isn’t the problem. The problem is the choice of games.
Sydney should’ve played Hawthorn at the weekend. As last year’s grand finalists, surely they have earned the right to open the season with a stand-alone game.
A grand final rematch might’ve drawn 60,000 fans to Homebush. It wouldn’t have needed hype, marketing or imagination.
Anticipation would drive the fans crazy. The outcome would’ve been proof of continued domination or belated atonement. Such a game would expose the combatants and provide insight into their game-plan, injuries, mental fatigue and improvement.
The season would’ve been ripped right open after the opening game. It is amazing the AFL can ignore the obvious.
Instead of a grand final rematch, we got Adelaide against Essendon and a western derby.
Millions of fans tuned in, simply because it was great to have footy back. The games were good, with the underdogs winning.
But unless you had an emotional stake in either team, it was an underwhelming opening. The fans weren’t robbed of footy, but we were denied the best available game, a big opportunity for a real grudge match.
Last year’s grand final was a classic. It would’ve been fascinating to watch Sydney and Hawthorn go at it again. Unfortunately, the rematch won’t occur until round seven.
Since 1970, only nine of the previous year’s grand finalists have played each other in round one. The AFL hasn’t shunned the rematch as a possible season opener, but they haven’t embraced it either.
The list below shows the clubs, year and result:
|
Year |
Clubs |
Margin |
|
1977 |
North Melbourne |
60 pts |
|
|
Hawthorn |
|
|
1980 |
Carlton |
38 pts |
|
|
Collingwood |
|
|
1983 |
Carlton |
60 pts |
|
|
Richmond |
|
|
1987 |
Hawthorn |
45 pts |
|
|
Carlton |
|
|
1988 |
Carlton |
15 pts |
|
|
Hawthorn |
|
|
1990 |
Hawthorn |
115 pts |
|
|
Geelong |
|
|
2007 |
West Coast |
1 pt |
|
|
Sydney |
|
|
2008 |
PortAdelaide |
9 pts |
|
|
Geelong |
|
|
2009 |
Geelong |
8 pts |
|
|
Hawthorn |
|
By folly or design, grand final rematches were played in round one from 2007 to 2009. The margins in those three games should’ve been enough to convince the AFL to persist with the concept.
It was their chance at starting a bona fide traditional matchup, and they blew it.
Last year, it must be remembered, Sydney and Greater Western Sydney played in the stand-alone game to open the season. The game was a blowout and an insult to millions of fans who waited so long for football.
From 2008 Carlton and Richmond opened the season without either club doing anything to earn the honour.
The opening game to any season must be a grand final rematch. There would be no need for hype, and that’s always a good thing in sport. Whoever won the grand final would host the game, which would provide myriad marketing opportunities.
Clubs should be rewarded for excellence. Opening the season should be an honour, not a quirk of the draw.
The opening game of the season needs to be dramatic, not an anticlimax. A grand final rematch, regardless of the result, would provide the drama.
