07-15-2021, 12:14 AM
(07-15-2021, 12:04 AM)PaulP link Wrote:I'd have to agree with Teague on this one. Malthouse said the same thing. In an age of national drafts, salary caps, national competition etc., I think those territorial battles are a thing of the past, a notion that exists more in the minds of older supporters. I doubt the players buy into it, and the younger generation certainly don't. Unless they start offering extra points for beating traditional foes, the other 17 teams are much of a muchness in my eyes.
We can have both.
*people start thinking "here he goes again"*
Have divisions and conferences.....just like the NFL.
If you have a divsion in which Carlton and Collingwood play against eachother twice a year, every year, and the winner of that division gets a guaranteed finals spot.....you'll see that rivalry not only continue but be enhanced - quicksmart!
You do the whole thing in a way in which the AFL no longer has to fixture who plays who, but the finishing positions from the previous year calculates who plays who.
It is a blend of old vs new that makes things fairer for all involved.