I’m going to ask chatGPT the most controversial the hardest AFL debate and then I’m going to be answering them explaining my thoughts through them with you so let’s ask the question give the hardest AFL debate sweet so here we go.
Now I’m not going to lie, I already recorded this but I forgot to put the mic on anyway. Should the AFL introduce a draft lottery system? Starting off with this, I am a big non-believer in this. The only reason being, why do you need to add luck to it? I think the system already works. If a team’s doing poorly, they’re going to get the better draft pick, more or less. That’s how things work and let’s keep it that way. The minute you start adding luck in that, I feel like the chances of a crappy team doing better over the years will be decreased. The AFL should implement a system similar to other professional sport leagues where teams with poorer records have a higher chance of securing higher draft picks. Supporters are getting promote fairness and competitive balance. Yeah, all that equalness, you know, that’s the goal in sport. But I feel like this just wouldn’t help opponents. I believe it would discourage teams from striving for success. Look, I don’t know about that one, but I’m just not a fan of that.
Number two, should the AFL introduce a transfer system? Now, this is very much in line with the recent Tick Tock I made. Check it out on Ft footy. It is whether the AFL should introduce or why the AFL must introduce relegation in an imaginary world with millions and billions of dollars that the AFL clearly does not have because they can barely get a 19th license. Now, I don’t think this will work in the current system. In a great world where you could have relegation promotion, this would work perfect for it. But if you were to introduce us into the game as it is right now, the big teams, the Collingwoods, the Cartons, the Richmonds, the Essendons, they’re going to be poaching all the good players like the Real Madrids, the Barcelonas, the Uniteds, those kind of teams. And then the GWSs, the Gold Coasts, and North Melbournes, the lower teams with less supporters and less sort of success, you know, the Luton towns, the Sunderlands, those type of teams, they’re just not going to get the plays. They’re not going to have the aura and the reach that the bigger clubs have. So it’s obviously not going to work. The whole reason why the AFL is such a great sport is it’s relatively fair in all facets. It’s trying to give every team an equal chance of success, and this just would not help.
Number three is the AFL and juicer red card system. Now, I am actually against this more or less. Now, I think it makes a lot of sense that let’s say in a grand final, the biggest game of the year, someone from Carlton, let’s say Carlton, on the plane Collingwood, that’s a rivalry, right? A Carlton player knocks out someone from Collingwood. That Collingwood player cannot play the rest of the match, and this is in the opening minutes, right? So now Collingwood are down a player for the rest of the game. How is that fair? That you know, the bad person, the person who did the bad action, their team has actually come off better. So that’s the argument. How can you sort of even out that kind of stuff? But then conversely, if you think about the umpires, how hard their job would be. Look, their job was already so hard enough as it is. They’re having to introduce, you know, how would they deem what a red card is, a yellow card? Adding sin bins like sort of rugby does, can you add that as well? It’s just too much work for the umpires. Then you go going to, you know, VAR like stuff like that. It would just cause so much debate. It would just make the sport a lot worse. You hear football or soccer fans, if you say you’re from England, saying that the Premier League is worse than the Championship, which is the tier below, in the sense that there’s no VAR on the Championship. So there’s no controversial calls, no controversial debates. You know, the game’s just more pure in the Championship. And they could, you imagine like if there was a red card system in a grand final and it was wrong or controversial, and then the uproar that would cause, it just wouldn’t make sense. The better way of tackling, you know, sort of big dog acts to players is to just ban them for longer.
Number four, should the AFL reduce the number of teams in the competition? No, not at all. Now, the reason being is the talent pool seems to be getting worse and worse, relatively speaking at least, that’s what I hear. So, I guess talent-wise and for the spectacle of the game, it would make sense. But it wouldn’t make sense financially for the AFL. There were states and places around Australia that deserve an AFL team. Perth in talks are getting a third AFL team, and then Perth is over third AFL team in Australia, sorry. Then why doesn’t South Australia? So that’s two. Tasmanian devils, they’re gonna get a team in 2027-2028, I think they’re licenses. That’s three. The Northern Territory definitely deserves a team. You know, Darwin sort of region, that’s already four teams. Gold Coast are probably going to go bankrupt relatively soon, just completely based on speculation. So the numbers only going to grow, it’s going to increase, it’s not going to reduce, unfortunately. So I disagree with that.
Number five, should the AFL introduce a twilight or night Grand Final? No. Now, I’m fortunate enough to have been to two grand finals in my time, 2017 Richmond Adelaide, 2019 Richmond GWS. Both of them, luckily, my team won. The Richmond. Now, most AFL fans are 18 or over, all AFL players are 18 or over. If you play a game, a twilight night Grand Final, let’s say it ends at 10 o’clock, most of these people are going out afterwards to celebrate the losses or the wins. Even if you don’t barrack for one of those teams, you’re going out at the Grand Final. It’s a massive day in Australia. Once you’re out, it’s 11 o’clock, the night’s already well and truly on the way. But it’s basically about to finish, right? Whereas if you start at two o’clock, you know, it’s during the day, a bit of sunlight, and then once the game’s finished, you can go out from seven onwards, right? And I just like the nostalgia, I like the history of it. Let’s stick to it. No need to change things up. I am a fan of where the time side is now, the 2-3 PM time.
So, those are some of the most controversial AFL debates. From the draft lottery system to the transfer system, the red card system, the reduction of teams, and the twilight grand final, these debates have sparked discussions among AFL fans. While opinions may vary, it is clear that these topics have a significant impact on the sport. As the AFL continues to evolve, it is important to consider the potential consequences and benefits of these proposed changes. Ultimately, the goal is to maintain the fairness and competitiveness that make the AFL such a great sport.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the AFL or its affiliated organizations.
