Geelong coach Chris Scott believes the AFL is already a “compromised” competitors and a proposed wildcard spherical would solely additional harm the league’s integrity.
A day after his twin brother, Essendon coach Brad Scott, slammed the idea, the reigning premiership mentor went even tougher.
“We just have, in elite sport by global standards, one of the most compromised competitions that you can possibly imagine,” Chris Scott stated on Wednesday.
“Uneven numbers (of games against opponents), let’s just throw in a Gather Round, compromise the competition even more, if these things are really, really important… they are worthy of thought.
“I’d simply ask the integrity of the competitors is given as a lot thought.”
Incoming AFL boss Andrew Dillon raised the idea of an American-style format after the home-and-away season when he met with the league’s chief executives this week.
The NBA introduced a play-in tournament in 2020, pitting teams ranked seventh to 10th in each conference against each other for the last two spots in the top-eight for the playoffs.
It comes as just one-and-a-half games separate fifth-placed Geelong and Gold Coast in 13th as teams outside the top four scrap for the remaining four positions in finals.
The AFL increased the season this year, adding in an extra game for each club to accommodate Gather Round in South Australia.
Scott believed it would be unfair for teams outside of SA to have to play Adelaide and Port Adelaide in Gather Round on a weekend that is supposed to be neutral.
“Maybe whenever you’re administering a contest the integrity of the particular, and the equity of the draw, must be fairly near your primary precedence,” he stated.
“Usain Bolt does not begin at a 10-metre drawback within the Olympics ultimate simply because he is higher than everybody else, however we’re form of compelled into that scenario as a result of it is in all probability proper that if Collingwood win the premiership that they should not have the simplest draw the next 12 months.”
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon sat on the fence, saying the club is yet to formalise its position on the matter.
“I heard Brad Scott’s response about inequity and I do not know, I feel in case you’re the membership that will get a wildcard on the finish you would be rapt,” Lyon stated.
“And in case you’re the group that sits within the finals and the wildcard group beats you, you would be flat as a tack.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
