Written by Craig Bilski | 07 May 2010

With the new Gold Coast team entering the competition in 2011, the AFL is looking to overhaul the current pre-season structure to implement a cricket type approach which will see shorter games played in quick succession. 

The birth of the Twenty20 game in cricket worked wonders, attracting people with fast, exciting matches and since its inception the popularity of the shorter game has soured bringing new fans to the sport.

Now the AFL is planning to cash in on the new innovation adapting the pre-season competition to include the new Gold Coast club as well as the Greater Western Sydney team that will also join the league in 2012.
The AFL had brainstormed a number of options to introduce the 17th team into the NAB Cup competition but struggled to come up with a fair system for all clubs and therefore decided that adding the upcoming West Sydney team into the mix would even things out.

The new format would see the clubs divided into six groups or pools for the first round of the pre-season competition where the winners, along with two lucky loses, will move on to the second round. The proposal to the clubs and match broadcasters was to play two 20-minute halves with a five minute break for half time with up to three games being played one after another, which was generally well received. The league pencilled in three timeslots that would see the first match start at 7.40pm, second at 8.35 and third at 9.30.

The league administration has admitted that there plenty of work left to do as well as some potential problems to iron out including teams sharing change rooms and facilities as well as making sure that the new Western Sydney club can field a competitive team.

Another issue that the league face is the how they will adapt the home and away competition next season to incorporate the 17th franchise.