For draft picks, the easiest solution would be for teams to play each other once, and then allocate draft picks (ie at round 17). It's not perfect, but it would remove the incentive (sorry shane) to tank in the last month of the season when it is most likely. It might shift some of the problem to round 17, but teams in the 9-13 range might still have a realistic chance to make finals, and teams from 14-18 would have coaches trying to hang onto their jobs.
As for jostling for finals position, I'd love to see the higher placed teams pick their opposition.
So, let’s say the ladder is:
1. Freo
2. WCE
3. Hawthorn
4. Sydney
5. Richmond
6. Footscray
7. Adelaide
8. North
I’d like to give the higher placed teams the right to choose their opponent. So, Freo gets first pick (from the top 4). I’d probably pick Sydney, but say, through some quirk, Sydney popped up to third. Wouldn’t you still prefer to play Sydney and avoid Hawthorn?
Same with the bottom half of the 8. Would Richmond prefer to play Adelaide instead of North? Maybe. They would have the right to choose.
There are three advantages with this system: one, it mitigates the chances of clubs deliberately losing to avoid certain seedings. Second, the psychology of it would be fascinating. As the team ‘chosen’ would you take this as a slight? Of course! Third, the teams with higher seedings are genuinely rewarded.
