At the beginning of the AFL finals series the nation celebrated something truly rare — every single State in the league was represented come September.
The success of the game’s nationwide reach appeared evident but now, two weeks later, here we are going into the preliminary finals at the MCG with the usual suspects from Victoria.
Collingwood, Geelong, Hawthorn, plus Brisbane have dominated the end of September for the past two decades, and again are the the last four standing.
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It might be the AFL from March to August but we should probably look at reverting to calling it the VFL by September.
As interstate fans again argue what could have been, Collingwood, Geelong, Hawthorn and Brisbane fans will again take their seats at the MCG as if it’s a God-given right.
The four teams fighting for a spot in the grand final have won 14 out of the last 24 flags.
Even Hawks coach Sam Mitchell said last night that he’s sure everyone is sick of seeing “these same four clubs” at the pointy end again this year.
The AFL prides itself on having a nationwide competition, and while Tasmania’s entry puts the sport in every State, it’s become obvious that something seriously needs to change for the finals to be a truly national affair.
The race for the top eight was one of the most fiercely fought in years, making it clear that when it comes to talent there’s little separating the top end.
Josh and Nick Daicos celebrating Collingwood’s 2023 premiership win. Credit: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
But the Victorians continue to prove themselves adept at navigating the pressures of finals footy, with all of them dispatching their interstate rivals in the four games Victorian teams have played non-Victorian teams this September.
Never before have non-Victorian clubs gone winless in four finals against Victorian opponents.
It’s become clear that the accumulative fatigue and toll of the home-and-away season has proven too much for the interstate sides.
Gold Coast’s flop against the Lions, albeit not against a Victorian club, was put down to the rigours of travelling to Perth the week before.
Collingwood barely get outside the Melbourne CBD during the season, let alone during the finals.
This year the Pies played 14 games out of their 24 games at the MCG. They, and Geelong, only travelled 7000km.
The Dockers did four times as many air miles, racking up 28,000km as they fell at the first finals hurdle despite having a home game.
So how concerned is the AFL about this national crisis?
Maybe not too much as spruiking the virtues of a national competition plays well during the season, when it comes to dollars and cents having two sell-outs at the MCG on back-to-back nights — featuring the clubs with the biggest supporter bases, well at least Collingwood — makes a lot of cents and a lot of dollars.
It’s no wonder the Pies have been in half of this century’s preliminary finals — they practically live there.
The majority of interstate clubs are struggling to win a final let alone make the grand final.
Powerhouse interstate clubs have shown they can go the distance with Sydney (9) and Port Adelaide (8) featuring heavily in this century’s preliminary finals, but unable to get to the last day of September as often as the Victorians.
Interstate teams succeed in spite of the system, not because of it.
Alex Pearce consoles Josh Treacy after their one-point loss to the Gold Coast in Perth. Credit: Ian Munro/The West Australian
The demands of constant travel, disrupted schedules, and the mental strain of spending nearly every second weekend on a plane adds up.
However, this year was a new low for the non-Victorians, with three of those four losses to a Victorian team coming outside of Melbourne.
Victorian clubs quite literally flew in (which they don’t do very often), won, and flew out. Even home ground advantage wasn’t enough to get the interstate teams across the line.
When playing interstate opposition, the Cats, Pies, and Hawks looked sharper, more dynamic and more energetic as getting on plane is more a novelty than a weekly reality for them.
This year, GWS hit the road 14 times compared to Hawthorn’s 10. Brisbane’s 11 road trips compared to Geelong’s six. Adelaide played 10 while Collingwood only played interstate six times.
By the time the interstate sides get themselves into finals, they’ve already paid more in physical, mental and emotional terms compared to the Victorian sides.
The margin for error during the finals is so low that inevitably, the tired travellers get found out.
Over the last 18 years, only three premierships have gone to clubs outside Victoria.
Maybe the AFL don’t have as much of a national competition as they would think they do.
The AFL promotes itself as a truly national entity, but the finals series keeps confirming when it comes to premiership cups, it is still the VFL.