AFL: Nathan Buckley has called for the AFL to introduce a 'Wildcard Round' in order to keep the season alive.
There’s already an eight-point gap between ninth-placed GWS and 10th-placed Port Adelaide on the AFL ladder entering Round 17, and that margin is set to widen on a weekend where the top nine teams play the bottom nine.
It’s a reality that has left those craving the introduction of a Wildcard Round all the more disappointed in its absence, and it comes after there was league-wide optimism just 12 months ago that the concept was right on the doorstep. Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley called the discrepancy between the Giants and Power “obvious”, going on to lament the amount of “dead-rubber” home-and-away games culminating in an anticlimactic lead-up to the finals series. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo?IMAGINE WHAT YOU COULD BE BUYING INSTEAD. Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au. “The differential between ninth and 10th is obvious; it’s almost two games and 20 per cent ... this round, the top nine play the bottom nine across the nine games — and if results go as expected, that gap will be three games and 20 per cent, and we’ll have a lot of dead-rubbers leading into the finals,” Buckley began on Fox Footy’s On the Couch. “Shouldn’t there be a Wildcard Round? Didn’t we think it was coming in this year?” asked Brisbane Lions legend Jonathan Brown. Buckley explained that “a lot of people in football” were last year under the impression a Wildcard Round was set to be introduced for 2025. “Twelve months ago, the AFL was flying that kite with the clubs, and there were a lot of people in football that thought that it was going to happen,” he said. “And if in fact it did happen, there would be competition for all of the bottom nine to get that 10th spot, because that would be something that would be carrot to go for, and most of the bottom nine would have the capacity to be able to get there. “There’d be competition 10th 11th, there’d be competition for sixth and seventh — so you’re either in a play-in game, seventh vs 10th, eighth vs ninth — and then obviously up in the top four and beyond.”Based on the current ladder, the concept would’ve seen the seventh-placed Western Bulldogs and 10th-placed Port Adelaide play off for seventh spot, while eighth-placed Gold Coast and ninth-placed GWS would’ve done battle for the rights to eighth. It would also have given all of Carlton, Sydney and Essendon — and even Melbourne and St Kilda — something to play for throughout the remaining rounds, given they’re all currently on 24 points; just one win behind the Power on 28 points. “If that was there, would we be disappointed right now? I don’t think so,” said Buckley. “It would definitely provide meaning for more clubs. “And I don’t know if it’s the best thing for the finals as such ... I don’t know that anyone that finishes 10th is going to win a flag, but it gets two extra games in, which I think is good for revenue, I think it’s good for the supporters of those clubs. “The main utility of it would be that it would keep the conversation going around more clubs for longer in the season. Less talking about injuries and putting players on ice, less talk about tanking or not trying your hardest to win and less talking about lotteries and draft picks and draft positions when there’s still a season to play out.”Lynch faces "Biggest Suspension of 2025" | 05:33 Brown declared the AFL had missed the mark on two fronts this season, including the lack of a Wildcard Round. “I think the AFL have missed a trick this year with two things — the bye rounds being over five weeks, which loses momentum, and not bringing in the Wildcard,” he said on Monday night. “We’ve got an uneven fixture, so there’s not a lot of difference between seventh and 10th, and I think Wildcard Round , they could help smooth things out a little bit.
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