It is still the VFL on Friday night

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 17 April 2015 | 22.09

The Crows a lit-up Adelaide Oval after downing Collingwood in a Thursday night clash in 2014. Adelaide's teams are struggling to get Friday night matches. Picture: Sarah Reed Source: News Corp Australia

IF truth is the first casualty of war, how does the AFL's platform of equality hold up against the chase for television ratings and sponsorship dollars?

Friday Night Football is the AFL premier timeslot in the fixture. It delivers national free-to-air television coverage with maximum exposure, a dream offering any AFL club can make to its major sponsors.

To play on this big stage, the AFL executive demands a club deliver both on and off the field, with a competitive team and appeal to fill the terraces, bars and lounge rooms across the nation. Since 2001, seven of the 14 AFL premierships have been won by non-Victorian clubs. It is a 50-50 split along the expansion clubs and the traditional VFL clubs.

This should have led to a 50-50 share of the big stage on Friday Night Football. Not the case, however.

Since 2001, the eight non-Victorian clubs have had the least Friday Night Football exposure. Adelaide is the only team (with 33 FNF games) to outrank a Victorian club (Melbourne with 25) for matches on football's biggest and brightest stage.

Since 2001, there has been at least one Victorian-based club in every FNF game bar one — the Western Derby in Perth between West Coast and Fremantle in August 2005.

How could this be? Even during those grand battles between West Coast and Sydney in the mid-2000s, there was never an Eagles-Swans clash on Friday Night Football.

Despite its impressive record of consistently playing in AFL finals (all but two series since 2001), Sydney has played just 12 FNF matches.

Perhaps the logic is that there is more to lose than gain in Australia's biggest television market by having the Swans chase ratings on Friday night when New South Welshmen are tuned into the NRL.

And maybe the fact that Channel Seven's AFL coverage is produced by executives at HSV7 in Melbourne leads to at least one Victorian-based club featuring in FNF each week. After all, the AFL's biggest television ratings zone is Victoria.

New Adelaide Football Club chief executive Andrew Fagan, who hails from rugby, is two months away from his first experience having to work through the science of making a pitch to AFL fixture chief Simon Lethlean.

He has a recharged supporter base that is delivering the AFL's biggest average home attendance in a new venue that has fulfilled (and exceeded) all expectations bar one.

There was that hope that Adelaide Oval would deliver more Friday Night Football to South Australians.

Former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou did promise a Friday night Showdown opener (until he saw the merit of a Saturday fixture for a venue that had no trial events).

So Adelaide is owed one — perhaps a groundbreaking Good Friday night game at the Oval next year.

Fagan's approach at AFL House is to have the Crows — and SA football — rewarded for delivering results on and off the field.

"I know it's hard and complex with the fixture, but there also needs to be balance — and rewards for the teams that deserve them," Fagan said.

"There is no arguing that SA football is in a very healthy place with both clubs, Crows and Port Adelaide.

"The supporters of the Adelaide Football Club have done their bit in filling Adelaide Oval to justify having Friday Night Football regularly — and they want more. We will take that case to the AFL. It deserves strong consideration."

The bizarre note from this year's Friday Night Football calendar is how Port Adelaide was handed just two games on the premier stage.

This is despite the Power delivering the biggest surge in television ratings last season when Channel Seven dubbed Port Adelaide as the AFL's "most watchable" team.

Adelaide Oval has just two Friday Night Football games this season — one for each of the Crows and Power — despite the attention the city ground has garnered around the nation.

And the Oval does deliver an extraordinary backdrop (in vision and sound) for television.

The big winners in the Friday Night Football carve-up for this season are, with no surprise, Collingwood ... and Carlton. They each have six FNF games. Richmond has the most, seven.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan says the FNF rundown for this season was driven by "quirks in the draw" rather than any bias towards the Victorian-based clubs.

The push to deliver national, free-to-air telecasts from the Oval with major Saturday night games — such as the Port Adelaide-Sydney game last Saturday — has taken precedence over FNF from Adelaide.

"It is the way the fixture played out — this year," McLachlan said. "But we are keen — and the broadcasters are keen — on Friday Night Football from Adelaide Oval."

There is a quote to pin on the fridge — and recall the promise in late October when the AFL delivers its fixture for Season 2016.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS - SHINING WITH VICTORIAN GLOW

Friday Night Football - the AFL's premier timeslot with national television coverage - has a strong Victorian agenda. Since 2001, only once has the home-and-away season had a Friday night match without a Victorian-based team.

SINCE 2001 .... how the 18 AFL clubs have featured in Friday Night Football during the home-and-away season.

Essendon 82

Collingwood 81

Carlton 56

Hawthorn 53

St Kilda 53

Geelong 51

Richmond 45

North Melbourne 37

W Bulldogs 36

ADELAIDE 33

Melbourne 25

West Coast 26

Fremantle 22

PORT ADELAIDE 15

Sydney 12

Brisbane 5

Gold Coast 0

GWS 0

WITH NO VICTORIAN TEAM

JUST once - the Western Derby between Fremantle and West Coast at Subiaco Oval in Perth on August 12, 2005.

THIS SEASON

CROWS: Round 19 (August 7) v Richmond at Adelaide Oval

POWER: Round 11 (June 12) v Geelong at Adelaide Oval

Round 21 (August 21) v Hawthorn at Etihad Stadium

AROUND THE LEAGUE

BRISBANE: 0

CARLTON: 6

COLLINGWOOD: 6

ESSENDON: 2

FREMANTLE: 1

GEELONG: 4

GOLD COAST: 0

GWS: 0

HAWTHORN: 4

MELBOURNE: 1

NORTH MELBOURNE: 2

RICHMOND: 7

ST KILDA: 1

SYDNEY: 3

WEST COAST: 2

W BULLDOGS: 0

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I HAVE a pretty simple line with the Patrick Dangerfield stuff, I'm not going to answer it."

CROWS coach PHIL WALSH on the question that remains unanswered at the Adelaide Football Club ... or does it?

REALITY BITES

BEST IS BEST

PORT ADELAIDE failed the "pressure test" on the field against AFL pacesetter Sydney at the weekend - and, for the first time in the Ken Hinkley era of the past three years, is facing the pressure test off the field of soaking up searching analysis (rather than rave reviews) of its work.

The players' reaction will be seen in the next three weeks with significant games against North Melbourne today, Hawthorn on Anzac Day and Adelaide in an increasingly fascinating Showdown on Sunday, May 3.

But the fans' responses - be it those who walked early from Adelaide Oval on Saturday night or those who talked loudly on radio or in social media - already reveal, in general, that some Power supporters have developed chips on their shoulders.

Their well-worn line that the AFL draw is tough for Port Adelaide carries no weight in defending their team. After all, to be considered the best, a team has to measure itself and succeed against the best. So far, the Power has fallen short. The Creed says something about that.

ON THE EDGE

WHAT is it with CHANNEL SEVEN this season as the AFL's official broadcast partner finds more and more ways to be "edgy" with its football coverage?

First, the decision to do an encore of last year's fifth-quarter duels between Seven reporter Mark Stevens and Carlton coach Michael Malthouse went well over the edge.

Now a couple of pieces on Seven's Sunday show Game Day program beg reflection.

Sitting former Crows coach Brenton Sanderson between new Adelaide captain Taylor Walker and Crows midfielder Rory Sloane must have sounded dramatic at the production meeting, but it looked very, very awkward on the set and across the television screen. Still, some would say that is what "edgy" television is all about.

More concerning - particularly if Seven thought it was amusing - was to have a group of AFL stars reading and reacting to appalling Tweets sent to their Twitter accounts. If the players have been smart enough to not react to such trolling in social media, why would they put themselves up for such a segment on national television? And does Seven want to encourage such behaviour on Twitter?

POWER PLAY

JUST when SANFL president JOHN OLSEN must be thinking the toughest political battles in SA football - such as Adelaide Oval, AFL licences and AFL reserves teams in the SANFL - are finally behind him, the reality that money creates division is starting to brew in the State league.

Olsen's practical approach to the $71 million cash flow from selling the Football Park precinct is to have the money clear the SANFL's $26 million debt profile, set up a "future fund" and tackle the $16 million debt on the eight SANFL club books.

Olsen does have conditions on how the SA Football Commission will hand the money to the clubs. There are strict strings attached. Basically, the money can only be used to clear financial obligations such as tax, superannuation and loans or to invest in projects that generate cash but not diminish capital. The money will be allocated on a year-by-year basis - starting with a $125,000 allowance in October 2016 rising to $425,000 in October 2022.

But the need for quick cash - and big cash for big projects - may have some SANFL clubs wanting to lean on the commission for more money ... and soon. The script never changes.

THOUGHTS OF THE WEEK

"THE cheapest and best pre-game entertainment is a curtain raiser ending about 20 minutes before the main match. Time to bring them back." - LEIGH MATTHEWS

GEELONG captain JOEL SELWOOD must have the thickest forehead in world sport. His head-on-head collision with team-mate Mitch Clark at Kardinia Park at the weekend forced the new Cats forward to ground and off the ground with the blood rule. And Selwood? He just kept chasing the ball as if nothing had happened. Amazing.

HE SAID IT

"THEY look very similar to what we did last year. Walshy is a good coach, he is well structured and if they (the Crows) don't do something right, he won't be able to sleep for a few nights.

"He's had a big influence on both clubs and definitely has brought some of the Port Adelaide culture over there. They had some things to change and they've been changing them. It's working out from them ... and good on them."

PORT ADELAIDE midfielder JARED POLEC on the influence of new Adelaide coach Phil Walsh at West Lakes.

QUESTION(S) OF THE WEEK

GENERALISATIONS are so dangerous. But why is it that when the Crows are doing well and the Power is struggling - and vice versa - Adelaide fans prefer to talk about Port Adelaide rather than their own team's new fortunes? Strange isn't it?

INTERESTING that when Carlton coach MICHAEL MALTHOUSE took issue with free agency - declaring no free agent is being lured to Princes Park from where Eddie Betts and Jarrad Waite used free agency to move to Adelaide and North Melbourne - no-one took him up on Collingwood losing free-agent DALE THOMAS to the Blues.

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