Australian Football League pre-season competition

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The current name and logo of the AFL pre-season competition.
The current name and logo of the AFL pre-season competition.
2007 NAB Cup trophy, won by the Carlton Football Club.
2007 NAB Cup trophy, won by the Carlton Football Club.

The Australian Football League pre-season competition, which is known at present as the NAB Cup, is the warm-up competition of the Australian Football League, the predominant governing body in Australian rules football. It is run for four weeks before the start of the regular premiership season, involving all sixteen clubs in a knockout competition with the Grand Final played at night.

The history of the series can be traced back to the first competition in 1956. The format has changed over the years, though it is now an AFL only competition.

Although it is not as popular as the AFL Premiership Season, the NAB Cup currently averages the highest attendance of any domestic knock-out competition in the world with higher average attendances than football (soccer)'s FA Cup.

Contents

[edit] History

The former Wizard Home Loans Cup logo.
The former Wizard Home Loans Cup logo.

[edit] Naming rights

  • Night Premiership
    • Golden Fleece (1965–69)
    • Radiant (1970)
    • Heinz (1971)
    • Amco/Herald (1977–78)
    • Escort (1979–82)
    • Sterling (1983-84)
    • CUB (1985–1986)
    • Channel Seven (1986)
  • National Panasonic Cup (1987–1988)
  • Panasonic Cup (1989)
  • Foster's Cup (1990–1994)
  • Ansett Australia Cup (1995–2001)
    • Also in 1996, the "Lightning Premiership" was held for the one time (see below).
  • Wizard (Home Loans) Cup (2002–2005)
  • NAB Cup (2006–2010)

The cup was known as the Foster's Cup until 1995, and Ansett Australia won the rights to own the Cup. Wizard Home Loans owned the naming rights to the event from 2002 (when Ansett Australia folded) through to 2005. The event was known formally as the "Wizard Home Loans Cup," and popularly as the "Wizard Cup." National Australia Bank took over naming rights for the tournament for 2006 through 2010, renaming it the "NAB Cup."

When a team collectively considers premierships won in the various incarnations of the competition, the phrase "night premierships" is most commonly used.

[edit] Competition Forms

[edit] 1956-1971: Post-Season

The Night Premiership was first instituted in 1956, contested in September as a three round knock-out tournament by the eight VFL teams who did not make the final four. Games were played at the Lake Oval, Albert Park, then the home ground of South Melbourne, as it was the only ground equipped to host night games. Despite the fact that not all VFL teams participated, the first season's average crowd was 20,000 for the seven matches played, while a crowd of 33,120 watched the first night Grand Final.

[edit] 1972-1976: No Competition

In 1972, the VFL switched from a final four to a final five playoff system. With only seven teams available to contest it, the Night Premiership ended.

[edit] 1977-1987: Night Series

The Night Series was revived in 1977 under a different format, with games played under the floodlights at VFL Park. Some games were played in the pre-season, and the rest ran concurrently with the home-and-away season. The tournament was knock-out from the quarter-finals, but featured non-knock-out qualifying rounds before them. Games were televised mid-week.

From 1978 until 1986, the tournament involved non-Victorian based clubs, as well as those from the then VFL, including teams from the SANFL and WAFL, and state teams. In the hectic earlier years, and complicated schedule within leagues led to the final seedings; in the later years, a short elimination round brought the number of teams to sixteen, from which a knock-out tournament was played. Three non-VFL teams reached Night Series semi-finals, and none reached the Grand Final.

Year Teams VFL Teams SANFL Teams WAFL Teams State Teams
1978 13 All twelve None None Tasmania
1979 23 All twelve None All eight Tasmania, N.S.W., A.C.T.
1980 34 All twelve All ten All eight Tasmania, N.S.W., A.C.T., Queensland
1981 34 All twelve All ten All eight Tasmania, N.S.W., A.C.T., Queensland
1982 18 All twelve Glenelg, Norwood, Port Adelaide Claremont,South Fremantle, Swan Districts None
1983 17 All twelve Glenelg, Norwood Claremont, West Perth Tasmania
1984 17 All twelve Sturt, West Adelaide Claremont, South Fremantle Queensland
1985 17 All twelve Norwood, Port Adelaide East Fremantle, Swan Districts Queensland
1986 14 All twelve Glenelg, North Adelaide None None

In 1987, the combined pre-season/mid-season format remained with VFL teams only.

[edit] 1988-present: pre-season

In 1988, the night series was moved entirely to the pre-season; the term pre-season premiers eventually replaced night premiers. It has usually been run, and is currently run as a knock-out tournament; on occasions, a four-pool round-robin has been played before a two-week finals schedule. Under the existing knock-out format, the eliminated teams complete their pre-season match preparation in the "Regional Challenge" (see below).

In 1992, the Michael Tuck Medal was introduced for the best player in the pre-season grand final.

[edit] Prize money

In 2006, AU$220,000 was awarded to the winning club (by comparison, the prize money for the winner of the AFL Grand Final in 2005 was only nominally larger at $250,000). Smaller amounts are awarded to clubs based on participation and progression through the competition.

Runner-up: $110,000
Losing semi-finalists: $55,000
Week 2 losers: $27,000
Week 1 losers: $16,500

Total prize money on offer: $682,000

It was announced that if a club could win both the pre-season and regular premierships in the same season, that the club would receive a bonus $1 million. Half will be distributed among the players, while the other half goes to the club.[1] The last club to win the double was Essendon in 2000.

[edit] Recent Attendances

Although many clubs and coaches (especially the wealthier clubs) do not take the pre-season competition seriously and use the competition as a chance to test young and inexperienced players, the NAB Cup format has proven quite popular with spectators.

Season Total Attendance Matches Average
2007 246,321 15 16,421
2006 235,980 15 15,732
2005 307,181 15 20,479
See List of Australian Football League night premiers for Grand Final crowds.

[edit] Regional challenge

Since 2003, the AFL has run a series of pre-season practice matches called the "Regional Challenge" for clubs that are eliminated from the NAB Cup. The dual aim of the series is to bring the game to fans in remote areas (this is limited to venues that are considered AFL standard, although many games are still played at metro AFL venues) and to provide the eliminated teams with match fitness. Although the games are informal and there is no actual winner or prize, they have attracted a large amount of interest in regional areas and grown in popularity.

2007
2006
  • Queensland - Carrara (2 games - 6,277; 10,117)
  • Victoria - Shepparton (4,500); Bendigo (11,000); Mildura (10,000) (this match was played as a memorial to teenagers that died in a Mildura road accident)
  • Western Australia - Mandurah (8,283)
  • New South Wales - Lavington (5,151)
2005

In 2005, the total Regional Challenge attendance was 117,552 up from 87,000 in 2004 and 76,000 in 2003.

[edit] New rule trials

The pre-season competition has been a place where the AFL has trialled new rules. The NAB Cup has the intentions of being modern and promoting a fast-paced pre-season competition.

Most of the rules are included as a trial to determine their appropriateness for the regular season, with the obvious exception of the Supergoal. However, the shortness of the pre-season makes it difficult for the AFL to evaluate how coaches will tactically handle rule-changes it makes.

Such rules have included:

2003
  • Nine points for a goal kicked from outside of the 50 metre arc, known as a Super Goal.
2005
  • No requirement to wait upon the goal umpires' flag waving before playing on.
  • Extra players on the interchange bench, although this is intended mainly so that coaches can try extra players, and ensure that none are over-worked, during the pre-season.
  • A larger centre circle.
  • 4 field umpires
  • Umpires coming in 10m from the boundary line to throw in the ball.
  • Play on if the ball hits the goal post and bounces back into the field of play.
2006
  • For a player kicking it backwards, except when that kick takes place within the attacking team's forward 50m, there can be no mark to a team-mate of that player and the umpire simply calls `Play On'
2007
  • Video replay umpire for goals. Ability for goal umpire decisions to be overruled by video umpire.
  • All 9 umpires able to pay free kicks (includes boundary and goal umpires) (First trailled in Melbourne vs Hawthorn Round 1 NAB Cup 2007)
  • Play on called for backwards kicks only in the defensive half of the field.
  • Kick must travel 20m to be paid a mark.

[edit] Lightning Premiership

The Lightning Premiership was held for the only time in the modern era, 1996, the Centenary Season of the AFL. It was a knock-out competition played from Friday, 9th February until Sunday, 11th February, with four games each evening at Waverley Park, each consisting of two 17.5 minute halves. The game trialled a number of highly experimental rules, including three points awarded both for deliberate rushed behinds and balls which hit the post, and timekeepers not blowing the siren if scores were tied; however, the rule which altered the game most significantly was that where the ball was not thrown in from the boundary line, but a free kick given against the last team to touch the ball. Essendon won the series.

The Lightning Premiership was originally contested for a short time in the 50s and 60s.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Time to get serious in chase for $1m windfall", Herald Sun, February 12, 2007.

[edit] External links

[edit] Seasons

 v • d • e Australian Football League pre-season competition seasons
1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007
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