McIntyre System

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The McIntyre System, or systems because there have been five of them, is a playoff system that gives an advantage to teams or competitors qualifying higher. The systems were developed by Ken McIntyre, a Victorian lawyer and English lecturer, for the VFL/AFL.

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[edit] In the VFL/AFL

The first McIntyre System, the Page-McIntyre system (a.k.a. the McIntyre Final Four System), was adopted by the VFL in 1931, after using a wide range of Final systems since its foundation in 1897.

The system immediately preceding the Page-McIntyre system was the "amended Argus system" that had operated from 1902 to 1930 (the "original Argus system" had been introduced in 1901).

McIntyre also devised the McIntyre Final Five System for the VFL for 1972, the McIntyre Final Six System for 1991, which was revised for 1992, and the McIntyre Final Eight System for the 1994 season. The AFL grew dissatisfied with some of the outcomes the Final Eight system might allow and so replaced it with another final eight system in 2000.

[edit] Other Competitions

Australia's National Rugby League has used the McIntyre Final Eight System since 1999 and this was also used in the Rugby League National League Three in Great Britain for the 2004 season. Other McIntyre Systems have been used in both Australian rules football and rugby league for many years. Under the name Page playoff system, the McIntyre Final Four is commonly used in curling events, especially in Canada. The Page-McIntyre system is also used in the A-league

[edit] The systems

[edit] Page-McIntyre system

Main article: Page playoff system
Round Match Name Team 1 Team 2
1 A 1st Semi Final Rank 3 v Rank 4
B 2nd Semi Final Rank 1 v Rank 2
2 C Preliminary Final Loser B v Winner A
3 D Grand Final Winner B v Winner C

In the first round of the Page-McIntyre system the highest two ranked teams play each other, with the winner going straight through to the grand final and the loser going through to the next round. The lowest two ranked teams play to avoid being eliminated and to go through to the next round. The winner of the second round match gets through to the grand final. In this system, the top two teams are able to lose a match and still qualify for the Grand Final, this is referred to as a 'double chance'.

Assuming that each team has an even chance of winning each match, the probability of the highest two ranked teams winning the competition is 37.5% compared to 12.5% for the other two teams.

[edit] McIntyre final five system

Main article: Top five play-offs
Round Match Name Team 1 Team 2
1 A Elimination Final Rank 4 v Rank 5
B Qualifying Final Rank 2 v Rank 3
2 C 1st Semi Final Loser B v Winner A
D 2nd Semi Final Rank 1 v Winner B
3 E Preliminary Final Loser D v Winner C
4 F Grand Final Winner D v Winner E

From the second round the McIntyre final five system is the same as the Page-McIntyre system, however, in the first round the lowest two ranked teams play to eliminate one team and the second and third ranked teams deterine which match they will play in the second round. The highest ranked team has a bye to the second round.

In this case, if all teams have an even chance of winning each match, the highest ranked team has a 37.5% chance, ranks two and three have a 25% chance and the lowest two ranked teams have a 6.25% chance of winning the competition.

[edit] First McIntyre final six system

Round Match Name Team 1 Team 2
1 A 1st Elimination Final Rank 5 v Rank 6
B 2nd Elimination Final Rank 3 v Rank 4
C Qualifying Final Rank 1 v Rank 2
2 D 1st Semi Final Loser C v Winner A
E 2nd Semi Final Winner C v Winner B
3 F Preliminary Final Loser E v Winner D
4 G Grand Final Winner E v Winner F

The first McIntyre final six system was also the same as the Page-McIntyre system from the second round. In this case, two of the four lowest ranked teams are eliminated in the first round, while the top two determine which match they will play in the second round. Under this system the top two teams receive a double chance, as does the winner of match B.

[edit] Second McIntyre final six system

Round Match Name Team 1 Team 2
1 A 1st Elimination Final Rank 4 v Rank 5
B 2nd Elimination Final Rank 3 v Rank 6
C Qualifying Final Rank 1 v Rank 2
2 D 1st Semi Final Loser C v 2nd highest ranked winner from A, B
E 2nd Semi Final Winner C v 1st highest ranked winner from A, B
3 F Preliminary Final Loser E v Winner D
4 G Grand Final Winner E v Winner F

This adaptation of the first McIntyre System corrected for the anomaly that, in the first week, the team who finished 4th would have a more difficult opponent than the team who finished 5th, and was hence more likely to be eliminated, despite finishing higher.

[edit] McIntyre final eight system

Main article: McIntyre Final Eight System
Round Match Name Team 1 Team 2
1 A 4th Qualifying Final Rank 4 v Rank 5
B 3rd Qualifying Final Rank 3 v Rank 6
C 2nd Qualifying Final Rank 2 v Rank 7
D 1st Qualifying Final Rank 1 v Rank 8
2 E 2nd Semi Final 4th highest ranked winner from A, B, C, D v 2nd highest ranked loser from A, B, C, D
F 1st Semi Final 3rd highest ranked winner from A, B, C, D v 1st highest ranked loser from A, B, C, D
3 G 2nd Preliminary Final 2nd highest ranked winner from A, B, C, D v Winner F
H 1st Preliminary Final 1st highest ranked winner from A, B, C, D v Winner E
4 I Grand Final Winner G v Winner H

[edit] See also

[edit] External links