Tasmanian man claims the AFL stole his last eighth idea in 1999 – and furious former PE teacher plasters his house with posters urging league to FINALLY credit him after 23 years: ‘This just isn’t right’
Tim Crawford claims he invented the finals system currently used by AFL and NRL
The Tasmanian PE teacher joined the AFL in 1994 and the NRL in 1995
The AFL would have rejected his suggestion, but adopted the system from 2000
The NRL trialled the system in 1996 before introducing it in 2012
Crawford claims he has not been credited for his work by either league
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A Tasmanian PE teacher who claims the AFL and NRL stole his graduation format has vowed to continue fighting the leagues until he gets the recognition he deserves.
Tim Crawford reportedly devised the current round of 16 system and proposed it to the AFL in 1994, but was rejected because it was “flawed.” Coincidentally, the AFL finally adopted the system five years later and has not looked back since.
Crawford’s conversation with the NRL followed a similar path. He proposed the final eight system to the league in 1995, and while he claims the NRL was initially very interested in the system, negotiations ultimately failed.
Kim Crawford claims he invented the current finals system used by the AFL and NRL
The NRL only tried the system for one season in 1996, before re-introducing it in 2012 and has remained since.
However, Crawford claims he has never received any kind of credit for what he calls the ‘Crawford Final 8 system’ and is now seeking justice.
“I was shocked and disappointed to see the AFL using it, with no credit,” he said The new daily.
“National sports leagues should behave much better.
Crawford felt he never got the recognition he deserved and is campaigning against both the AFL and NRL to admit they used his idea
“They expect high demands from players and clubs and we expect high demands from them. I don’t think the AFL and the NRL should be allowed to continue to lie.”
To promote his campaign, Crawford plastered his home across the road from the Blundstone Arena – which serves as a secondary ground in North Melbourne – in Hobart with posters urging the league to honor him.
Some posters read “AFL, time to tell the truth” and “Final 8 thieves”, while others have similar messages.
“The AFL stole my system, unfairly claimed it as their own, and used it without permission,” Crawford added.
The PE teacher has plastered his Hobart house with posters to promote his campaign
Crawford lives across the road from the Blundstone Arena in Hobart, which is used by North Melbourne as a secondary ground during the AFL season
‘[They] ignored my copyright, harassed me with threats of legal fees and continued to falsify their own history regarding this matter.”
The issue was recently raised in federal parliament by Labor MP Brian Mitchell, who has called on the AFL and NRL to credit Crawford and rejected suggestions that the AFL and NRL may have stumbled upon the same system by accident.
“He suggested this formula, she… [the AFL] haven’t used it, and then they come up with an identical system,” he said.
‘A coincidence? What a mess. This just isn’t right. It’s a classic case of a powerful organization raising its middle finger at a little man.’
Crawford maintains the current system in use in the AFL and NRL should bear his name
The AFL switched to its current last-eight system after using the McIntyre system for nearly seven decades.
Initially conceived for a final four series in 1931, the system evolved as the AFL expanded the number of teams in the finals. The McIntyre Final Eight system was introduced in 1994 and looked little like the previous McIntyre system the VFL and AFL had used.
The system was criticized for being too complex to understand and for being unfair to the top-ranked teams as, unlike the current AFL system, it did not protect teams coming from 1st to 4th from elimination and the two lowest-ranked the chance to play finals at home.