AFL: “The most lopsided sporting competition in the world”

It's been an incredible season for Fremantle, so far, with the Dockers tipped by many as finals favourites. But as September draws closer, are Fremantle and West Coast having to fight harder than Victorian teams to achieve the same result?

Leading Western Australian journalist Digby Beacham joined Mark Stevens on Zero Hanger's The Outer Wing, where he brought up the elements stacked against WA teams.

"You're asking the two WA clubs to travel more than anyone else. I'm not a follower of either club but the AFL is the most lopsided competition in the world," Beacham said.

"We talk about the draw, the venues, the weather, the travel...there's so much which is not right with the AFL."

The comments come as Beacham's own club, North Melbourne, approach their Bunbury Stadium match against Fremantle, a match that would have been a home game for the Roos, had the team signed a deal with the WA government.

The club agreed to swap two home games for one game in Bunbury and one at Optus Stadium, against Fremantle and West Coast every season until 2027, in exchange for much needed financial compensation.

"It's crazy, it's inequitable, it's a free kick to Freo," Stevens said.

Beacham, however, took a more optimistic approach.

RELATED: Roos Bunbury clash slammed amid finals push

"12 months ago they went down to Bunbury and they beat West Coast. Then a week later, they played Optus Stadium and they nearly got Fremantle," Beacham said.

"There's been a heap of great Western Australian players who have found their way to North Melbourne and as a result, the North Melbourne supporter base here, in Western Australia, is quite high for a club that doesn't have a lot of support back there in Melbourne against some of the big boys in the competition."

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