I've said this before.
The first 5 rounds should be played between the teams that finished in their respective brackets.
1-6, 7-12 & 13-18 with a GF re-match as opener and opening round like this -1 vs 2, 3 vs 4, 5 vs 6 ............etc.
This way in the first 5 weeks, most teams will have similar fitness levels due to finals which should make better footy to watch and intern give more realistic results.
The next 12 weeks should be played against the rest of the teams in the other brackets.
And the last 5 weeks should be played against the teams in your bracket as per the end of round 17, where every team should have a 1 week break and get rid of this split rounds BS.
This will not only give the mid tier teams a chance to make finals, it will also make closer games and show who really deserves to be in the top 8 as it should even out the draw difficulty based on last years and this years performances.
You could also add a break after Rnd 5 and start the season a week earlier if teams want more breaks for players (could work in our advantage too with our game style).

Does playing finals really make a difference to fitness levels 6 months down the track? This question has been N/A for so long, I have no opinion

The Player’s agreement includes a mandatory break, so the finalists are always 1-4 weeks behind the other 10.

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"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter" - Winston Churchill.

Huh?
After our first good year in a thousand years we have to go to Qld in Rd 1?