I’m old enough to remember the last time the AFL had regular byes, back in 1991-1994 when the entry of Adelaide made for an odd number of teams. It was popularly known as “the Killer Bye,” because everyone lost after their week off.
Matt Cowgill of The Arc concludes that nothing is different this time around:
A week off can help heal battered bodies, but AFL teams surprisingly don’t seem to do better after the bye.
Source: AFL Footy Forensics Matt Cowgill on the effects of the byes