Why has the AFL become so defensive recently?

[Chaisa]

So I was bored and inspired slightly by the Squiggle and also noticing how many sides passed the 86 points conceded on average rule but not the score 100 points rule (which is supposed to be a hard and fast rule about whether a side is premiership standard or not). Therefore I decided to calculate the average points scored by a team in a Home and Away season (basically it's the total of all teams EOY "for" total divided by total of all teams games played)

Since 1990, the average points scored by a team is:

1990 100.0519
1991 102.6091
1992 103.6394
1993 105.09
1994 94.4303
1995 94.40625
1996 93.96023
1997 90.33523
1998 93.58239
1999 95.7017
2000 103.3892
2001 98.09659
2002 94.87784
2003 94.74716
2004 93.17045
2005 95.47443
2006 92.93182
2007 95.58239
2008 97.65341
2009 91.39773
2010 90.46875
2011 92.96257
2012 92.09596
2013 92.77525
2014 86.54798
2015 85.59829

The drop from 1993 to 1994 can probably be explained by the reduction in playing time. There's also noticeable peaks around 2000/01 and 2007/08, with troughs in 1997 and 2009/10. But there's been a big drop from 2013 to 2014, which 2015 has confirmed. My question is, why?

 

[Kram]

It's Ross Lyon's fault.

 

[Rich]

Simple.

It's easier to master defence than attack.

 

[calyam]

Defensive tactics have progressed far more quickly than offensive tactics. It's also easier to teach good defense than good offense.

 

[Kram]

Getting numbers back and stuff like using zones just makes sense tactically, when you think about it, it's amazing that they took so long to come into the game. I guess you also need players with elite fitness to implement it properly. I often find it quite funny watching older games, whilst entertaining the coaching is just so primitive when you see blokes like Ablett or Lockett just allowed a paddock of free space to move into one on one.

 

[Blackas87]

What were the time differences in 93 and 94

 

[threenewpadlocks]

Defensive tactics have progressed far more quickly than offensive tactics. It's also easier to teach good defense than good offense.

This exactly.
We're in a phase of the game where fitness, and defensive running combined with things like improvements to overall defensive structure and zoning and the like have progressed faster than the ability to form attacks to beat these systems.
It'll even out in time. If not, rule changes will ensure that it does. No worry there.

 

[Kram]

This exactly.
We're in a phase of the game where fitness, and defensive running combined with things like improvements to overall defensive structure and zoning and the like have progressed faster than the ability to form attacks to beat these systems.
It'll even out in time. If not, rule changes will ensure that it does. No worry there.

It might balance up a touch but we will imo never ever see scoring in games like we used to, unless they bring in quite dramatic rule changes.

 

[clogged]

Because kicking skills have improved out of sight. Defence is about denying your opposition the ball. You do that through kick and mark play.

When I played as a junior, which wasn't that long ago (mid 90s), the coaches instruction was that as a defender you never kicked across goal. Not even once. And in the (then) VFL of the 80s, Graeme Allen never lived down attempting to execute the switch kick.

These days it's such a standard part of a defender's repertoire that they all do it.

 

[Chaisa]

What were the time differences in 93 and 94

Went from 25 minutes of playing time a quarter to 20 minutes apparently.

 

[Matt Slade]

It's Ross Lyon's fault.

With contributions from Paul Roos and John Longmire.

 

[Procrastinator35]

I'M going to go with a guilty conscience.

 

[quotemokc]

Not to mention the implementation of the loose man in defense.

In every game you watch the loose man gets countless easy marks because teams don't look when they are kicking forward.

 

[clogged]

The real question is - why did Australian football (in the VFL at least) become so attacking between 1970 and 2000. Up until that point, average scores per game were below 90 points, for 100 years of football. Then there was a brief explosion of scoring. Now it has returned to the long term average.

The average of 100 points per team per game is an anomaly in Australian football history.

 

[Mancey]

Crap kicking for goal isn't helping.

Plus the bombers are dragging the average down this year

 

[Forward Press]

Went from 25 minutes of playing time a quarter to 20 minutes apparently.

To be precise, from 30 minutes including stoppages, to 20 minutes excluding stoppages - in general, a reduction in playing time.

 

[Roo Beauty]

I'M going to go with a guilty conscience.

Haha I misinterpreted the thread title too…

 

[Kram]

With contributions from Paul Roos and John Longmire.

Eade started the with the initial basic defensive flooding tactic at Sydney iirc.

 

[Damon_3388]

For a very long time the sport was tactically very primitive and (quite frankly) quite dumb as well. Australian football has just taken the same path other sports have over time, where people have whittled down the necessary ingredients or methods of success, and discarded the rest. I for once am glad the evolution happened. Watching old footy from the '60s, '70s and even parts of the '80s and '90s can be pretty painful, when looking through a modern prism.

 

[kelpie_X]

It's Ross Lyon's fault.

He's a twat!

 

[kelpie_X]

With contributions from Paul Roos and John Longmire.

See, I liked Kram81's response but you're just a w***er

 

[Bluelegs]

Players are fitter than rhey have ever been and can cover the ground more. Allowing for more dynamic watertight structures.

 

[telsor]

Players train full time, are fitter and have a bigger bench, allowing them to flood back as a standard thing. It also means there is a lot more contested ball.

 

[Lithium]

Its pretty confusing when you consider that since 2007, 7 out 8 premierships have been won by attacking sides (Geelong, Hawthorn and Collingwood), in many cases against defensive sides (Saints, Sydney and Freo)

 

[Sydney Bloods]

a number of things;
players are more professional now a lot fitter don't get as tired so the game doesn't open up as much.
coaches are more tactical now and put effort into stopping other teams scoring just as much as scoring themselves, when both teams do with it results in a reduction in total scores.
The restrictions on what forwards can do is much stricter, look at any game from the 80's and you'll spot dozens of free's to forward with hands in the back, a slight push, goals crumbed from blocking a player from making an attempt.
then there's all the extra free's nowadays around the ground that slows down play.