Observations: Adelaide v Collingwood 2003

[76woodenspooners]

After watching that game, I'm now more than convinced that the AFL needs to do something to bring it back ...

I look at it very differently ...

... The game has moved on, it's evolved, it's become much more strategic, teams have become so much greater than the sum of their parts. I believe it is a much better game today, and will continue to get better...

... The problem is that the TV broadcast hasn't kept up. The game is still essentially being televised the same way it was back in 2002 (or the 90's or 80's or even 70's!!)

The TV just follows the ball around, but so much of the modern game happens off the ball. The TV audience misses so much now.

Introducing the Piero stuff has been a good start and a big improvement over some commentator moving magnets around a whiteboard ...

... But there is a lot further to go.

 

[Baird]

basic football skills were much better than today: kicking, handballing, marking, accuracy in front of goal

Good point. I feel like the players get so caught up in structures, obscure tactics/game plans and what not, that they forget how to execute the fundamental skills of football. Other stuff like shepherding, knowing when to leave your man, stuff like that.

 

[larrikan]

They appointed a Rules committee who try to earn their keep by revising and interpreting rules every year. In addition, in our PC society we react to incidents; that have been happening in football for years, and force change.

When I played, there was - in the back, dropping the ball, holding the ball, around the neck, out of the full, tripping and kicking in danger and a 15 metre penalty and you couldn't block players within 5 metres of the ball- a deliberate "Gibson" punch was weeks. Funnily, if you were kicking from over the boundary line and the umpire called "play on", the ball was deemed out of bounds and thrown in...strange ways. Now, last week the ruck man weren't allowed to use arms to use strength in a ruck contest. Soon you will not be allowed to go to ground in a tackle!

I would love someone with time to track the history of rule changes over the past 30 years. The reasons would make interesting reading.

I was at the Western Jets last week and their posters of how to play are basketball plays - zones, transitions, attack and defensive moves - all basketball tactics. The Pies/WC game was basketball. All players following the ball direction and playing defence or offence depending on who had the ball. It didn't resemble AFL. The teams have set stoppage plays so force the ball out of bounce to reset.

The Bulldogs played an unpredictable game of footy that caught us off guard and the umpires were unpredictable with free kicks. Fun times!

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

Netball zones is the only thing that can fix it now.

Forwards/Defenders stay inside their respective 50s and mids can't go inside 50 metre arcs. It's the last resort. It will bring 1 on 1 contests back to football again.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Didn't see the replay but my recollection is that nick Davis had a huge game?

 

[shizzle]

I miss the 90's, I guess everyone looks back retrospectively and see footy in better shape.

To be a kid in the 90's watching footy, even though our team sucked for the most part, every week you had bags and speccies, guys like Ablett, Carey, Daicos, Lockett, Modra list goes on, then your flash in the pan but equally brilliant guys like Allen Jakovich and Adrian McAdam that just lit it up for a brief time.

What a decade!!

 

[iGNITER]

Didn't see the replay but my recollection is that nick Davis had a huge game?

Nah didnt play.

Tarrant kicked 4.

Woewodin lead our disposals and along with Buckley and Licuria they were probably our best.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Nah didnt play.

Tarrant kicked 4.

Woewodin lead our disposals and along with Buckley and Licuria they were probably our best.

Maybe it's a final a year earlier I'm thinking of

 

[BoxMatrix]

- basic football skills were much better than today: kicking, handballing, marking, accuracy in front of goal

This is simply not true. Accuracy in front of goal is the best it's ever been. Skills such as handballing and kicking are at the highest efficiency ever. What you said is a myth.

 

[domin8tors]

Just watched the game's highlights on Fox Footy, and it reinforced two points for me - how underrated our team was, and how much better footy was back then.

- basic football skills were much better than today: kicking, handballing, marking, accuracy in front of goal
- no zones, no rolling mauls, no rugby scrums, no chip chip sideways nonsense, no forward press, no flooding
- the game was wide open, plenty of space, plenty of free flow, forwards and defenders stayed within the 50 metre arcs for most of the game, there weren't 20 players to a stoppage, or all 36 players crammed into one half of the field
- even the umpiring was better, they weren't paying free kicks for every jumper tug!

When the game is played with such space and run, there is greater emphasis on the basic skills like kicking, handballing and marking. Both sides were hitting targets from 30, 40 metres under pressure! When was the last time we saw teams other than Hawthorn do that so cleanly and consistently?

After watching that game, I'm now more than convinced that the AFL needs to do something to bring it back to the standards of this match we played against Adelaide in 2003. It still had the modern professional demands of athleticism, but it was truer to the fabric of the game and a much more entertaining spectacle.

I'm not opposed to making it mandatory for teams to keep a player each in the D50 and F50. This stoppage, rugby crap we're watching each week needs to go.

I Agree with all your points except your first point basic football skills were much better than today: kicking, handballing, marking, accuracy in front of goal. reason being is because of all your other highlighted points in that tackles and pressure on the ball carrier have gone up 100% meaning less time and more rushed kicks.

 

[Ant85]

I Agree with all your points except your first point basic football skills were much better than today: kicking, handballing, marking, accuracy in front of goal. reason being is because of all your other highlighted points in that tackles and pressure on the ball carrier have gone up 100% meaning less time and more rushed kicks.

Exactly, more tackles, more congestion, more scrums - sounds like rugby.

 

[domin8tors]

Exactly, more tackles, more congestion, more scrums - sounds like rugby.

my personal opinion is that we shouldn't create zones etc and all players should have the ability to run where they want. But at any ball up or throw in there needs to be Minimum 1 defender and 1 forward in each 50M arc. it's possibly one way that we can free up the congestion. another more crazy idea would be to actually have 9 pointers. ( goals kicked from outside 50 ) this will force teams outside the 50M zone because 9 points is a lot to give up for a defending team

 

[Quicky]

Yes, you get those, but I'm focusing solely on a game I just watched from 2003, and noting the specific differences. It's not a matter of simply reminiscing, it's a pretty fair comparison given that it wasn't that long ago, the AFL was at a professional level (as opposed to the 80s and beyond), and that most of the coaches and assistant coaches today devising these horrid strategies played in that era.

It's been noted repeatedly this year by commentators that across the league the basic skill levels seem down. Whether that's a result of having too many teams, thus diluting the talent, or high-pressure/congestion footy forcing too many skill errors, or a combination of both, I'm not sure. But the drop in skills is clear when you compare it to the Adel v Coll 2003 game.

The skill level is down because adding an additional 2 teams diluted the talent pool. The sheer weight of concessions given those clubs in terms of draft selections has made it difficult to maintain the quality across the other 16 team lists.

The coaches need to break down the tactics of the rolling maul. I think we have shown that reactive rule changes, and complicating the officiating of the game further, are not the solutions.

 

[Baltimore Jack]

Nah didnt play.

Tarrant kicked 4.

Woewodin lead our disposals and along with Buckley and Licuria they were probably our best.

He had a lot of "help" in those days apparently

 

[TradeDraft]

Netball zones is the only thing that can fix it now.

Forwards/Defenders stay inside their respective 50s and mids can't go inside 50 metre arcs. It's the last resort. It will bring 1 on 1 contests back to football again.

That what they do in TAC Cup and U-18 Championships

 

[35Daicos]

The skill level is down because adding an additional 2 teams diluted the talent pool. The sheer weight of concessions given those clubs in terms of draft selections has made it difficult to maintain the quality across the other 16 team lists.

I think the fact that injury lists are so long at most clubs these days is also crucial. 20 or so years ago if you had 2 players missing from your best lineup you'd have felt hard done by. That would be considered a good result these days.

So we're normally seeing "watered down" versions of teams. e.g. Gold Coast have been very poor this year and hardly worth watching much of the time, yet throw Ablett, O'Meara, Prestia and Swallow into the team on a regular basis and they'd probably be a finals contender, and certainly a much better team to watch.

 

[wello]

I remember being at AAMI Stadium (probably still Footy Park back then), on those horrendous cold aluminium seats. Sat near a group of obnoxious w***ers going for the Crows, had to put up with their sh1t for pretty much the whole game. Still remember Buckley wheeling onto his left, banging inside 50, Hart falling over and Tarrant marking. Siren. And then I'd knew we'd win. And the feeling when the goal umpire signalled was amazing.

What a night

EDIT: This was also the match when Shane Woewodin was immense for the Pies, had 35-ish while leading Marty Mattner on a jolly dance around Footy Park, who was supposedly "tagging" him - but he couldn't get near him!!

DOUBLE EDIT: But nothing will beat the 2002 Elimination Final against the Pear there... Bucks out, Licuria has 40 and Benny Johnson running down Peter Burgoyne in the goal square. Magic.

 

[mike123]

But the drop in skills is clear when you compare it to the Adel v Coll 2003 game.

When you compare to one game against two of the better sides in 2003

 

[Knightmare]

Just watched the game's highlights on Fox Footy, and it reinforced two points for me - how underrated our team was, and how much better footy was back then.

- basic football skills were much better than today: kicking, handballing, marking, accuracy in front of goal
- no zones, no rolling mauls, no rugby scrums, no chip chip sideways nonsense, no forward press, no flooding
- the game was wide open, plenty of space, plenty of free flow, forwards and defenders stayed within the 50 metre arcs for most of the game, there weren't 20 players to a stoppage, or all 36 players crammed into one half of the field
- even the umpiring was better, they weren't paying free kicks for every jumper tug!

When the game is played with such space and run, there is greater emphasis on the basic skills like kicking, handballing and marking. Both sides were hitting targets from 30, 40 metres under pressure! When was the last time we saw teams other than Hawthorn do that so cleanly and consistently?

After watching that game, I'm now more than convinced that the AFL needs to do something to bring it back to the standards of this match we played against Adelaide in 2003. It still had the modern professional demands of athleticism, but it was truer to the fabric of the game and a much more entertaining spectacle.

I'm not opposed to making it mandatory for teams to keep a player each in the D50 and F50. This stoppage, rugby crap we're watching each week needs to go.

The reason the game looks as bad as it does today in part is gameplans, in part the rules. But with rule changes this could so easily be changed.

One great rule that has these past few years been introduced through the u18 champs is how teams need at each stoppage to have I believe it is either five or six inside their back 50 and forward 50. That way it reduces that congestion around the ball and allows for easier ball movement and a more ascetically pleasing, and more naturally flowing game.

I'm also an advocate of the 9 point super-goal. But that's for another discussion.