Modern footy vs 86 GF

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Feb 18, 2003
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I must admit that when I posted this yesterday I had only watched the second half. I watched the first half this morning and the skills and hardness at ball were certainly better. I also watched the first quarter of the 84 GF which was in contrast to my comments yesterday.

What were the interchange laws in those days?

Whilst I also tend to be in the camp of 2019 Suns easily overrunning the 86 Hawks, I think some of my remarks yesterday may have been uninformed on the basis of not taking into account player fatigue.

The games are on Kayo under AFL Classics. Someone else watch them and see what you think.

No such thing as an interchange law.

Essendon used it well in that it was able to take Madden off for the third quarter and Merrett in the ruck so that Madden would be right for the last quarter. But - you could still rest midfielders in the forward pocket and they would become effective goalkickers as they were often quicker than their regular opponents.
 

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Kappa

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So, do you think the suns could time travel back to 1983 and then go on to play in seven grand finals straight?

Hawks smashed GWS twice last year but finished 9th and GWS played off in the grand final

Yes, they would win every premiership, easily. They could win it alone off far far far superior fitness, without even taking into account the extra height the 80s team couldn't deal with, the ridiculous modern pressure, the modern zones, modern skills and extra strength from better diets and more gym time
 

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30k Posts 10k Posts HBF's Milk Crate - 70k Posts TheBrownDog
Sep 13, 2000
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Yes, they would win every premiership, easily. They could win it alone off far far far superior fitness, without even taking into account the extra height the 80s team couldn't deal with, the ridiculous modern pressure, the modern zones, modern skills and extra strength from better diets and more gym time

Why stop at just the seven premierships? This is ridiculous
 

Vassp

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Why stop at just the seven premierships? This is ridiculous
What he’s saying is the dominance would be huge, and rightly so, but lots of things have to go right to make seven premierships in a row.

What gets me is people saying how the hawks and Essendons of the past would cream tigers of 2019.
Absolutely no chance.
 
Nov 10, 2013
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Hell no
The zone.
What would happen if kick in team set up with huddle and other team did zone? I presume a kick directly to top of 50m line where huddle would be and the team would have the choice of who takes the mark. Quick handball to runners and they’re off. Zone team would soon stop zoning?
 

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30k Posts 10k Posts HBF's Milk Crate - 70k Posts TheBrownDog
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What would happen if kick in team set up with huddle and other team did zone? I presume a kick directly to top of 50m line where huddle would be and the team would have the choice of who takes the mark. Quick handball to runners and they’re off. Zone team would soon stop zoning?

Isnt that what they were hoping with the kick out rule change
 
Oct 3, 2007
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No contest, these TEAMS of today would cream the stacked star teams of yesteryear.
It’s laughable when someone says the good old days of footy when players were more skill full.
It’s an insult to all the great players that are playing today.

P.s It’s easy to show skills when you have more time on the ball.

The game was far more one on one back then, 60% of today’s game is uncontested. Kicking to blokes 20m on their own is something 10 year olds can do and many players today still miss that target.
there is no doubt that today’s contested footy is red hot though, the ability of the modern player to dispose of ball quickly is amazing.

Why people continue to compare eras is beyond me, everything is relevant to the time, give those players back then today’s professionalism and they Would excel, take our modern players back to then and say you can only train 2-3 times a week, must have a full time job etc and they Would fall right back into that era.
Dusty Martin is a champion of today’s game, in 40 years time we are not going to say he was an average player because the game has changed.
the great players in the 80’s don’t lose their status because the games moved on. They were still great players.
 
Apr 22, 2007
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Flooding has an interesting history. 'Stacking the backline' is a tactic (probably) as old as the game itself - but I can remember way back in the early 70s when it was only used to protect a lead in the last 5-10 minutes - or sometimes if there was a howling gale blowing to one end.

Eventually, someone realised that it was OK to stack the backline, but when you won possession, there wasn't much point in just bombing it back to the wing for the opposition to mount the next attack. So they developed tactics to bring the ball out of defense. This was the big change - because suddenly you realised that you had all this extra space to play with and develop an attack, rather than just thinking about scoring options when you got to the half-forward line. It also brought in the switch - prior to the late 80s, kicking across the backline was a cardinal sin - now it was used to find space. So why not flood all the time - because as well as stopping the opposition, it meant you could be more efficient with attacks. And half-back flankers who could kick became incredibly valuable as the 'quarterback'.

Of course, this meant that when your side won the ball in the back half, the opposition would immediately run back to their own defensive half to try and bottle up the play there - if they tried to just man up all over the ground, they would be picked to pieces. It only took one man to get free and away they went.

It's an on-going process. Now (last 5 years or so) there is a focus on forward pressure to prevent those attacks starting at all. Tactics evolve.
Ah Yes the cardinal sin of kicking across the goal in the backline. Remember that.

I recall also the ethos that straight down the ground was the only way to play VFL Park
 

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Royce Hafey

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I think a good indicator of the difference between players of the past and present is height. Dustin Martin, Jack Dyer and Royce Hart were all the same height. It was tall enough to be a Ruckman in the 1940s, a CHF in the 1970s and a midfielder today. In fact there are plenty of midfielders today who are taller than Dyer. I recently came across a press report of the 1936 GF which listed all the player heights, and apart from the two ruckman, and one bloke who sat on the bench all game, every player on the field was under 6 foot.
 
Sep 22, 2011
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Today’s game is far, far tougher. It’s kamikaze-like stupidity a lot of the time and it won’t be long until somebody is killed.

There was more overt violence back then, but it wasn’t as tough. I’ll take a punch to the face any time, compared to running back fully exposed into the path of 100kg super-athletes travelling at 35kph.
 
Oct 3, 2007
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Today’s game is far, far tougher. It’s kamikaze-like stupidity a lot of the time and it won’t be long until somebody is killed.

There was more overt violence back then, but it wasn’t as tough. I’ll take a punch to the face any time, compared to running back fully exposed into the path of 100kg super-athletes travelling at 35kph.

The difference being though you can run back with the flight of the ball today knowing there is little chance you can be cleaned up. The slightest impost on a current player and he is awarded a free kick.
It took a truck load of courage back then to even attempt to run back with the flight of the ball or even just stand under it. I am not talking violence either, just within the rules massive contact you no longer see.

but let’s face it, we really are talking about two different eras playing two different sports almost.
 

Kappa

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Why stop at just the seven premierships? This is ridiculous

Ridiculous to think a semi pro team with s**t fitness and poor skills could even hope to compete with a team from 2019? yes I agree.

Itd be like if the GC sun's went and played in the VFL next season, of course they'd win every premiership...
 

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30k Posts 10k Posts HBF's Milk Crate - 70k Posts TheBrownDog
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Ridiculous to think a semi pro team with s**t fitness and poor skills could even hope to compete with a team from 2019? yes I agree.

Itd be like if the GC sun's went and played in the VFL next season, of course they'd win every premiership...

Maybe if the suns seniors played the neafl, theyd make the finals, cos their seconds certainly didnt

 

raymond35

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Ridiculous to think a semi pro team with s**t fitness and poor skills could even hope to compete with a team from 2019? yes I agree.

Itd be like if the GC sun's went and played in the VFL next season, of course they'd win every premiership...

You think Hawthorn 1986 had poor skills? For gods sake.
 

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