Opinion Football now vs 10 years ago?

[SplintWhisky]

With the Tiger's being s**t this season, it allowed for some extra reflection of AFL as a whole. Quiet introspection lead me to realise "Hey, I am watching a lot less football this season". It was very true as in the past I used to watch the Tiger's game and at least 1 to 2 other games "viewed" (i.e. put on in the background/had it on the radio in the background). Now it is just the Tiger's games and this was the first year I didn't watch at least 1 game a week during the finals. I questioned if this was because my team had a poor season but I quickly squashed that assumption as I had been watching less footy since 2018. I also wondered if I had lost passion in the game after seeing 3 flags. This one is a definite possibility, maybe my passion for the game was because I chose to support a club that, for the most of my life, was a laughing stock. Could it be that I am looking back on the 2010 - 2015 period with rose tinted glasses as at that time I was finishing high school and was in my early 20's? More reflection was needed I thought.

A breakthrough! I recently decided to watch some old games from 2009 - 2017. Whilst, yes, I am only watching Richmond wins and other games on Kayo under the "Classics" tab, football back then looked that much more engaging. I was rewatching the 2014 Hawthorn v Port PF and thought how the way both sides were playing was just so much more enjoyable to watch, as a spectacle, than any of the decent games this year. Same thing with the 2010 Richmond vs WCE when Jack kicked 10. Even though the Eagles didn't have the best day, a lot of their transitions were just far more enjoyable to watch than anything that was displayed this year during the home and away. The one thing I thoroughly enjoyed was not having to listen to the word "STAND" 200 times a game.

My question to everyone else is how is your passion for football now compared to 5 - 10 years ago? Have you found that you don't care as much? Why? Some of the possible reasons I think are;
- Massive "Fabric of the Game" rule changes ("STAND", 666, below the knees etc.)
- 18 teams has lead to too much dilution of talent
- Did Clarko's Cluster then Richmond's manic style cause too much of a defensive mindset?
- Any other reasons?

Lastly (and a bit tangentially) when the AFL puts in new rules they say they want to make scoring higher because that is what fans want, but how do they derive that? I have not seen a survey about that. The tin-foil hat part of me wants to say that the AFL wants more scoring because Channel 7 wants to flog more KFC and annoy people with betting ads.

 

[Free Agent]

The game has dropped off as it has every year since at its peak early 2000s. First let me say sometimes you do get the odd great game where you wish it was like that all season. But I'm finding those classic matches are becoming few and far between each season.

Few things that have gone which made the game great were characters and players that were allowed to be themselves and fight for the club without fines. I actually enjoyed a bit of fight in a match and players not being robots. These days they can't say or do anything without being sanctioned or fined for minor offences. And I understand the protecting for the head which I do agree needed to be implemented but some of the light stuff like jumper punches, mini fights where no one gets injuried then honestly don't see a issue with it being played out without penalties from the AFL.
Game also has become so over officiated that players are more actors then athletes. Seems most want to play for free kicks then go for the ball.

Use to be around 10-15 good matches a season around early 2000s. These days I probably could count on one hand the amount of those real quality classic matches in a season were you are so invested in it even if it's you're team or not playing. Commentators also are badly on the decline. Need to stop hiring ex AFL players and get some more professional broadcasters to call the matches to make it more appealing. Just because you played AFL doesn't mean you can commentate. It's a skill that you need to have similar to say horse calling. Some of the former AFL players these days trying to commentate without experience sound so bat s**t dumb it gets real sickening listening and ruins the overall experience of enjoying the match.

 

[SplintWhisky]

The game has dropped off as it has every year since at its peak early 2000s. First let me say sometimes you do get the odd great game where you wish it was like that all season. But I'm finding those classic matches are becoming few and far between each season.

Few things that have gone which made the game great were characters and players that were allowed to be themselves and fight for the club without fines. I actually enjoyed a bit of fight in a match and players not being robots. These days they can't say or do anything without being sanctioned or fined for minor offences. And I understand the protecting for the head which I do agree needed to be implemented but some of the light stuff like jumper punches, mini fights where no one gets injuried then honestly don't see a issue with it being played out without penalties from the AFL.
Game also has become so over officiated that players are more actors then athletes. Seems most want to play for free kicks then go for the ball.

Use to be around 10-15 good matches a season around early 2000s. These days I probably could count on one hand the amount of those real quality classic matches in a season were you are so invested in it even if it's you're team or not playing. Commentators also are badly on the decline. Need to stop hiring ex AFL players and get some more professional broadcasters to call the matches to make it more appealing. Just because you played AFL doesn't mean you can commentate. It's a skill that you need to have similar to say horse calling. Some of the former AFL players these days trying to commentate without experience sound so bat sh*t dumb and amateurs it gets real sickening listening and ruins the experience of being a spectator.

Sent from my CPH2025 using Tapatalk

Your point about the commentator's is really true. I know a lot of people hated them, but the Triple M team from 2010 - 2016 were peak football commentary. They had fun and added some levity to their calls. Now after some media pressure they are basically just as dull as the rest of them.

 

[Toump Ass]

I like how the game continues to evolve tactically, and enjoy ultra-defensive games where teams are trying to break through their opponents structure, even if they aren't as high scoring.

Footy is better than a decade ago, but the rule changes and interpretations are a bit of a bug bear. It feels like the AFL are constantly trying to tweak the rules so they're more high scoring, but it never works and it means we end up with shitty rules like a stiff 50 metre penalty for a player moving 1cm of the mark.

 

[Free Agent]

I like how the game continues to evolve tactically, and enjoy ultra-defensive games where teams are trying to break through their opponents structure, even if they aren't as high scoring.

Footy is better than a decade ago, but the rule changes and interpretations are a bit of a bug bear. It feels like the AFL are constantly trying to tweak the rules so they're more high scoring, but it never works and it means we end up with shitty rules like a stiff 50 metre penalty for a player moving 1cm of the mark.

Not a chance it's better then a decade ago.
Can't even compare the sides and quality matches to then. Just because you're team won a premiership don't go getting all delusional mate. This season by a long way was probally the most boring overall from a spectator point of view. You show the AFL off to the world right now they would likely turn it off out of boredom.

 

[LoungeLizard]

Not a chance it's better then a decade ago.
Can't even compare the sides and quality matches to then. Just because you're team won a premiership don't go getting all delusional mate. This season by a long way was probally the most boring overall from a spectator point of view. You show the AFL off to the world right now they would likely turn it off out of boredom.

I may not like it, you may not like it, but that does not mean it's not better, to me it's not even footy anymore, it's this new game.

If more people are turning up, more members, who are we to say.

 

[Blackhawk42]

You show the AFL off to the world right now they would likely turn it off out of boredom.

You’d be showing it to the world who loves soccer and NFL. Not a chance they find AFL boring by comparison.

 

[TP86]

- 18 teams has lead to too much dilution of talent

Wouldn't matter if the AFL had 12 teams or 20. The talent feels diluted because of the way lists are built. Clubs will take raw talent that's not or barely ready for senior football over players that are better in the short term, but are the wrong age. Now, no club in their right mind will forgo picking a player whose current output is 5/10 but potential in 2-3 years is 8/10, for a mature player whose current output is 6/10 and ceiling is also 6/10. But replicate this decision 10-15 times per list across 18 clubs and suddenly you've got at least 150 players not in the AFL that would be an immediate short term upgrade on players that are in the system.

Basically if clubs could pick up and drop off players as they please through the season, the comp would be better game to game, week to week. The list building mentality of "set it in the offseason and strap in for a war of attrition" is one of the most harmful to week-to-week, game-to-game spectacle because it basically concedes that the best available players aren't playing at any given time.

 

[Power Raid]

The game has dropped off as it has every year since at its peak early 2000s. First let me say sometimes you do get the odd great game where you wish it was like that all season. But I'm finding those classic matches are becoming few and far between each season.

Few things that have gone which made the game great were characters and players that were allowed to be themselves and fight for the club without fines. I actually enjoyed a bit of fight in a match and players not being robots. These days they can't say or do anything without being sanctioned or fined for minor offences. And I understand the protecting for the head which I do agree needed to be implemented but some of the light stuff like jumper punches, mini fights where no one gets injuried then honestly don't see a issue with it being played out without penalties from the AFL.
Game also has become so over officiated that players are more actors then athletes. Seems most want to play for free kicks then go for the ball.

Use to be around 10-15 good matches a season around early 2000s. These days I probably could count on one hand the amount of those real quality classic matches in a season were you are so invested in it even if it's you're team or not playing. Commentators also are badly on the decline. Need to stop hiring ex AFL players and get some more professional broadcasters to call the matches to make it more appealing. Just because you played AFL doesn't mean you can commentate. It's a skill that you need to have similar to say horse calling. Some of the former AFL players these days trying to commentate without experience sound so bat sh*t dumb it gets real sickening listening and ruins the overall experience of enjoying the match.

I feel if we got rid of the coaches panel and player monitoring, we would see a return to good football.

At the end of the day I want to celebrate footballers winning a contest; not drug dealers (dank), not tactician coaches, not rotation managers etc.

Keep it simple AFL.

 

[Shane Heard]

Everything is fine with the game except the continuous pathetic performances by the league’s useless umpires.


They are ******* hopeless

 

[SplintWhisky]

Wouldn't matter if the AFL had 12 teams or 20. The talent feels diluted because of the way lists are built. Clubs will take raw talent that's not or barely ready for senior football over players that are better in the short term, but are the wrong age. Now, no club in their right mind will forgo picking a player whose current output is 5/10 but potential in 2-3 years is 8/10, for a mature player whose current output is 6/10 and ceiling is also 6/10. But replicate this decision 10-15 times per list across 18 clubs and suddenly you've got at least 150 players not in the AFL that would be an immediate short term upgrade on players that are in the system.

Basically if clubs could pick up and drop off players as they please through the season, the comp would be better game to game, week to week. The list building mentality of "set it in the offseason and strap in for a war of attrition" is one of the most harmful to week-to-week, game-to-game spectacle because it basically concedes that the best available players aren't playing at any given time.

See I would disagree. If you took the top 15 - 20 players from the GWS and GCS list and redistributed it to the other 16 clubs then I think it would only elevate the standard of football.

 

[nickcat0]

There's nothing wrong with the game, it's fantastic.

The only problem is the constant moaning of those fans who don't know how lucky they are to live in a country where they can go and watch this great sport live, as opposed to those of us who have to make do with watching it on tv and the internet.

 

[Pessimistic]

The difference? Apart from anything else the AFL going gang biters on changing rules to ‘improve the game’

as someone said they’ve given themselves a big tick but all we see are bigger panics about the spectacle and ironically more rule changes.

interchanges - all time high around 2010. Yet in our wisdom we are driving the total number down, and each time there no justification that it’s actually working.

 

[Sellout Scully]

Premiership bias aside, if we go exactly on comparing football from now to 10 years ago I would say it is generally better now.

The competition has become much more even and blowouts are less common. In 2021 North were spooners with 4 wins and a percentage of around 70.

If we look at footy in 2012 there were four teams below this percentage and a lot of thrashings which turns spectators off. Ontop of this Port were almost looking like they were going to fold and were using tarps to cover empty seats. Fast forward to now and despite pandemic and recession no clubs are in this state - North have now even become debt free.

Umpiring and goal-kicking has been at the same level for ages so I don't see any huge difference there. Do the rules change too often? Perhaps, but I can't say I would stop watching other football games as a result.

Tldr - an even comp is a better comp

 

[Falconista]

I think it's equalisation at work.

There are a lot of teams quite evenly matched now without as many powerhouses or disasters. Look at both ends of the ladder- there are only a couple of truly great teams and truly poor teams with a very bloated middle of ok teams [look at this year and the conurbations that filled 7th and 8th].

As Sellout Scully articulated above, there are less thrashings as a result. For as bad as Adelaide and North wooden spoons have been, both were so much better than the darkest Melbourne/Port Adelaide/Carlton years. Go back 10 years to 2011 where Geelong and Collingwood were brilliant there was Gold Coast and Port Adelaide stinking it up badly. Go back 20 years to two amazing squads- Essendon and Brisbane counteracted by the horrendous Freo, West Coast and St Kilda.

 

[JayJ20]

I like how the game continues to evolve tactically, and enjoy ultra-defensive games where teams are trying to break through their opponents structure, even if they aren't as high scoring.

Footy is better than a decade ago, but the rule changes and interpretations are a bit of a bug bear. It feels like the AFL are constantly trying to tweak the rules so they're more high scoring, but it never works and it means we end up with shitty rules like a stiff 50 metre penalty for a player moving 1cm of the mark.

I completely disagree. I really dislike ultra-defensive games and I think it detracts from the entertainment side of things. I find myself switching off games or not watching at all far more than I used to because of it. It slowly took away from the amount of great goals we'd see every week and then end to end goal attempts from quick players. It also decreased the skill levels across the competition.
In the past, defensive coaches like Ross Lyon and Paul Roos were boring to watch, but they were exceptions. Now, a lot of teams are boring to watch.

To me, peak football is about how well you can score and how creative players and coaches are to score.

 

[cartwright]

10 years ago I was watching 6 games on average a week
Now, it’s just saints games.
Know a few who follow different clubs who are saying the same thing.

 

[Lsta062]

Premiership bias aside, if we go exactly on comparing football from now to 10 years ago I would say it is generally better now.

The competition has become much more even and blowouts are less common. In 2021 North were spooners with 4 wins and a percentage of around 70.

If we look at footy in 2012 there were four teams below this percentage and a lot of thrashings which turns spectators off. Ontop of this Port were almost looking like they were going to fold and were using tarps to cover empty seats. Fast forward to now and despite pandemic and recession no clubs are in this state - North have now even become debt free.

Umpiring and goal-kicking has been at the same level for ages so I don't see any huge difference there. Do the rules change too often? Perhaps, but I can't say I would stop watching other football games as a result.

Tldr - an even comp is a better comp

I personally disagree. Geelong 2007-2011 and Hawthorn 2012-2015 were amazing to watch because of how ruthless they were. If a team wasn’t up to it then they would take it to a 150+ margin. To me, the pinnacle of this game is when a team destroys another team because that’s when the best footy is played. Look at Geelong’s win against Richmond in 2007 and Melbourne 2011 - amazing footy.

Although Richmond were one of the teams that regularly copped 100+ margins in the 2000s/early 2010s, I still say that the level of scoring in those days was optimal. The 90s were too high-scoring and we are now at a stage where it is too low-scoring. Teams nowadays (other than Bulldogs) no longer win by 100+ and the last time a team kicked 180+ was West Coast. Apart from the diluting of talent across more teams nowadays, there also seems to be an emphasis on athletic traits over skills IMO. Teams just don’t seem to have the skill level to kick 180+ or destroy teams by a really high margin anymore.

Bottom line to me is that less blowouts in the AFL means less scoring and less scoring means less variety in entertainment. Yes, close games can be entertaining to watch, but blowouts can also be entertaining to watch so I want a variety of entertaining matches.

 

[Billy ray]

Game is fine.
get rid of rubbery white shorts away rule and better tv commentators. Those things ruin my enjoyment of the game.
the look and sound of the game suffer

 

[theyellowsash]

- 18 teams has lead to too much dilution of talent

that cant be it. after all, all ive heard for the last 5 years is people wanting the players to get tired so they make mistakes, so poor talent clearly isnt an issue. plus your average plodder is more talented than most players from a few decades ago anyway. watching replays from the 70s and 80s or even early 90s is pretty cringeworthy.

its also interesting that youve nominated the time when interchange was at its highest as the peak of modern footy....

 

[jim boy]

I dont really see much diff in the actual game, one on one contests have long gone. Supporters wax and wane in their enthusiasm. For example if you are a long suffering supporter and you have that breakthrough premiership, then what can disappear is the 'bonding through adversity' - those underdog wins that are so special just dont happen anymore, they cant happen any more and that affects people's interest - yes new challenges will replace the old, but they are different.

And you cant ignore the impact of covid. Watching teams in empty stadiums is harder - you dont get swept along with the emotion of the crowd.

 

[Toump Ass]

I think a lot of people complaining about not seeing high scores were just a little too "offended" to enjoy the 2021 finals series maybe?

Maxy Gawn, what the * was that? 5 goals in a preliminary final? He was roving loose balls, kicking goals on the run, nailing set shots. That was ******* beautiful Australian Rules Football. It really was.

Second best team in the game got absolutely thrashed in a grand final. Melbourne literally doubled their score, 100 points in a bit over a quarter. Petracca, 39 possessions in a (BIG) game, 2 brilliant goals, that's football. That's quality viewing right there.

How much more scoring do you need?

Edit: that swearfilter, lol

 

[Foxman98]

Overall the game isn't as watchable. The new rules over the last decade are making it far too difficult for the umpires and most of which were brought in for stupid reasons i.e no 3rd man up because the ruck was "dying off" and 6-6-6 to "increase" scoring. The later has done the opposite and continues to be their go to line to increase commercials for 7 as im sure they're not too happy with low scoring competitive games. The other big one is the commentators BT as an entertainer (boundary) is fine but as a main commentator he is a joke butchers names and gets players wrong more then ever. Ling and Daisy just point out the obvious and add no substance. The other big issue that is progressively getting worse is goal accuracy, im not sure if it's down to training or more discussion about mental health and brain training but their seems to be more going on between the ears causing poor accuracy.

 

[JackFlash]

As they say up North..."Aussie Rules, what rules?" The game is almost unrecognisable to what we had at the turn of the century. The AFL have fiddled farted around with the rules so much that nobody knows what the hell is going on, let alone the umpires? The basics of the game have been diluted to such an extent that it's arguable the game is Australian Rules Football at all? The bump is a dead duck wether they say so or not, (It's only a matter of time before it's gone altogether) The rules simply don't permit it anymore without consequences.
Teams are in trouble if the slightest contact mistake is made and there will be plenty when you have 36 players on a footy field all running around madly in a body contact sport for 2 hours! I'm not sure what Gil & Co are hoping to ultimately achieve?
Yes, i'm all for protecting the head, but who is protecting the game itself? What game do we want in the future? The game is a midfielders game, will we ever see a leading, marking 100 goal full forward again? The Brownlow is pretty much irrelevant as ruckmen like Max Gawn

11

Max Gawn

Age

32

Ht

209cm

Wt

110kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.1

4star

K

7.4

3star

HB

6.7

4star

CL

2.8

4star

HO

35.3

5star

D

18.5

4star

K

11.5

4star

HB

7.0

4star

CL

3.5

4star

HO

29.2

5star

D

8.4

3star

K

3.6

2star

HB

4.8

4star

CL

1.0

3star

HO

15.6

5star

or backmen like Tom Stewart don't stand a chance, considering they can pretty much do what they want unhindered. Players are bigger and stronger than ever before, kids were just drafted at 193cm as midfielders and years ago that height would get you a gig in the ruck. You don't get that job in 2022 unless you hit 200cm plus.
So if a 193cm player accidentally runs into a 180cm player, what do they think is going to happen? We complain about the defensive style coaches employ, but do they have much choice? I don't expect anyone who has never seen a game in the 80s or 90s know what all this means. Sorry for your loss.

 

[PetterdHoisted]

The "STAND" rule did for my engagement with the game, I just can't watch that confected stupidity.

I'm still on here though, chatting about footy, and still bought a membership. So in that sense, my disengagement has no consequences for the Gill/SHocking idiocracy.

TV audiences are still as high as ever, I understand? but we probably need to wait for a non-pandemic year to really get an idea of any significant turn off due to the endless rule change debacles of recent years.