No Oppo Supporters 2026 General AFL Discussion (Non Swans Media and Discussion)

[Adnico26Parker]

 

[bedford]

So has Jackson Archer

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Thats awful as it will impact his 2027 pre-season.

 

[Callipygian]

Next d heads will be chanting deeefence

I just got this reference to a whole new level. On Sunday arvo we took my son to the NBL game with his mate who is a basketball nuffie. We've never watched a basketball game (live or on TV) before except perhaps with the Olympics. The game was ok with some slick plays but the amount of tinned noise was off the scale. And the worst part of it was whenever the away team got the ball they played a recording of people chanting "deeeefence! deeeefence! deeefence!". It was horrible! Clearly this is a thing and I had never realised all these times reading references to "deeeefence" on here. Sometimes when the home team got the ball they started a "Go, Kings, Go!" too

I do NOT need to be told what to chant and when. If the crowd had spontaneously started chanting that stuff, whole different story.

In unsavoury fashion, they urged the crowd to boo when the away team was shooting for free throws and, at least one stage, got the home team's dancers to wave their arms around distractingly behind the backboard while the away team was taking their free throws.

They also had various activitations to get the crowd dancing (which the crowd did to an impressive degree). They managed to play Sweet Caroline (heaven help me!). They even had kiss cam. No doubt this is all being imported from the US. And it seems the bigwigs in footy think it might be a good idea to get a bit of it into footy too. **** off! Please spare us this godwaful yankee guff at the footy!

You were not allowed to bring bags bigger than a handkerchief into the venue. On entry you had to empty your pockets and walk through security scanners (like at an airport) with your hands up! You could not bring in food or drink. You couldn't even bring water! The most they would allow was for you to bring an empty plastic bottle no larger than 600 mL and fill it up inside - I only saw two drinking fountains for this purpose (for a crowd of 12,000) and one of them was broken. They charged $6.60 for a KitKat or Mars Bar and just over $10 for a bag of snakes. They did have some appealing looking pizzas - but there was a long queue and we didn't get. You had to pay for parking ($28) and then there was a huge queue to get out of the carpark at the end so you're just stuck in your car not moving for over 20 minutes.

I'm not in any hurry to repeat this experience.

The dystopian future is here.

 

[Kiama Chris]

I just got this reference to a whole new level. On Sunday arvo we took my son to the NBL game with his mate who is a basketball nuffie. We've never watched a basketball game (live or on TV) before except perhaps with the Olympics. The game was ok with some slick plays but the amount of tinned noise was off the scale. And the worst part of it was whenever the away team got the ball they played a recording of people chanting "deeeefence! deeeefence! deeefence!". It was horrible! Clearly this is a thing and I had never realised all these times reading references to "deeeefence" on here. Sometimes when the home team got the ball they started a "Go, Kings, Go!" too

I do NOT need to be told what to chant and when. If the crowd had spontaneously started chanting that stuff, whole different story.

In unsavoury fashion, they urged the crowd to boo when the away team was shooting for free throws and, at least one stage, got the home team's dancers to wave their arms around distractingly behind the backboard while the away team was taking their free throws.

They also had various activitations to get the crowd dancing (which the crowd did to an impressive degree). They managed to play Sweet Caroline (heaven help me!). They even had kiss cam. No doubt this is all being imported from the US. And it seems the bigwigs in footy think it might be a good idea to get a bit of it into footy too. **** off! Please spare us this godwaful yankee guff at the footy!

You were not allowed to bring bags bigger than a handkerchief into the venue. On entry you had to empty your pockets and walk through security scanners (like at an airport) with your hands up! You could not bring in food or drink. You couldn't even bring water! The most they would allow was for you to bring an empty plastic bottle no larger than 600 mL and fill it up inside - I only saw two drinking fountains for this purpose (for a crowd of 12,000) and one of them was broken. They charged $6.60 for a KitKat or Mars Bar and just over $10 for a bag of snakes. They did have some appealing looking pizzas - but there was a long queue and we didn't get. You had to pay for parking ($28) and then there was a huge queue to get out of the carpark at the end so you're just stuck in your car not moving for over 20 minutes.

I'm not in any hurry to repeat this experience.

The dystopian future is here.

I went once about 30 years ago. That's the end of the story. Awful. Don't like the game, let alone all that rubbish.

 

[bedford]

I just got this reference to a whole new level. On Sunday arvo we took my son to the NBL game with his mate who is a basketball nuffie. We've never watched a basketball game (live or on TV) before except perhaps with the Olympics. The game was ok with some slick plays but the amount of tinned noise was off the scale. And the worst part of it was whenever the away team got the ball they played a recording of people chanting "deeeefence! deeeefence! deeefence!". It was horrible! Clearly this is a thing and I had never realised all these times reading references to "deeeefence" on here. Sometimes when the home team got the ball they started a "Go, Kings, Go!" too

I do NOT need to be told what to chant and when. If the crowd had spontaneously started chanting that stuff, whole different story.

In unsavoury fashion, they urged the crowd to boo when the away team was shooting for free throws and, at least one stage, got the home team's dancers to wave their arms around distractingly behind the backboard while the away team was taking their free throws.

They also had various activitations to get the crowd dancing (which the crowd did to an impressive degree). They managed to play Sweet Caroline (heaven help me!). They even had kiss cam. No doubt this is all being imported from the US. And it seems the bigwigs in footy think it might be a good idea to get a bit of it into footy too. **** off! Please spare us this godwaful yankee guff at the footy!

You were not allowed to bring bags bigger than a handkerchief into the venue. On entry you had to empty your pockets and walk through security scanners (like at an airport) with your hands up! You could not bring in food or drink. You couldn't even bring water! The most they would allow was for you to bring an empty plastic bottle no larger than 600 mL and fill it up inside - I only saw two drinking fountains for this purpose (for a crowd of 12,000) and one of them was broken. They charged $6.60 for a KitKat or Mars Bar and just over $10 for a bag of snakes. They did have some appealing looking pizzas - but there was a long queue and we didn't get. You had to pay for parking ($28) and then there was a huge queue to get out of the carpark at the end so you're just stuck in your car not moving for over 20 minutes.

I'm not in any hurry to repeat this experience.

The dystopian future is here.

How true , have you got a journalistic background , as you can churn it out and im not being a smartarse in my Deeefence

 

[joeykanga]

I just got this reference to a whole new level. On Sunday arvo we took my son to the NBL game with his mate who is a basketball nuffie. We've never watched a basketball game (live or on TV) before except perhaps with the Olympics. The game was ok with some slick plays but the amount of tinned noise was off the scale. And the worst part of it was whenever the away team got the ball they played a recording of people chanting "deeeefence! deeeefence! deeefence!". It was horrible! Clearly this is a thing and I had never realised all these times reading references to "deeeefence" on here. Sometimes when the home team got the ball they started a "Go, Kings, Go!" too

I do NOT need to be told what to chant and when. If the crowd had spontaneously started chanting that stuff, whole different story.

In unsavoury fashion, they urged the crowd to boo when the away team was shooting for free throws and, at least one stage, got the home team's dancers to wave their arms around distractingly behind the backboard while the away team was taking their free throws.

They also had various activitations to get the crowd dancing (which the crowd did to an impressive degree). They managed to play Sweet Caroline (heaven help me!). They even had kiss cam. No doubt this is all being imported from the US. And it seems the bigwigs in footy think it might be a good idea to get a bit of it into footy too. **** off! Please spare us this godwaful yankee guff at the footy!

You were not allowed to bring bags bigger than a handkerchief into the venue. On entry you had to empty your pockets and walk through security scanners (like at an airport) with your hands up! You could not bring in food or drink. You couldn't even bring water! The most they would allow was for you to bring an empty plastic bottle no larger than 600 mL and fill it up inside - I only saw two drinking fountains for this purpose (for a crowd of 12,000) and one of them was broken. They charged $6.60 for a KitKat or Mars Bar and just over $10 for a bag of snakes. They did have some appealing looking pizzas - but there was a long queue and we didn't get. You had to pay for parking ($28) and then there was a huge queue to get out of the carpark at the end so you're just stuck in your car not moving for over 20 minutes.

I'm not in any hurry to repeat this experience.

The dystopian future is here.

The booing of free shots is pretty normal for any game of basketball anywhere. Dont fans boo and make the noise when Afl players line up for shots. I feel like you're being a bit precious. Its pretty accepted practice. I feel like most basketball players accept booing for free throws as standard fare.
Also Hungry Jacks sponsors the missed free throws so the crowd just wants their free cheese burgers for two missed free throws.

 

[Former Decathlete]

Lloyd, Rampe and Cunningham have all been great servants of the club. Have given their all. In saying that, I hope that none of them are in the top 23 by mid season and other options have gone past them as offering more.

Will be interested to see how the younger brigade of players take their chance, particularly in the back half. Snell, Andrew, Kyle, Edwards among others.

Edit: A 23 I'd like to see by the end of the year:

B: Wicks - Melican or Serong - Bice
HB: McInerney - McCartin - Blakey
C: Jordan - Mills - Gulden
HF: Cleary - McDonald - Datolli
F: Papley - Curnow - Rosas
Foll: Grundy - Heeney - Ch. Warner
I/C: One of Ladhams or Amartey - (7th forward and also back up ruck) - One of Rowbottom or Sheldrick (4th inside mid) - Campbell (3rd outside mid/winger) - Kyle (7th defender) - Cootee or Phillipou (utility livewire)

Won't happen due to names left out such as Roberts, McLean, one of Rowbottom or Sheldrick and the three veterans mentioned at the start of the post. Also the inexperience of players like Kyle. Phillipou and Cootee but the general idea of it is I'd like to see a more dynamic and fast paced team, as opposed to the 'one-pacedness' of the players omitted.

Also younger types specifically in the front half like Cleary, Datolli and Cootee would help to add more pressure on the opposition than we have had previously and also some extra zip around the ground.

Will be curious to see if the rookies Kyle, Phillipou and Cootee in particular can make any type of impression early in the year in the VFL.

Serong will be a certain starter

 

[Dubai Quacker]

The booing of free shots is pretty normal for any game of basketball anywhere. Dont fans boo and make the noise when Afl players line up for shots. I feel like you're being a bit precious. Its pretty accepted practice. I feel like most basketball players accept booing for free throws as standard fare.
Also Hungry Jacks sponsors the missed free throws so the crowd just wants their free cheese burgers for two missed free throws.

The worst things in the world:

1. War
2. Famine
3. Basketball
4. Pestilence

 

[frankee]

What will the basketball do next? Give out sponsored pieces of cardboard that you can clap?

 

[dosser]

I went once about 30 years ago. That's the end of the story. Awful. Don't like the game, let alone all that rubbish.

I was a guest of one of my suppliers in their corporate box for a Melbourne United game last year. Fortunately, everything was paid for so i didn't experience what you did there, but the box next to me contained people who were obviously 'colourful businessmen' and I was told this was not uncommon.

I also couldn't get through the culture shock of the noise, lights and crowd participation, but i saw that all the kids there did.

I came away from the game with the immortal words of Paul Roos in my mind: "Yeah, nah..."

 

[zyzzbruh]

NBA, MLB and NFL are the most horrendous sports on the face of this earth, they're and absolute pain to watch. It really does baffle me the amount of attention it gets here in Aus let alone anywhere outside of their low IQ hole of a nation. I get that the bright lights and stardom suck the young kids in, but doesn't change the fact the sports themselves are a frustrating to watch bore fest.

 

[Jewelsbon]

The worst things in the world:

1. War
2. Famine
3. Basketball
4. Pestilence

I'll take basketball every day of the week over the snorefest also known as soccer. I know it's the most popular sport in the world but how anyone can sit and watch something for 90 minutes and still be 0-0 at the end astounds me

 

[joeykanga]

What will the basketball do next? Give out sponsored pieces of cardboard that you can clap?

I love those

 

[LukeParkerno1]

I'll take basketball every day of the week over the snorefest also known as soccer. I know it's the most popular sport in the world but how anyone can sit and watch something for 90 minutes and still be 0-0 at the end astounds me

I know people love soccer but I'm the same, I just don't get how one game can be a 0-0 draw and then the next game it happens oh lets do some shootout so some plod actually scores for once. I'll half watch a WC or something but then again I wouldn't care if I missed every game

 

[joeykanga]

I'll take basketball every day of the week over the snorefest also known as soccer. I know it's the most popular sport in the world but how anyone can sit and watch something for 90 minutes and still be 0-0 at the end astounds me

To be fair 0-0 draws as more infrequent than an Essendon, North Melbourne, West Coast snooze fest. I used to watch so much soccer and now probably only just watch the soceroos games.
As for basketball it has skills by the bucketload. And a game can look lost and be won with amazing plays and skills. If one's hearing the noise than one will never get what an amazing game it is to watch. I hear the noise but its background noise to the excitement of a game.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

To be fair 0-0 draws as more infrequent than an Essendon, North Melbourne, West Coast snooze fest. I used to watch so much soccer and now probably only just watch the soceroos games.
As for basketball it has skills by the bucketload. And a game can look lost and be won with amazing plays and skills. If one's hearing the noise than one will never get what an amazing game it is to watch. I hear the noise but its background noise to the excitement of a game.

Problem with basketball isn't so much that, it's the 'foul baiting'. Now let it be said I do not blame a single player they are playing according to the rules, but games get unwatchable when it's getting to the free throw line every 5 seconds. The NBA has a huge issue in this and fans are this close to blowing a casket. I don't blame OKC or Luka or whoever, it's the rules committee

 

[zyzzbruh]

I'll take basketball every day of the week over the snorefest also known as soccer. I know it's the most popular sport in the world but how anyone can sit and watch something for 90 minutes and still be 0-0 at the end astounds me

I would argue that a game where intentional fouls are used as a tactic (to try and put oneself into a position to win), is more of a nonsensical occurrence than a 0-0 draw. The amount of fouls that occur in the NBA in general is just astounding, and they talk about the big forwards as the games greats when the rules literally allow them to walk to the rim with any touch of a hair resulting in free throws, not to mention point guards being allowed to run without bouncing the ball. It's an absolutely horrifically officiated sport, genuinely don't understand how people can willingly sit back, watch it, and make sense of it - on top of sitting through a timeout every 30 seconds.

Soccer as a sport is pretty cool, what lets it down dramatically is the time wasting. On average out of the 90 mins, only 55mins is spent with the ball actually in play. I think if games legitimately went for 90 mins then you'd very likely see less 0-0 results. So brings to question the extra time thing - how on earth do they come up with a random number to add as extra time that in no way shape or form resembles the actual time requiring to be added on? baffles me. It's 2026 just have a live rolling clock that stops every time the ball is out of play, and the game is over when it hits 90 mins. All of a sudden time wasting, rolling on the floor, kicking the ball out, guarding the ball on the touch line etc would all go out the window.

Maybe the AFL's officiating problems aren't that big afterall..

 

[zyzzbruh]

Problem with basketball isn't so much that, it's the 'foul baiting'. Now let it be said I do not blame a single player they are playing according to the rules, but games get unwatchable when it's getting to the free throw line every 5 seconds. The NBA has a huge issue in this and fans are this close to blowing a casket. I don't blame OKC or Luka or whoever, it's the rules committee

Also the fouls that occur every 15 seconds of play where you need a microscope to actually see the contact that occured.

 

[joeykanga]

Also the fouls that occur every 15 seconds of play where you need a microscope to actually see the contact that occured.

I think the fouls even out. Its rare to see them go one way like you see in an AFL game where its clearly often being officiated differently for both sides. It is non contact sport with lots of contact and they do a good job for the most allowing some contact.
The fouls dont faze me as much as the ones plucked out from nowhere in an AFL game.
And after all thats what makes basketball exciting, the timeouts, the tactics , the impossible comebacks and improbable losses. The skillset in most basketball games is high.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

I think the fouls even out. Its rare to see them go one way like you see in an AFL game where its clearly often being officiated differently for both sides. It is non contact sport with lots of contact and they do a good job for the most allowing some contact.
The fouls dont faze me as much as the ones plucked out from nowhere in an AFL game.
And after all thats what makes basketball exciting, the timeouts, the tactics , the impossible comebacks and improbable losses. The skillset in most basketball games is high.

At least the AFL ones have contact, we have a 120kilo Jokic flopping around like he's been hit by a truck every 3 seconds out there. Go back to the 90's officiating, much better, earn the fouls and stop rewarding diving. It's become more and more like soccer where the better you fake it the more you are rewarded.

 

[McGowan3]

I think the fouls even out. Its rare to see them go one way like you see in an AFL game where its clearly often being officiated differently for both sides. It is non contact sport with lots of contact and they do a good job for the most allowing some contact.
The fouls dont faze me as much as the ones plucked out from nowhere in an AFL game.
And after all thats what makes basketball exciting, the timeouts, the tactics , the impossible comebacks and improbable losses. The skillset in most basketball games is high.

Agree the skill level in the NBA is off the charts. Went to a Celtics Knicks game in Boston some years back and was able to stand close to the court when they were warming up. Also, the size of the players was astounding. Steph Curry, for example, looks really small on the court but in normal life he quite a big guy at 190cm. LeBron James is Max Gawn height but his speed and athleticism is amazing. Getting a bit past it now.

 

[rustycrate]

The worst things in the world:

1. War
2. Famine
3. Basketball
4. Pestilence

1. Politicians
2. The fact that rich people/companies can always pay little/no tax
3. Famine
4. Basketball

 

[SydneyBlood]

NBA, MLB and NFL are the most horrendous sports on the face of this earth, they're and absolute pain to watch. It really does baffle me the amount of attention it gets here in Aus let alone anywhere outside of their low IQ hole of a nation. I get that the bright lights and stardom suck the young kids in, but doesn't change the fact the sports themselves are a frustrating to watch bore fest.

Only ask out of curiosity, are you a cricket fan? I find parallels between cricket and baseball where once you know the nuances of each sport, they become more enjoyable. As opposed to seeming tedious to a casual fan.

 

[SydneyBlood]

I'll take basketball every day of the week over the snorefest also known as soccer. I know it's the most popular sport in the world but how anyone can sit and watch something for 90 minutes and still be 0-0 at the end astounds me

I like both (along with AFL and many others). I find the nil - nil argument after 90 minutes a bit the same as people saying how can a cricket game not have a result after 5 days (30 hours playing time). For mine, it depends on the circumstances in each game as to whether it's boring or not. Some draws more exciting and hard fought than a lopsided win for examples.