Aussie Rules position play

[TexFooty]

Was looking around the AFL site and noticed that there's not much info on individual position play/stats. I was trying to find out who played fullback for a few different teams and couldn't find anything outside of a general 'defenseman' comment or a mention in an article.

Got me thinking that maybe this is one thing that could be done to help educate people about the game. Looking at the NFL each position is broken down and you can look at the best WR, QB, etc. Not that the AFL needs to be that specialized but it would be nice to know who plays where and what each position does..

Just an idea. I know that players often change positions in a game but that would be good info to know too.

 

[MSB ROYS]

Hi TexFooty,

I suppose that it is quite difficult to keep stats on an individual position as in the rules there are no set positions except for the bounce of the ball in the centre (there must only be 4 players inside the square) and at a kick out (one person kicking the ball from the goal square).

Having said that - some of the players do keep quite set field positions like full back and forward, centre half forward and back and the ruck. Comparing these guys should be straightforward.

One can also look at the other mid field players stats but that is complicated as they swap all the time both off the bench and with other players. There maybe a midfiled roatation of up to 8 players.

Also, a team may play a extra player or players in defense. The line between wing and half forward flank can sometimes be blurred as well. I suppose this is why 16 a side is quite popular and is the game of choice on a smaller ground! In fact the old VFA (now VFL) in Victoria played with 16 players for years.

To know where people play you can look at the way the teams are picked before the game. See the AFL website on a Friday morning as teams are picked on Thursday night. Beware sometime players are deliberately picked in the wrong position to "confuse" the oppisition!

Hope I answered your question.

Mark

 

[TexFooty]

Mark,

Good stuff, that helps. I think you point out indirectly that they are just two different games. Only getting to see the AFL on Fox (when they acutally show it) you don't see a lot of what happens around the ground and I still don't quite understand all the tatics of rotating players, etc.

Your point about players being in the wrong postion - are they not required to start in a specific spot or do AFL teams only have to turn in a list of who is playing but now 'where' they are playing?

I don't think we've ever had a game with real wingers so wont have to worry about that!

 

[Goat]

Yep, AFL teams have to submit the names of their 22 players, and are named in some nominal starting position, but there is no real expectation for them to start there. I'd even say that it is rare for every single player to line up where they were named. It wouldn't make much sense. If a coach named 5 talls forwards at the same time as their opponent named their normal defence, then as the game starts you'd have short guys on talls. It wouldn't happen. The coach would have his real starting line up in mind, and the players/coach would make last minute adjustments as they see where the opposition are lining up. As a small forward / onballer who sometimes gets banished to the back pocket, if I go there and all the full forward line is 6 foot something, I'd shout at one of the half backs to come and swap with me (and then I'm one step closer to the forward line!).

I believe they can change the 22 as well, but only if there is a last minute withdrawal through injury, else the club is fined.

I've often thought that footy on TV is quite different to being there, especially being up in a stand seeing the whole ground. In a way it is a very difficult sport to capture. When at a game watching, I often look up the field to see who is leading etc. The telecast sometimes tries to show that by switching to a view up the field, but then they miss a quick handball off or whatever - and where up the field do you focus - the full forward may do nothing as the pocket leads instead. I think they try to show more angles during the finals and Grand Final.

I think it would be much easier to sell footy if people saw an AFL game from the stands, THEN watched it on TV. TV alone could easily give the impression of a chaotic mess. I guess NFL may have similar problems, but at least the field is smaller and the play stops and starts so the producer gets a chance to show where everyone is.

You could do stats like how many yards the ball is carried by a winger etc, but there are a lot of other variables involved in whether they played a good game. Also, historically Aussie Rules has been about the team, not individuals, even from the spectator point of view, except for maybe full forwards and the occasional star who people follow more closely. It's only the last few years that all these stats such as kicks / marks / handballs / clangers etc have been kept. When they started counting kicks people said "yeah, but how many were effective", as in, not straight to the opposition. So then they had "effective kicks". But is a clearing 60m tumble kick out of the goalsquare that the opposition get next better than nothing at all?

Footy remains a very subjective game - from measuring performance to paying free kicks.

 

[TexFooty]

Goat,

Good point on the stats. I still think something that maybe ranked or just listed positions even if a team format (best defense) might help when introducing people to the game.

 

[bull]

Back to the first point, is there anywhere on any website, a page that describes what players in specific positions are required to do. A kind of "how to be a forward/back/centre player for dummies" thing? Here in Ireland a lot of new fellas introducerd to the game get confused as to what they're supposed to be doing in a match (especially if they don't have a GAA background, and a lot of them don't) and subsequently positional selection goes on attributes like he can kick straight so we'll put him in the forward pocket or he can't do anything much so we'll use him as a backman etc.....

 

[cckid]

There is a video out call "position play" available through the AFL at the very least. For new players to the game it is quite good.

 

[Goat]

Originally posted by bull
Back to the first point, is there anywhere on any website, a page that describes what players in specific positions are required to do. A kind of "how to be a forward/back/centre player for dummies" thing? Here in Ireland a lot of new fellas introducerd to the game get confused as to what they're supposed to be doing in a match (especially if they don't have a GAA background, and a lot of them don't) and subsequently positional selection goes on attributes like he can kick straight so we'll put him in the forward pocket or he can't do anything much so we'll use him as a backman etc.....

At amateur level coaches often aren't much more complicated than that!

Must admit, when I had a go at Gaelic, I didn't know what my positional requirements were... so I just treated it like footy. At half forward I just played like a wingman (Gaelic doesn't have the wing as an actual position)... seemed to work okay.

Maybe a job for the IAFC to come up with a simple position play book.

 

[Kokoda]

Position play

Bull,
Found this in my archives from somewhere - Basic stuff - Hope you get something out of it
Yep, lots to be done Internationally---

Purposes of Players Positions
All players should contest the ball when its within their vicinity (unless playing to alternative coaching instructions). Other general purposes of player positions according to line are:

Full Forward: Attack the goal, Trap the ball in the area

Half Forward: Attack the goal, Set up scoring shots, Trap the ball further forward - then hold, Trap the ball in the area

Centre Line: Attack the goal, Set up scoring shots, Recover the ball from the backline, Trap the ball further forward - then hold, Trap the ball in the area

Half Back: Hold the ball in the area, Attack - clear ball forwards, Recover ball from backline

Full back: Hold the ball in the area, Attack - clear ball forwards

No “padding” is worn. Mouth guards, soft protective headgear and shin guards are permitted. Other protection or medical appliances require prior approval;. All Jewelry is prohibited as a health hazard.

www.aussierules-international.com

 

[bull]

Cheers fella, it makes sense in a way but it's nice to have it written down all the same. Now all we have to do is to find some lads who can kick a 50m goal and we're away!!
Actually if any of you guys just happen to be passing through Mullingar on a long term visit to Ireland and fancy a kick with the Tigers just let me know! We even have our own guernseys** which are pretty damn cool...

*this is in no way to be construed as a bribe*

 

[SethMc]

Understanding the nature of "your job" on the field is crucial to having a truly successful "team" at any level. In the US some sides have a number of Australians and they can do pretty well without much "team" play, but a fit bunch of Americans who "know their job" and can execute will win most of the time. Having said that, there aren't many sides with Americans that really know what their job is on the ground.

Some of this is due to differences in terminology. A recently heard an Aussie coach telling Americans about a "zone defence". He was talking about players sticking with their men who are playing in their particular part of the ground. The Americans were confused as "zone" over here means protect a certain part of the court or field and don't stick to the man too close. Australians are so used to their terminology, sayings, and cliches that they don't understand that a non-Australian might not see things the same way with the same words.

Once you get over the language barrier...no worries!

 

[dj21]

That australian guy just doesn't know what a zone defence is rather than there being a translation problem. As far as I know 'zone defence' is an american (maybe soccer) term that we now use. But it's meaning is always the same: defend a particular zone. Man to man is an alternative to zone defence not the same.

 

[Goat]

I agree that zone defence means defend a general area - and that means cover any player that comes into the zone. But it can vary from coach to coach I imagine. If someone comes into that area, do you run to them and stick side by side whilst they are in the zone, or do you "zone off" them, i.e. stay kind of near them, close enough so that if a pass goes to them, you have time to rush in and spoil unless the pass is a beauty, whilst still being able to cover the general area. The latter is the kind of zone often used by AFL sides for the kick out after a behind has been scored.

 

[Goat]

I was thinking of writing a more indepth article for www.aussierules-football.com regarding player roles, but found a pretty good run down of the positions (including the more traditional role versus the modern role that has emerged in recent years) at the IAFC site:

http://www.iafc.com.au/g_players.html

For people who haven't grown up with the game, it is interesting to note that it used to be much less free flowing, with players much more likely to hold set positions on the ground. With the increased athleticism of the modern AFL, players have started to run out of position more, backing their teammates to maintain possession through better skills, e.g. so that defenders can afford the risk of leaving their opponent. This style has flowed down to lower grades of footy, but with lower skill levels and probably less established game plans, many a player has received a harsh message from the coach for not staying on their man. Certainly (well in my opinion) the gulf between the elite level and amateur leagues is growing each year. So when overseas players watch the AFL, the style is something they should aspire to, but definitely don't be disillusioned if things don't run so smoothly.

A classic example is kicking across the face of the defensive goal. To get the ball in one pocket in defence and kick across to the other would result in the player been hung, drawn and quartered. The risk of a turnover and opposition goal was too great. Now it happens tens of times every game in the AFL, and is a crucial part of switching play across the ground to create space and loose players. Whether this is considered acceptable play at amateur/country league level will probably depend on the coach.