Had enough of the hot potato league

[NoobPie]

Yes, when you keep changing the rules without thinking the changes through...

How many times has the round ball game changed their rules recently? What other sport does???

The American sports do yearly, the NFL at least as much as the AFL. Rugby league is a very different sport to what it was 60 years ago due to rule changes

Soccer is a very simple, safe sport with a much more challenging rule change process. Even it has changed its rules over the last year or so

 

[MF]

I quite like the game the way it is, IMO some people look back on the game with rose colored glasses on. The coverage of the game these days is at saturation point and the media have to write about something and their go to option is always click bait gloom and doom stories.

There were just as many bad games back in the "good old days" as there is now, just that now everyone of them is analysed within an inch of its life.

I completely agree. Last night was a terrible game but overall I think the standard this season has been okay. If anything I think it's improved from a couple of season ago when we saw ball up after ball up.

Id prefer to watch an average game from today than one from the 80s too. Plenty of games back then were nothing more than kick to kick, one sided beltings or slogs in the mud.

 

[MF]

And that's exactly why nobody kicks centuries any more. It's ridiculous looking at the Ablett 1993 video - you'd have two blokes standing on him at most, but nobody actually where he was going to go.

Sheedy went closest in terms of defensive setup, with at least trying one man to "fill the hole" (good luck getting out of that intact with 1990s rules!).

Always makes me laugh when I see people ask hypotheticals like who would win out of late 80s Hawthorn or early 2000s Brisbane.

The best teams of the 80s would most likely get destroyed by current day Carlton.

 

[Dav]

How many times has the round ball game changed their rules recently? What other sport does???

Soccer has done a lot to make the sport more entertaining. They changed a win from 2 points to 3 points, outlawed goalkeepers picking up backpasses and made the offside rule a lot easier (only have to be behind last defender, not last 2).

 

[iameviljez]

Soccer has done a lot to make the sport more entertaining. They changed a win from 2 points to 3 points, outlawed goalkeepers picking up backpasses and made the offside rule a lot easier (only have to be behind last defender, not last 2).

And there are some AFL rules which now seem commonsense, but were big changes at the time. Out of bounds on the full is the very, very obvious one.

 

[Kram]

I quite like the game the way it is, IMO some people look back on the game with rose colored glasses on. The coverage of the game these days is at saturation point and the media have to write about something and their go to option is always click bait gloom and doom stories.

There were just as many bad games back in the "good old days" as there is now, just that now everyone of them is analysed within an inch of its life.

That's what Roos says, there was always crap game games every week, they just weren't on TV. Hey I'd know because I'd played in them at Fitzroy on mud heaps.

 

[iameviljez]

That's what Roos says, there was always crap game games every week, they just weren't on TV. Hey I'd know because I'd played in them at Fitzroy on mud heaps.

You could have just about planted spuds in the MCG at some point in the 80s.

Edit: In fact, Carlton are doing that right about now.

 

[Duskfire]

I quite like the game the way it is, IMO some people look back on the game with rose colored glasses on. The coverage of the game these days is at saturation point and the media have to write about something and their go to option is always click bait gloom and doom stories.

There were just as many bad games back in the "good old days" as there is now, just that now everyone of them is analysed within an inch of its life.

Agreed. That’s what I’ve been saying for years. People think back and remember only the good games, or their favourite forward kicking a bag. But realistically, the defensive pressure was abysmal and tactics were subpar.

This is just the game evolving with actual tactics. Paul Roos cane along and showed that you don’t need the best most talented team to win; slowing the game, applying defensive pressure, etc etc is viable enough. And now we just have a greater evolution of that.

People really need to stop blaming the AFL. Yes some of the rule changes haven’t been great and the game could be umpired better, but this was the exact same situation as two decades ago. The only difference is that high goal scoring was papering over the cracks due to lack of pressure.

 

[Carringbush2010]

DonewithAFL your BF name says it all yet here you are on a footy forum claiming you follow Essendon. Are you going to delete your BF account as well when you leave the game altogether?

 

[thedank]

whats the story with people wanting fewer interchanges? is the idea to have tired players out there so they won't run to every contest thus freeing the game up? sounds like a recipe for the (already lackluster skills) to get even worse with fatigue.

 

[Rabman]

What we've always lauded football for was the freedom of the game, however in the modern era its fast becoming the major achillies hill to the sport. Every other ball sport in the world has either an off side law or a zone setup like netball meaning congestion is limited. As much as i don't like rule changes the coaches aren't going to change so something might be inevitable.

 

[Obeanie1]

This is just the natural evolution of our game.

A foot in the back being called a free becuase its now deemed dangerous play is not evolution. Its stupidity.

The next game Lynch almost knocks out a guy with a knee to the head taking a mark and that fine. No problem, no chance of a major injury getting kneed in the head by a 200cm 110kg bloke running and jumping into you.

The current AFL people running the game are destroying the game.. They are so arrogant they simply refuse to admit when mistakes are made and treat the paying fans as idiots.

Time for a revolution!

 

[Obeanie1]

whats the story with people wanting fewer interchanges? is the idea to have tired players out there so they won't run to every contest thus freeing the game up? sounds like a recipe for the (already lackluster skills) to get even worse with fatigue.

There is one very simple way to fix our game.

Remove prior opportunity totally. If you get caught with the ball and dont legally get rid of it BANG free kick. Reward the tackle and encourage quick ball movement. No more rolling mauls, no more grey interpretation for the refs to work through.

You make holding the ball a black and white rule conjestion will be significantly reduced as there will be less stoppages and simply more running and spreading.

 

[greatwhiteshark]

There is one very simple way to fix our game.

Remove prior opportunity totally. If you get caught with the ball and dont legally get rid of it BANG free kick. Reward the tackle and encourage quick ball movement. No more rolling mauls, no more grey interpretation for the refs to work through.

You make holding the ball a black and white rule conjestion will be significantly reduced as there will be less stoppages and simply more running and spreading.

Are you saying that no more ball ups as player can’t get rid of it?

I don’t mind prior opportunity but it’s how long they are giving the player to dispose of it that annoys me.
Head high contact is rife in the game yet the head is supposed to be sacrosanct? They need to go back to other than a player ducking his head all above shoulder contact is a free kick. Make the coaches and players change how they tackle and stop trying to blame the bloke with the ball for causing head high contact. This would also free up the game and get the game moving.
I sit there watching games shouting at the tv that’s head high, that’s a throw, that’s holding the ball, that’s without the ball.

Very frustrating. Simple rules have been made complicated.

 

[Obeanie1]

Are you saying that no more ball ups as player can’t get rid of it?

I don’t mind prior opportunity but it’s how long they are giving the player to dispose of it that annoys me.
Head high contact is rife in the game yet the head is supposed to be sacrosanct? They need to go back to other than a player ducking his head all above shoulder contact is a free kick. Make the coaches and players change how they tackle and stop trying to blame the bloke with the ball for causing head high contact. This would also free up the game and get the game moving.
I sit there watching games shouting at the tv that’s head high, that’s a throw, that’s holding the ball, that’s without the ball.

Very frustrating. Simple rules have been made complicated.

There would still be ball ups when a loose ball is gathered by more than one player or caught under a groyp with no one in posession. But there would be much less ball ups as players will punch, kick or get the ball moving instead of 'taking a tackle' to create a ball up and crrate congestion.

Throw ins will also still happen.

The number of throws we see these days is also just wrong.....plain wrong!

Need to get back to simple black and white rles. The refs would be all for that IMO. Rules are simply to complicated these days.

 

[greatwhiteshark]

There would still be ball ups when a loose ball is gathered by more than one player or caught under a groyp with no one in posession. But there would be much less ball ups as players will punch, kick or get the ball moving instead of 'taking a tackle' to create a ball up and crrate congestion.

Throw ins will also still happen.

The number of throws we see these days is also just wrong.....plain wrong!

Need to get back to simple black and white rles. The refs would be all for that IMO. Rules are simply to complicated these days.

You have no issue with the amount of head high contact?

 

[sprockets]

Lol at the OP. Joins Bigfooty today to tell us he's no longer interested in AFL. Seems legit.

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

I don’t think I’m alone here, after 30 years of on average attending 10+ games a year.
I’ve had enough of this hot potato league, the style of game play sucks.

With every single player flooding 1/3 (even 1/4) of the ground area, too many players = hot potato football.

And don’t start me about soooo many kicks less than 15m (even less than 10 metres) all being paid as marks.!!!

It is terrible football to sit there and watch, players having to hold up the ball bcoz there are no players downfield to kick to.

Back to local footy for me

Think Freddie found BF.

 

[Kwality]

Yes, when you keep changing the rules without thinking the changes through...

How many times has the round ball game changed their rules recently? What other sport does???

What can we expect, the AFL formed a rules Committee, if it did nothing it would be disbanded, the more they change, the more relevant they are.

 

[Blue1980]

Yes, when you keep changing the rules without thinking the changes through...

How many times has the round ball game changed their rules recently? What other sport does???

Backpass rule was quite a big one around 1991 or so.

They change rules regarding fouls etc, last man who commits a foul is off, VAR for important decisions etc.

Claiming any one sport never changes rules is totally ridiculous

 

[deck]

There is one very simple way to fix our game.

Remove prior opportunity totally. If you get caught with the ball and dont legally get rid of it BANG free kick. Reward the tackle and encourage quick ball movement. No more rolling mauls, no more grey interpretation for the refs to work through.

You make holding the ball a black and white rule conjestion will be significantly reduced as there will be less stoppages and simply more running and spreading.

It sounds good in theory like most these rule changes people only see the positives. In a era where tackling and pressure is at a level light years ahead of where it was at 30 years ago. By taking away prior opportunity you are now rewarding the bloke without the ball and penalising the ball player. Do you want to see 2 blokes charge after a loose ball only to pull up and wait for the other to pickup the ball?

Also paying a lot of free kicks could lead to more players behind the ball and more stagnant and backward kick games of footy. When a free kick or mark are paid now the oppositions main aim is to hold up the player with the ball to allow teammates to get back behind the ball. This needs to be penalised more with 50 metre penaltys but that itself causes another issue with interpretation and players milking the situation as we have seen with the 5 metre exclusion zone around the kicker.

 

[RUNVS]

It sounds good in theory like most these rule changes people only see the positives. In a era where tackling and pressure is at a level light years ahead of where it was at 30 years ago. By taking away prior opportunity you are now rewarding the bloke without the ball and penalising the ball player. Do you want to see 2 blokes charge after a loose ball only to pull up and wait for the other to pickup the ball?

Also paying a lot of free kicks could lead to more players behind the ball and more stagnant and backward kick games of footy. When a free kick or mark are paid now the oppositions main aim is to hold up the player with the ball to allow teammates to get back behind the ball. This needs to be penalised more with 50 metre penaltys but that itself causes another issue with interpretation and players milking the situation as we have seen with the 5 metre exclusion zone around the kicker.

That is why you go with Clarkson's idea and have the first disposal with normal rules but the moment a player handballs it to a teammate then that action removes prior opportunity. It means players will still try and win the ball but it will also mean they won't handball it to a teammate who would get tackled almost immediately.

 

[terrybull]

There is one very simple way to fix our game.

Remove prior opportunity totally. If you get caught with the ball and dont legally get rid of it BANG free kick. Reward the tackle and encourage quick ball movement. No more rolling mauls, no more grey interpretation for the refs to work through.

You make holding the ball a black and white rule conjestion will be significantly reduced as there will be less stoppages and simply more running and spreading.

If you remove prior opportunity then nobody will pick the ball up when an opponent is near.

You’ll get a very poor man’s soccer like game.

I would like to see that marks are not counted when kicking backwards (encourage attacking football) and increase 15 meters to 20 meters for a mark to count.

 

[The Gong]

I am highly entertained by the modern game and am still in awe of the skill of the current players and I'm old enough to remember "the good old days".

Just fix the holding the ball rule.

 

[PowerForGood]

I don’t think I’m alone here, after 30 years of on average attending 10+ games a year.
I’ve had enough of this hot potato league, the style of game play sucks.

With every single player flooding 1/3 (even 1/4) of the ground area, too many players = hot potato football.

And don’t start me about soooo many kicks less than 15m (even less than 10 metres) all being paid as marks.!!!

It is terrible football to sit there and watch, players having to hold up the ball bcoz there are no players downfield to kick to.

Back to local footy for me

Just accept that the game has become something completely different to what you grew up enjoying, and either watch it passively and don't care (which I do for the most part) or just don't watch (as I did for most of today's game - when you get poor football with biased umpiring it just becomes unwatchable for me).

(And for different, I don't mean better, I mean the game is about money now, not football.)