Analysis How the state of the game has evolved, is the increased rate of injuries a result of of the evolution

[NoobPie]

Fair enough that people don't like seeing the high degrees of congestion and play break down (and subsequent messiness) that probably accounts for 10% of game play now but anyone who states that "the game is just a rolling maul of 36 players" is not actually observing the game

I mean, they're sitting therr with their eye balls pointing at the direction of the TV, no doubt, but they aren't actively observing

 

[shaqsuns]

They increased yes but the big jump was 08-09 which went from 60 to 80 plus


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[Lavender Bushranger]

I've said it once (actually more than once), and I'll say it again.....

The AFL must reduce the influence that coaches have over game day.

Buckley said it all when he said it.

I watched the Lions vs. Collingwood and actually enjoyed it. Great contest, decent skill level, good passages of play, quite offensive in nature and a tight finish.

Then Buckley, who tries to tell us that the game is in great shape - says after the game that it wasn't a great game to watch because too many goals were scored. The defence wasn't good enough.

And therein lies the problem. The entire problem summarised right there.

The COACHES ARE THE PROBLEM!!

No matter what rule changes or tinkering is done, the coaches will find ways to ruin the game. Why? Two reasons:

1) It's their job to win. That's what they're paid to do. And they're good at at.
2) They value defence or offence.

So no matter what changes the AFL implement, the coaches will continue to find ways to reduce the natural flow of the game. They hate the natural flow of the game. It makes them shudder.

They want to reduce the basic execution of fundamental skills. Allowing the opposition to execute fundamental skills of the game is bad defence.

The coach's idea of a good game to watch, is a 1 goal to 0 win for their team.


It's simple:

No runners.
No 1/4 time address.
No 3/4 time address.
Each player only gets 1 rest per half.

The coaches must use their prowess to teach the players the basics of football during the week. How to kick, how to mark, how to influence the game by utilising the fundamental skills of football.
The coaches no longer spend all week teaching athletes where to stand on the ground during certain times of the game, and ignoring the basic skills of football.

Footballers will be playing football against other footballers. Pitting player versus player. Not pitting boring, shitty defensive tactics against boring defensive tactics every week.

Suddenly, a Luke Hodge or a Nick Riewoldt would become an incredibly valuable commodity.


I don't blame the coaches as such, as they're only doing their job. But the hideous mess we see on TV every week is purely a result of them.

 

[VicPark Bitter]

Then Buckley, who tries to tell us that the game is in great shape - says after the game that it wasn't a great game to watch because too many goals were scored. The defence wasn't good enough.

You know it was a good game of footy when the losing team kicks over 100 pts.
who gives a s**t how many goals the opposition kicks as long as your team kicks more!
That's how footy works, the team that kicks the most goals wins.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

You know it was a good game of footy when the losing team kicks over 100 pts.
who gives a s**t how many goals the opposition kicks as long as your team kicks more!
That's how footy works, the team that kicks the most goals wins.

I do.

I don't barrack for either team. So I don't really care who wins - I'm looking to be entertained.


Unfortunately, it's people being entertained that pays the bills these days. And this is why the whole 'state of the game' debate is raging.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

I don't barrack for either team. So I don't really care who wins - I'm looking to be entertained.

Unfortunately, it's people being entertained that pays the bills these days. And this is why the whole 'state of the game' debate is raging.

This pretty much says it all about today's game. Those of us who watched the Collingwood v Brisbane game were thoroughly entertained by it. Fast, open, plenty of goals, it was great to watch. After the match, Buckley described the game as "ugly to watch". No Bucks, it wasn't. This is how coaches view entertaining games.

 

[H2F]

It’s one thing. The fact every player has to run 10-15km

 

[H2F]

Takes away about 90 percent of the talent ...

Almost all the past greats wouldn’t even get drafted. Yet we’re left with players who cannot even kick, mark or handball we’ll.

 

[Kirkswan]

First, I should say that I don't have an issue with the current state of the game, I love watching it... good games, bad games and all those middle of the roaders.

However, if people really think that the game should be 'fixed' somehow, then we need some less simplistic measures. They players association will not allow for the rotations to be reduced further. I'm sure there will be stats somewhere, but it appears to me that each year we reduce the rotations, the number of significant injuries increases... and that cannot be considered good for the game. Any rules introduced to protect the players will stay, or be upgraded to provide further protection. There is zero chance that this will be otherwise.

Sure the game may be considered a bit congested at the moment, but it will pass, no need to do anything at all. Already Richmond has come up with a solution to 'de-congest' the game for the most part, and other teams will surely follow; just as they did with the Hawks for the last 10 years. As the game transitions from era to era, we have periods of not all that attractive footy, but still exciting and memorable; still containing breathtaking feats of courage, unbelievable marks and goals.

The 'current' state of the game is by definition a very small period... give it a year or two (perhaps 5 at the outside) and it will have moved on. Patience is all that is required imo.

 

[NoobPie]

This pretty much says it all about today's game. Those of us who watched the Collingwood v Brisbane game were thoroughly entertained by it. Fast, open, plenty of goals, it was great to watch. After the match, Buckley described the game as "ugly to watch". No Bucks, it wasn't. This is how coaches view entertaining games.

No, Buckley didn't describe it as "ugly to watch"

He said it "wasn't pleasant viewing from our perspective" and then went on to explain that it was due to defensive inadequacies

I'm sure shootouts were frustrating for coaches back in the semi professional days as well

 

[NoobPie]

Takes away about 90 percent of the talent ...

Almost all the past greats wouldn’t even get drafted. Yet we’re left with players who cannot even kick, mark or handball we’ll.

Good lord that is utter nonsense

 

[Carringbush2010]

I agree with BT on this one; as soon as there's a stoppage be it ball up or boundary, the rules committee needs to have the ump restart play as soon as he /she has the ball. Forget the ruck nominating to the ump, if and when a team puts a 3rd man up that's a fee kick - the onus is on the teams to work out the ruck at stoppages. (I'm sure teams wouldn't mind that!)

What this will do is lessen congestion around the stoppage by restarting play before too many players arrive at the stoppage.

Also, the rules committee needs to have the ump pay incorrect disposal / possessing the ball too long in tackle more often. There are many examples of players being tackled and going around 360 degrees and get a mongrel kick or handball and then congestion / stoppage ensues. Same for incorrect disposal in tackles, how many times has a player with prior been tackled only for the ball to spill to the deck and then congestion / stoppage ensues?

Pay these and the congestion disappears, teams reset and away we go again.

These are simple fixes and much more digestible than zoning, reducing interchange (which IMO would increase fatigue then lower DE then a stoppage) or reducing the amount of players on the field.

 

[Carringbush2010]

Buckley described the game as "ugly to watch". No Bucks, it wasn't.

You're missing one important comment from Buckley, he did state it was "ugly to watch from our perspective" . He then went on to explain that we were very poor defensively - in fact the worst this year. In the coaches mind that's the ugly bit from a team point of view.

 

[footyfan1978]

It’s one thing. The fact every player has to run 10-15km

That is because of the 4 interchange spots being used that way for rotations.
Take away rotations and it will naturally see less congestion happen as not every player will be coached to run up and down the ground as they do now.

 

[footyfan1978]

I've said it once (actually more than once), and I'll say it again.....

The AFL must reduce the influence that coaches have over game day.

You are right but once again that comes back to coaches using the bench to rotate players on and off that was never designed to be part of the game but has happened anyway by the neglect of the games custodians over the last 20 years.

 

[NoobPie]

I agree with BT on this one; as soon as there's a stoppage be it ball up or boundary, the rules committee needs to have the ump restart play as soon as he /she has the ball. Forget the ruck nominating to the ump, if and when a team puts a 3rd man up that's a fee kick - the onus is on the teams to work out the ruck at stoppages. (I'm sure teams wouldn't mind that!)

What this will do is lessen congestion around the stoppage by restarting play before too many players arrive at the stoppage.

Also, the rules committee needs to have the ump pay incorrect disposal / possessing the ball too long in tackle more often. There are many examples of players being tackled and going around 360 degrees and get a mongrel kick or handball and then congestion / stoppage ensues. Same for incorrect disposal in tackles, how many times has a player with prior been tackled only for the ball to spill to the deck and then congestion / stoppage ensues?

Pay these and the congestion disappears, teams reset and away we go again.

These are simple fixes and much more digestible than zoning, reducing interchange (which IMO would increase fatigue then lower DE then a stoppage) or reducing the amount of players on the field.

Great post.

1. Pay holding the ball more
2. If no free kick, call for a ball up as soon as play breaks down (rather than wait 15 seconds until the ball is buried under a pack of 12 players or after 7 dropping the balls with no prior occur before a team clears)
3. Throw it up straightaway and pay a free kick if a second team mate comes into contact with the other ruck.

 

[Carringbush2010]

Great post.

1. Pay holding the ball more
2. If no free kick, call for a ball up as soon as play breaks down (rather than wait 15 seconds until the ball is buried under a pack of 12 players or after 7 dropping the balls with no prior occur before a team clears)
3. Throw it up straightaway and pay a free kick if a second team mate comes into contact with the other ruck.

And that will speed the game up remarkably - with simple; in fact already there rules that just aren't being applied as they should be.

 

[Macpotata]

last week Jordan Lewis was saying that everyone loves finals footy when it's tough, locked down and low scoring. So what is everyone complaining about these days. Well these days it's far to congested and the fact that it's tight doesn't mean it resembles finals. It's more a gigantic pack of seagulls fighting over a chip.


West Coast vs Freo two weeks ago. That was a like a final. It was tough, tight, but it was a good game with decent football.

There's a big difference Jordan.

 

[Furn2]

The question that needs to be asked is if there was a coach that wanted to play a more open style with some positional play using proper footballers, what would make it more likely that he could succeed?

 

[Plat]

Evolution is a mystery.

 

[afl genius]

Great post.

1. Pay holding the ball more
2. If no free kick, call for a ball up as soon as play breaks down (rather than wait 15 seconds until the ball is buried under a pack of 12 players or after 7 dropping the balls with no prior occur before a team clears)
3. Throw it up straightaway and pay a free kick if a second team mate comes into contact with the other ruck.

You could easily fix 3 straightaway too. AFL just says we wont bother with nomination any more for the rest of the year. Bam done

 

[yeahmate]

No change to rules needed. Just go back to the old interpretations that, ironically, were altered by the AFL to make the game more free flowing up but have instead led to the congestion.

1. Pay incorrect disposal. If you are tackled and drop or throw the ball free kick against, not play on. Give the the ball player more leeway on prior opportunity to encourage players going for the ball and not being afraid to hold on to it.
2. Throw the ball up straight away, no ruck nomination.
3. Pay in the back. If the ball player gets jumped on by second man in to a tackle and pushed into the ground pay it as in the back.

So pretty much the way it used to be

 

[Leeda]

Zones dude would reduce a number of congested, in the back, high tackle, leg inflection, head tossing, petulant stamping, ramming over the
boundary line, undue pressure in the goal square, crashing a bomb in the point post.

that's just to start with.

 

[Carringbush2010]

Zones dude would reduce a number of congested, in the back, high tackle, leg inflection, head tossing, petulant stamping, ramming over the
boundary line, undue pressure in the goal square, crashing a bomb in the point post.

that's just to start with.

Better still how about we apply the rules as they should be, for example if you have prior are tackled and the ball spills out and causes congestion. If the rule is applied as it should be then that's a free and the game opens again.

Example; if you have prior and are tackled and spun around 360 only to get a spud kick or handball that causes congestion. If the rule is applied as it should be then that's a free and the game opens again.

How many times in a game have we seen these scenario's cause congestion?

In the case of a stoppage at a ball up or boundary instead of waiting for a ruck to nominate have the ump restart play as soon as they get the ball. If there is a 3rd man up that's a free if both teams 3rd man up it's play on. What this does is limit the time players have to get to the contest and therefore lessens congestion.

 

[JackFlash]

Playing surfaces.