Discussion How Will Jumpers Evolve In The Future?

[TheLoungeLizard]

Hey all, let's revisit this!
Any views changed?

 

[caloschwaby]

Material will clearly get better and technology will improve to make them more durable/lightweight and such.
As for designs, I wouldn't have a clue but I feel like we experience cycles of simplistic designs to more complex designs every 10 years or so.

 

[TheLoungeLizard]

Anyone think we might see any major changes to the structure?
E.g. AFL logo on the right, sponsor on the left

 

[The Victorian]

Anyone think we might see any major changes to the structure?
E.g. AFL logo on the right, sponsor on the left

I think we will begin to see more sponsors on the guernseys

 

[TheLoungeLizard]

I think we will begin to see more sponsors on the guernseys

I am expecting collar sponsors.
A nice thick one like the current ISC you could run a print on either side of the neck.

That or numbers on the shorts (like I said a few years ago) to sell more merch (e.g. buy Dangerfield shorts, rather than regular cat shorts)

 

[caloschwaby]

I don't think it's too much of a stretch that we may see numbers appear on the front in the future as it is with the state competitions. Unfortunately so, I reckon it's inevitable that names on the back of guernseys will come in once the traditional footy audience has moved on.

 

[TheLoungeLizard]

I don't think it's too much of a stretch that we may see numbers appear on the front in the future as it is with the state competitions. Unfortunately so, I reckon it's inevitable that names on the back of guernseys will come in once the traditional footy audience has moved on.

I think the names thing has come and gone fortunately.
They trailed it, talked about it, but when it was in action it really didn't work - now they know it doesn't work they seem to have dropped the idea

 

[magpienato]

I think the names thing has come and gone fortunately.
They trailed it, talked about it, but when it was in action it really didn't work - now they know it doesn't work they seem to have dropped the idea

I think that's for the best. You see in NBA and NFL now that even with 99 numbers to choose from, it's getting harder to fit new players into new numbers due to them being retired. I love the idea of the number being passed down to a new generation, like what the Pies do with '35' which was Presti's and Daicos' number before but now is passed down to every 1st draft pick (currently Quaynor). As for the numbers, yeah probably but not in the near future.

 

[flamingEMBERS]

I think that's for the best. You see in NBA and NFL now that even with 99 numbers to choose from, it's getting harder to fit new players into new numbers due to them being retired. I love the idea of the number being passed down to a new generation, like what the Pies do with '35' which was Presti's and Daicos' number before but now is passed down to every 1st draft pick (currently Quaynor). As for the numbers, yeah probably but not in the near future.

Imagine if you were Daicos or Presti, no-one will ever go on your locker again. It's stupid.

 

[Storm20]

Well the socks part you can tick off. Crew socks pretty much allowed in all levels of competition now.

 

[TheLoungeLizard]

Let's spark this up again!

I've seen a lot of mock ups in the 2021 Jumper Ideas thread of incorporating the AFL logo into the jumper or club colours.
Collingwood tried it a few years ago and then with the apparent new logo talk a year ago it seemed a possibility but that's fine cold.

Could we see it?

What major change will be next?

 

[The Victorian]

Let's spark this up again!

I've seen a lot of mock ups in the 2021 Jumper Ideas thread of incorporating the AFL logo into the jumper or club colours.
Collingwood tried it a few years ago and then with the apparent new logo talk a year ago it seemed a possibility but that's fine cold.

Could we see it?

What major change will be next?

With the industry already cutting costs, it doesn't seem right to spend millions on a new logo.

 

[magpienato]

Made this a while ago but I think it fits the discussion. I honestly wish we could see a return to more premium jumper manufacturing quality but it's just cheaper to pump them out from a factory in China, shame.

 

[TheLoungeLizard]

With the industry already cutting costs, it doesn't seem right to spend millions on a new logo.

I agree - but do you ever see the logo being incorporated into club colours?

 

[wizardwaffle]

I added a picture to show what I mean. Changes to what is worn on the football field have been coming up every now and then. But they have to be excepted by the football public and the football players.

Who can remember the lycra Essendon jumpers from the mid 1990's. They were only protypes jumpers, but the stories that those jumpers created will make sure they will not be seen for a while. Especially how it shows up the pumbling.

Norwood did have something like these jumpers which they actually wore in matches in the SANFL. They brought the sight of Andrew Jarman in a short sleeved jumper, but the jumpers didn't come with Norwood going up the ladder. No other club has introduced them.

The lace up jumpers where a big hit and many players started wearing them. It was only the fact that it caused injuries to other players that we don't see them any more.

A few other innvoations with jumpers has been the stripes running through the arm holes of jumpers. This even happened before when St.Kilda had multi coloured numbers in the early 1980's. The stripes through the jumpers have now gone from the AFL.
The colours introduced in the West Coast late 1990's away jumper where not taken well by the football public, and we haven't seen a jumper like it since.

A new style or type of jumper needs to be excepted by the football public and the football players. The lace up jumpers were expected by both and would have been around if it wasn't for the injuries caused. There has been only two main changes to football jumpers since they started, the length of the arms from full to none and the material used today. The material used today has seen screen printing used on AFL jumpers, and we have seen finer detail in the designs created.

But with the cutting of costs in the football industry coming in the likelihood of any changes happening are less likely now. The chances of seeing the AFL logo in club colours has been raised because the NRLs logo on their jumpers. But it doesn't show off the NRLs logo well on jumpers, and with it being seen as something that the AFL has on each jumper I don't think the AFL will want to devalue something they have.

To be excepted it has to be liked by the football public, has to be liked enough by the players to wear it, and now it has to be value for money. For the time being the chance of change is unlikely.

 

[Storm20]

This is all horse before the cart type of stuff.

You need to see a brand new style of garment manufacturing before it can be brought into the AFL/Sporting codes. It's not like people are trying to find discover brand new materials specifically for football.

 

[TheLoungeLizard]

Freight Train and I were discussing LED jumpers last night and he sent this to me



Could we see this soon in AFL? Rolling sponsors or even graphics changing after a goal?

Will we see clubs rolling 4 jumpers a game with 4 different sponsors each quarter as we face financial problems?

 

[Nickimus Rex]

If they progressed e-ink technology to the point where it could take the knocks and bumps, it would be interesting. E-ink has massive advantages over LED in that it can be viewed in direct sunlight and can even do colour now. but they're not massively strong. I remember when Kindles first came to aus and i was working in retail, a woman complained because her daughter treated her kindle like a book and put it under her pillow, destroying the e-ink display

 

[makri]

Imagine if you were Daicos or Presti, no-one will ever go on your locker again. It's stupid.

While Presti had a good career in the jumper it will never be his number. The 35 at Collingwood belongs to one player, and one player only. Hopefully when Nick Daicos comes as #1 draft pick he will continue on in the jumper after his first year.

 

[exile]

I think that's for the best. You see in NBA and NFL now that even with 99 numbers to choose from, it's getting harder to fit new players into new numbers due to them being retired. I love the idea of the number being passed down to a new generation, like what the Pies do with '35' which was Presti's and Daicos' number before but now is passed down to every 1st draft pick (currently Quaynor). As for the numbers, yeah probably but not in the near future.

speaking of numbers, what are the chances of the AFL introducing the number "0" or "00" being made available for players to wear? popular in the US and might not be a huge change. i dunno why but i'd like to see it introduced.

 

[TheLoungeLizard]

Advertising on socks is hardly the worst thing ever- but I'd rather see it as an actual part of the sock (same way the Nike or Adidas logo is fabricated as part of football sock). Perhaps on the back across the calf would be a good spot, for instance.

Also you'll never see MMA style advertising because in MMA, those shorts are the only premium sponsorship real-estate. In AFL they have entire kits with two sponsors on the jumper and one on the shorts, plus apparel sponsor, PLUS the league itself. (Which is the exact amount of individual sponsors on the shorts)

I think they'll add a sponsor above the number first, then it'll be another sponsor on the chest. It would take a lot for full-size NRL-style chest sponsors. If soccer takes over and the AFL get desperate lel then maybe but otherwise this is the absolute worst we'd see, I'd imagine:
View attachment 198212

Some interesting predictions from a few years ago!
FT more for a out the box idea of sock sponsors this was before the short sock came in

 

[rabbitoh21]

Some interesting predictions from a few years ago!
FT more for a out the box idea of sock sponsors this was before the short sock came in

Yeah I can't believe I called the above the number trend haha

Realistically, I don't believe we'll see any more front of guernsey sponsors beyond what we've seen with the below-collar change recently. The big thing will be whether the AFL will move to short sleeve "jerseys" to open up extra revenue space, seeing what the Premier League have done, and to bring their guernseys in-line with every other football code - I would suspect there would be an NBA-style revolt against any attempt to mandate sleeves, perhaps as dramatic as cutting them off during/before a game. I don't know how that would effect their merchandising - would they stand out less on the racks seeing as BBL, NRL, A-League, EPL and all the other major sports are using the same clothing, whereas now you can spot an AFL guernsey from a mile due to the lack of sleeves?

It's quite clear that, in terms of design, the AFL clubs are mostly happy to stick with the simple and clean designs after a few decades of experimentation with screenprinting and sublimation. Can't see many clubs going back to gradients or super intricate designs, especially with the distance of the crowd to the players and the use of wide-shots on TV. This is probably one of the big reasons the names on the guersey experiment failed too.

One thing that may have slipped under the radar, in terms of changes to the jumpers, would potentially be the integration of grips onto the jersey like what has been done in the NRL. I suspect this would be tightly controlled by the league due to the chest-mark being relatively important. I remember the controversy of Travis Cloke wearing a glove and that would pale in comparison to a generation of players growing up with tacky jerseys, I would think.

The AFL itself is probably long overdue for a re-branding - the NRL have gone through 5 since the AFL introduced its oval logo. Could this bring another sponsor onto guernseys (e.g. "Toyota AFL Premiership")? Could we see something completely left field like dropping the logo from the guernsey or moving it somewhere else, with club badges on the chest and the sponsor where the AFL logo is now? Only time will tell.

If, somehow, the AFL managed to take control of the clubs via a franchising agreement, could we see a single-make league? How would this affect changes to jumpers? Could clubs be required to, for example, wear a home, away, clash, ANZAC, indigenous and special jersey each year? Would this override something like the (in)famous Essendon constitution? Could clubs lose control over their guernseys altogether and be required to wear whatever the AFL believes is best?

There is still a lot of room for change over the next few years, particularly if the pandemic continues to hurt gate receipts and memberships. We've already seen this with the changes to the fields and the back of the jumpers - would clubs be allowed to add a large sponsor at least for a season or 2 to help keep revenue streams coming in?

I think these are the questions that will be answered in the next few years and probably the most likely experiments we will see between now and, say, 2030.

 

[rabbitoh21]

The AFL itself is probably long overdue for a re-branding - the NRL have gone through 5 since the AFL introduced its oval logo. Could this bring another sponsor onto guernseys (e.g. "Toyota AFL Premiership")? Could we see something completely left field like dropping the logo from the guernsey or moving it somewhere else, with club badges on the chest and the sponsor where the AFL logo is now? Only time will tell.

[...]

There is still a lot of room for change over the next few years, particularly if the pandemic continues to hurt gate receipts and memberships. We've already seen this with the changes to the fields and the back of the jumpers - would clubs be allowed to add a large sponsor at least for a season or 2 to help keep revenue streams coming in?

I think these are the questions that will be answered in the next few years and probably the most likely experiments we will see between now and, say, 2030.

Further to my post above, this is something I could definitely see happening in the near future (with apologies to Mero for butchering his guernseys)

 

[phantom13]

While Presti had a good career in the jumper it will never be his number. The 35 at Collingwood belongs to one player, and one player only. Hopefully when Nick Daicos comes as #1 draft pick he will continue on in the jumper after his first year.

This is fair but wasnt the whole number 1 draft pick getting 35 done specifically with Presti in mind (not Daicos)?

 

[TheLoungeLizard]

A few years on again, only a few predicted above the number sponsors (which may be on the way out)

Still surprised no one saw the collar being sold off

I always thought it was odd back of the shorts sponsors never came in

So, what do we see next?

I think it’s only a matter of time before we have first half and second half jumpers with different sponsors