Is 2025 the most boring AFL season in recent memory?

[MagpieExcalibur]

Games and quarters are going longer than the past. We are reviewing 6-7 calls a game for iffy behinds which can take up to 2-2.5 minutes alone or for balls that have hit the post. Have some quarters that go over the 38 to 40 minute range.

Umpiring inconsistencies even spread across the weekends games is noticeable.

Not having Free to air television on Saturday lessens the knowledge the average footy fan knows about the game. Also been a highly contentious issue this season. Its becoming a game more for the rich than the poor, and results in a class divide to who plays it and watches it- I think we are heading towards almost the Super Rugby model.


HIA protocols.

Less physical contests, less speccies, less 1 on 1 duels, less contested marks.

Incentives for team to manage lineups on certain week, manage teams for draft picks.....we are following more of an NBA style where tanking is considered OK. eg refer to weeks where Pendles was rested, Bailey Smith/Danger weren't playing this season....

Teams of the modern era, are better at retaining possession. Hence, teams are less daring especially when leading , unlikely to play with risks with under 2 minutes of a quarter to go. A bit like basketball, teams want the last play of the quarter- at the risk of not getting scored against.

The game is a totally different game to what it was 30 years ago. If you flicked on and watched a game in the mid 90s to now, you would think you are watching two different sports.

i was going to say those ideas are horrible on the less speccys etc but then i saw the rest lol i agree it has changed for the worse

 

[MagpieExcalibur]

AFL will point to growing revenue and broadcast deals but how much of this is due the absolute explosion in sports gambling?

That's the real driver of growth this last decade.

But the underlying demographics and the dwindling player pool make me think we are watching an inferior product but with way more marketing and hype around it.

All duck and no dinner.

love the Ed Langdon quote lol

 

[ARCHIE66]

Leagues the worst it’s ever been and I’m not saying this because my team is shit.
I’ve always been proud of how fair the league was compared to other professional sporting leagues across the globe. It’s impossible to have an 100% fair league but it used to be almost as fair as possible. However this is not the case anymore.

AFL bias towards the Northern teams and big Melbourne clubs is ****ed, The draft is ruined and needs to be fixed, How the **** can Brisbane have access to the best draftees in the countries multiple years in a row while on top of the ladder. Where else in the world does this happen?

Umpiring is unwatchable. Make them full-time ffs and more strict results for bad performances (like the players).

AFL media is atrocious, who tf actually has a unique opinion these days that’s in the AFL circle. Media spends the whole week talking about one ‘issue’
When it comes to the broader problems in the league the media doesn’t have much to say. Their focus is on one team or criticising one individual player.

The media spends the whole season also focusing on player contracts who 90% of the time sign anyway. I don’t give a **** about the offseason until the offseason actually comes about don’t need to spend the whole h&a talking about it.

Get rid of the opening round, and just get rid of double ups in general. Now that there’s gonna be 19 teams just have 18 rounds and a shortened season of footy. Or maybe 3 double ups where you vs one bottom 6 team, one middle 6 and one top 6.
The bye rounds ruin the season. Just have one bye where every team has a break.
The difference between making the top8 and not or making the top 4 and not shouldnt depend on the fixture you are given, no other sport does it happen in.

 

[davidgoes4wce]

There was once quite a strong interest in footy among the Chinese during the Victorian goldrush era that is today not well known. Not sure why this culture didn't carry on amongst Chinese Australians through the generations.

Is this 'the great hidden chapter' behind one of Australia's biggest sports?

Chinese-Australians have had close links to Aussie rules football ever since the sport was invented. So why don't more of us know about it?

www.abc.net.au

One demographic that has some success is that the game has done a reasonable job of turning some Sudanese migrants into AFL standard key position players.

There have also been quite a few AFL listed players of Middle Eastern descent. So Australian migration certainly isn't just all about the Indians and the Chinese.

One disadvantage among the South East Asian population especially for the large ones that grew up here, is they are alot shorter in stature and a game where athleticism counts, I think it works to their disadvantage and hence why not many have been recruited.

 

[screech]

So when you said you "still go every week", that was a lie, because you actually don't go every week. Got it.

To be fair, it is an extremely small % of games outside of Melbourne being missed

 

[MadMaxx]

Opening Round = Bullshit
Gather Round=Bullshit
Thursday Games=Bullshit

The interest has been on the wane since we started all this guff.

Just get back to the core of the game. Footy Friday/Sat/Sun

Stop the tinkering,
Get games back on FTA Saturdays

We don't need marketing ideas.
We don't need to react to what the NRL does
We don't need to treat footy fans the way we have been

 

[Tiger Truth]

I don't watch a lot of footy anymore, but whenever I watch I notice the commentators bending over backwards to convince the viewer how good the game is, which you wouldn't have to do if things were truly exciting.

I watched a game recently where Nick Daicos made a pass to a player that was all alone on the wing and the commentators were marvelling at how he hit that target, it was hilarious

 

[beez]

The umpires whistle constantly ruins passages of play

Nobody even pretends to understand the rules of the game and how they are interpreted, it boils down to umpires choice on the day

But that's how the game has always been umpired. It's just one of those sports where objective rules don't really function. The umpiring isn't any better or worse than 10, 20, 50 years. It's always been about interpretation. But not about interpretation of the rules specifically: it's about interpretation of time; intent; weather; state of the individual game; skill of the players; everything. And it's at every level. All the time.

Listen to commentary from any previous decade and you will hear the same arguments then re push in the back, holding the ball, deliberate etc. Holding the ball was just as confounding to the average fan in each prior decade in the same way it is today.

If supporters could change the way the think about how the game is umpired, it would be a lot more enjoyable for them.

Ironically, the AFL has tried to legislate discretion and subjectivity out of the game; and to the average fan it makes the umpiring appear worse.

 

[WillHayward]

There was once quite a strong interest in footy among the Chinese during the Victorian goldrush era that is today not well known. Not sure why this culture didn't carry on amongst Chinese Australians through the generations.

Is this 'the great hidden chapter' behind one of Australia's biggest sports?

Chinese-Australians have had close links to Aussie rules football ever since the sport was invented. So why don't more of us know about it?

www.abc.net.au

One demographic that has some success is that the game has done a reasonable job of turning some Sudanese migrants into AFL standard key position players.

There have also been quite a few AFL listed players of Middle Eastern descent. So Australian migration certainly isn't just all about the Indians and the Chinese.

Its very interesting.

Agree African and middle east have done very well.
Over represented.

But the reality is Indian and Chinese are the major migrant groups and make up around 7% of the population total. This is equivalent to 2.5 players per club.

its currently zero.

If you consider the "Anglo" fertility rate is 1.6 (replacement is 2.1) and add in kids playing basketball and soccer then there is a big drop in teenagers in the talent pool (theoretically).

I found a great report online but unfortunately it only goes to 2018. It would be good to see something more recent especially given the huge population surge post COVID.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/843048/State_of_Play_Report_-_Australian_Football.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiRnPfuqImOAxV-s1YBHQtnGG0QFnoECC8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw1L14WZkfpDWIQ08l9ftin7

 

[Cmarsh]

Its very interesting.

Agree African and middle east have done very well.
Over represented.

But the reality is Indian and Chinese are the major migrant groups and make up around 7% of the population total. This is equivalent to 2.5 players per club.

its currently zero.

If you consider the "Anglo" fertility rate is 1.6 (replacement is 2.1) and add in kids playing basketball and soccer then there is a big drop in teenagers in the talent pool (theoretically).

I found a great report online but unfortunately it only goes to 2018. It would be good to see something more recent especially given the huge population surge post COVID.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/843048/State_of_Play_Report_-_Australian_Football.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiRnPfuqImOAxV-s1YBHQtnGG0QFnoECC8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw1L14WZkfpDWIQ08l9ftin7

But should the goal be to have migrant populations of various countries be evenly represented amongst footy playing numbers?

I would have thought a more targeted approach of who has good attributes for the game would yield more effective results. Again, were doing ok in that regard when ot comes to the Sudanese.

Also, its actually the British that continue to be just about adjacent to the Chinese and Indians in term of numbers of migrants, but no talk of how the game seeminlgly fails to attract British people to the game.

Another thing. The US also have huge numbers of Chinese and Indian immigrants. You don't hear of the NFL and their other professional leagues lamenting their lack of Indian and Chinese athletes to their sports.

 

[Del80659]

the production on display is not convincing anymore. it is scripted to the point of being obvious. my favorite trend recently is having one team smash the other in Q1, then the other slowly claws back, the last quarter is an "epic" finish, and the team that did the smashing in Q1 wins a "nailbiter". then after the game, the fans of the team that initially got smashed aren't allowed to complain, as they "came back" and "made it a contest" and (the best one) "almost won". they got that script straight from NBA. it works forever.

 

[davidgoes4wce]

the production on display is not convincing anymore. it is scripted to the point of being obvious. my favorite trend recently is having one team smash the other in Q1, then the other slowly claws back, the last quarter is an "epic" finish, and the team that did the smashing in Q1 wins a "nailbiter". then after the game, the fans of the team that initially got smashed aren't allowed to complain, as they "came back" and "made it a contest" and (the best one) "almost won". they got that script straight from NBA. it works forever.

Do you suggest that games may be 'spot ' fixed for betting purposes then? That would be quite lucrative if that was the case.

Im of the belief that results I guess more than ever, an umpires decision or two have a huge bearing on games. And whoever suggests 1-2 decisions in the overall context of a game doesn't influence a game , is kidding themselves.

Another thing I attribute is the demographics and age of people following the game , where we are seeing the Australian population ageing. As one ages, I have no doubt the interest in the game wanes as you get older. eg priority on family life, losing an emotional attachment to the game through different phases as years go by.

Listen to commentary from any previous decade and you will hear the same arguments then re push in the back, holding the ball, deliberate etc. Holding the ball was just as confounding to the average fan in each prior decade in the same way it is today.

Dwayne Russell on the weekend was commentating the Port Adelaide v Swans game the other day and I swear he pumped up the game more than what it was. The skill level and shooting in front of goal was appaling. Nothing wrong with Dwayne as he is paid to do commentary but I fell asleep 3 times watching that game- I put the game on replay a few times, for each time I fell asleep.

The AFL game has become more low scoring season-by-season, and I have no doubt that has some factor to the entertainment factor.

 

[DangerSloane]

Opening Round = Bullshit
Gather Round=Bullshit
Thursday Games=Bullshit

The interest has been on the wane since we started all this guff.

Just get back to the core of the game. Footy Friday/Sat/Sun

Stop the tinkering,
Get games back on FTA Saturdays

We don't need marketing ideas.
We don't need to react to what the NRL does
We don't need to treat footy fans the way we have been

Gather round and Thursday nights are bloody awesome.

Opening round is an abject failure.

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

Thursday night games are good. An extra night of footy is awesome.

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

What's scoring like this year compared to last?

 

[MadMaxx]

Gather round and Thursday nights are bloody awesome.

Opening round is an abject failure.

Gather Round is only Awesome to South Australians. How would you feel if Gather Round was in Melbourne?

Kill the Concept. The rest of us dont care

 

[_Cerberus_]

No where near the most boring.

A decade ago we had a clear, and normally the same top four almost year in and year out. The gap between 4th and 5th was huge. Currently this season, anyone in the top 9 is capable of winning it if they come out and play their best for four weeks. One win separates 4th to 9th. And yes there is a big gap between the top and the bottom teams, always has been.

But I think this season, the gap between those just outside the 8, and those inside the 8, is wider than past seasons.

There was also a few year period of low scoring games being the normal, with teams were playing negative, clog up the 50s style football. Which made the game crap to watch for awhile.

So no, there were a few seasons that were much more boring. It's only boring if you're one of the bottom teams.

 

[DangerSloane]

Gather Round is only Awesome to South Australians. How would you feel if Gather Round was in Melbourne?

Kill the Concept. The rest of us dont care

You have gather round in Melbourne every bloody weekend with half the games being in Victoria.

Have a sook that for one week a year your dreary city isn't the centre of the AFL world.

You say nobody cares but its been a massive success and isn't going anywhere.

 

[MadMaxx]

You have gather round in Melbourne every bloody weekend with half the games being in Victoria.

Have a sook that for one week a year your dreary city isn't the centre of the AFL world.

You say nobody cares but its been a massive success and isn't going anywhere.

Little bro wants his time to shine. I get it

Forget Melbourne then, How would you feel if it was in Perth, Sydney Or Brissy?

 

[DangerSloane]

Little bro wants his time to shine. I get it

Forget Melbourne then, How would you feel if it was in Perth, Sydney Or Brissy?

Would be fine with it.
Perth probably deserve something similar.
Wouldn't be against it being rotating between the two, year to year, except that it causes a problem for scheduling and TV audiences due to the time differences. You also might not get the same level of travel given the prohibitive costs and the fact that Adelaide is very central to all other major cities.

Sydney and Brisbane would be a massive failure and we all know it. Just have a look at the awful opening round concept.

What exactly is your problem with it? If its about home games maybe stop selling them to Tasmania?

 

[MadMaxx]

What exactly is your problem with it? If its about home games maybe stop selling them to Tasmania?

A fair question, even if you took a sec to have a go about Tassie.

My issue is that this is a national game. We play footy in 5-6 states every weekend, and fill stadia with fans all of who want to watch the game Live, because it is the best live game in the world. Fans and families attend and for mine live footy is the great differentiator for our game.

The concept of Gather round just puts the focus on one location. Great for that location no doubt, but if you are a footy fan in one of the other 4-5 states that would normally get at least one game each week. It kinda feels a bit dead, like an extra bye week, or that dead round before finals.

We didn't even invent this concept, but just copied the NRL magic round idea. It feels reactionary

 

[HotelBastardos]

Pendles never been to GMHBA in 20 years lol

Collingwood never have to play geel, Tassie, Darwin, Ballarat. Thats an advantage based on gate $$$$ . Its not even funny

 

[Grumpyshades]

Gather Round is only Awesome to South Australians. How would you feel if Gather Round was in Melbourne?

Kill the Concept. The rest of us dont care

the whole comp is centered around victoria
20 home games and guaranteed home GF not enough
have a bigger sook

 

[ioppolo]

Opening round is absolutely a mess which impacts the whole year with fixturing.

I would also say a bye round should be for inplace for every team at once. Instead of split byes.

Remember the split round during the 2000s? I think it was 5 games one week and 3 the next.

 

[LongSerong]

A fair question, even if you took a sec to have a go about Tassie.

My issue is that this is a national game. We play footy in 5-6 states every weekend, and fill stadia with fans all of who want to watch the game Live, because it is the best live game in the world. Fans and families attend and for mine live footy is the great differentiator for our game.

The concept of Gather round just puts the focus on one location. Great for that location no doubt, but if you are a footy fan in one of the other 4-5 states that would normally get at least one game each week. It kinda feels a bit dead, like an extra bye week, or that dead round before finals.

We didn't even invent this concept, but just copied the NRL magic round idea. It feels reactionary

Gather round is a good concept. I think they should put it mid season though to bring some livelihood to the winter lull we're currently in. Also being in Adelaide is good for the occasion because it's so accessible to all fans. Got no problems whatsoever if it becomes a permanent SA thing, they're crushing it.

Opening round and staggered bye rounds can stuff off though. We can cope with 1 week without footy as a comp in the middle of the season. Heck, chuck the mid-season draft and some sort of occasion on then and people won't notice.