Is losing at home in Melbourne after playing in WA really a valid excuse?

leemo

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Thread starter #1
A thought that has pestered me for some time is the notion that clubs can use the excuse for a loss that they came back from playing away to Freo or West Coast the week before.
Interested to know people's view on the subject.
We have arguably the fittest athletes in the world when it comes to measuring both strength and endurance together, and these guys get the absolute top notch treatment when it comes to both pre game warm ups and preparation, as well as state of the art recovery methods for after the game.
Yes it is a long flight both there and back, but does it really have enough weight to the argument to suggest that a team has flown for 4 hours in between say a 6 day turnaround to the following match?
I have also always wondered, if it is that big a deal, why do teams not fly in to Perth a day or two earlier and get a rest and say an extra day of light training to acclimatise? And then even stay an extra day there and do their recovery before returning to melbourne?
Personally I don't think it's an excuse at all for guys who are amongst the fittest in the world to say well we ran out of legs because we had to spend 4 hours on a plane 5 days ago.
What are your views on the subject, and if you disagree, why?
 

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leemo

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Thread starter #4
If it was valid we'd lose every home game after flying over east and back the week before.

Only soft clubs use it as an excuse.
Thanks mate exactly the other point i was going to make in the OP that WA and QLD teams do this every week too.
 

Suit

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#6
No! It's a complete cop out.

Also, as for the heat 'issue'. Like Mark Thompson said on AFL360 this week, West Coast and Fremantle (like the Lions and Suns), have to travel to Melbourne (basically) every second week. It's only fair that Victorian based teams (and their fans) deal with and accept playing in mid 30 degree heat.

It was absolutely pathetic the amount of "it's a winter sport" posts on Sunday night. Complete and utter worthless filth.
 

Rob

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#8
I think the interstate clubs are used to the routine and the Melbourne clubs aren't, the more you do something the better you become. (in theory)
That's like saying the more you get punched in the head the less likely you are to get concussed.
 

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master bate

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#12
A thought that has pestered me for some time is the notion that clubs can use the excuse for a loss that they came back from playing away to Freo or West Coast the week before.
Interested to know people's view on the subject.
We have arguably the fittest athletes in the world when it comes to measuring both strength and endurance together, and these guys get the absolute top notch treatment when it comes to both pre game warm ups and preparation, as well as state of the art recovery methods for after the game.
Yes it is a long flight both there and back, but does it really have enough weight to the argument to suggest that a team has flown for 4 hours in between say a 6 day turnaround to the following match?
I have also always wondered, if it is that big a deal, why do teams not fly in to Perth a day or two earlier and get a rest and say an extra day of light training to acclimatise? And then even stay an extra day there and do their recovery before returning to melbourne?
Personally I don't think it's an excuse at all for guys who are amongst the fittest in the world to say well we ran out of legs because we had to spend 4 hours on a plane 5 days ago.
What are your views on the subject, and if you disagree, why?
The flights are a pretty lame excuse. The fitness and recovery staff should be able to manage them. But you can't just get to Perth early and do a light session and all of a sudden be ready for the effects of 30+ degrees when Melbourne has slowly tailed off back to low 20's or high teens. That difference in heat completely drains you and can leave you really struggling to find your energy for the week after. It's why clubs have been trying heat training.

I think the dogs coming back from the extreme heat had a point about getting tired in the last quarter and I think Essendon will be hard pressed to play with full intensity this week.
 

master bate

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#13
No! It's a complete cop out.

Also, as for the heat 'issue'. Like Mark Thompson said on AFL360 this week, West Coast and Fremantle (like the Lions and Suns), have to travel to Melbourne (basically) every second week. It's only fair that Victorian based teams (and their fans) deal with and accept playing in mid 30 degree heat.

It was absolutely pathetic the amount of "it's a winter sport" posts on Sunday night. Complete and utter worthless filth.
I think Victorian clubs accept that it's part of the deal, you don't hear them threatening to boycott WA games or blaming WA teams. But it can still be a valid reason for the occasional bad game after a trip to play in 30+. Just like Freo and West Coast are likely at some stage to see travel catch up to them and for them to feel the effects. Maybe they already have against Hawthorn and Geel respectively.

Whilst it might be sore on the legs the playing conditions it offers must surely make Etihad a bit of a godsend for teams travelling to know the conditions ahead of time.
 

Suit

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#14
accept that it's part of the deal.
Maybe the clubs do, but do the fans? Did you see some of the posts relating to the Fremantle v Essendon game.

Along the likes of:

"Last time I checked, the AFL was a winter sport"
"It's a absolutely disgrace the game wasn't scheduled at night"

Utterly. Pathetic.
 

Ron The Bear

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#15
Record of Victorian teams playing in Victoria within 9 days of playing in Perth:

Year

P

W

L

D

Win %

1987

8

5

2

1

68.8

1988

9

5

4

-

55.6

1989

7

3

4

-

42.9

1990

7

4

3

-

57.1

1991

9

6

3

-

66.7

1992

4

2

2

-

50.0

1993

5

2

2

1

50.0

1994

6

3

3

-

50.0

1995

10

7

3

-

70.0

1996

13

8

5

-

61.5

1997

11

7

4

-

63.6

1998

13

8

5

-

61.5

1999

10

3

7

-

30.00

2000

14

9

5

-

64.3

2001

13

5

8

-

38.5

2002

11

5

6

-

45.5

2003

11

-

11

-

-

2004

12

6

6

-

50.0

2005

10

3

7

-

30.0

2006

12

7

5

-

58.3

2007

15

10

5

-

66.7

2008

11

7

3

1

68.2

2009

13

8

4

1

65.3

2010

11

7

4

-

63.6

2011

11

3

8

-

27.3

2012

10

7

3

-

70.0

2013

10

5

5

-

50.0

2014

2

-

2

-

-

Total

278

145

129

4

52.9


Grouped by days since last match:

Days

P

W

L

D

Win %

5

3

1

2

-

33.3

6

106

57

47

2

54.7

7

99

51

47

1

52.0

8

55

29

25

1

53.6

9

15

7

8

-

46.7

Total

278

145

129

4

52.9


No evidence here to support the theory.
 
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#16
If AFL clubs can't get their players fit enough in 6-7 days because of a plane flight then they need to seriously reconsider their training and conditioning programs.

I doubt it is an issue internally.
 

Underdog

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#17
I think the interstate clubs are used to the routine and the Melbourne clubs aren't, the more you do something the better you become. (in theory)
This isn't an amateur or semi-professional competition -this is Australia's premier sporting league. The players and staff are are professional and paid very handsomely. Interstate travel has been a part of the AFL for nearly 30 years. If a club is yet to develop a strategy and/or process to recover effectively from interstate travel in relatively isolated cases, serious questions should be asked of them.
 

Kenny_01

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#20
I'm starting to lose a bit of respect for Bomber Thompson with the amount of excuses he is using. Did anyone see the post match conference and then AFL 360? It makes Brad Scott look good.
 

mike14

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#22
Maybe the clubs do, but do the fans? Did you see some of the posts relating to the Fremantle v Essendon game.

Along the likes of:

"Last time I checked, the AFL was a winter sport"
"It's a absolutely disgrace the game wasn't scheduled at night"

Utterly. Pathetic.
Why is it so pathetic to mention it? TO use it as the sole excuse sure, but of course it's a factor. Aussie Rules is not a sport designed to be played in 30 degree + heat as it was designed as a winter sport, particularly in the southern states.
Yes, teams out West (and to a lesser extent in QLD) have to deal with it (although it can slightly mitigated by night games), which is why it shouldn't be used as an excuse, but as it takes about 72 hours to acclimatise to a new environment, which includes moving from Vic autumn to WA autumn, it is going to have an effect on players, especially when there is no logically and logistically possible way for them to prepare.
Again, it's never going to be the reason why a team loses, but going from 18-20 degrees for training, playing in 30-35 degree heat and then back to 18-20 is going to have a greater effect, including longer recovery times than doing the opposite.

Back to the OP, no it isn't a valid excuse. Interstate teams travel a lot, international teams travel a lot. For whatever reason, VIc teams in particular have used travel as crutch for poor performances instead of working on ways to combat it
 

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#23
Why is it so pathetic to mention it?
I'm fine with the heat factor be mentioned after a loss, it's the travelling excuse I find hard to swallow.

There is a big difference between mentioning the heat factor ("The heat killed us today. However, I'll put it down to the large home ground advantage the Eagles had"), and proclaiming the the game should of never taken place in that heat in the first place, and that is was a travesty it did. Look at the game-day/review threads, and you'll see exactly what I took exception to.
 

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#24
I guess we will have to wait and see how Essendon front up on Saturday night? They looked spent at 3QTR time last week in Perth, but surely shouldn't be troubled by St.Kilda? Freo have to travel to Sydney this week and should win comfortably, i don't see the problem.
 
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#25
Do our teams actually travel that much compared to other sports? WA teams do the most miles I'm certain but it's 10 trips over a 23/24 week period during the season which is **** all. And what's the most a Vic club will travel in a year 6-7 times? No excuses.
 
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