Opinion Is the game dead?

footyfan000001

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Obviously you’ve never had kids and experienced the ridiculous sight of players running up to a line and stopping because the ball is a meter away in the no go zone?

We can’t have zones in general play in our game. Fine for just before the bounce, but once it’s on you have to allow players the absolute freedom of wandering whenever they want.

It’s the fundamental essence of Australian Rules Football.

Total freedom to move around.

I just can’t understand why you would suggest such a ridiculous thing.

You’re not the first obviously. But it boggles the mind every time I see it written.

No offence of course...

Na you make a valid point. I’m just dead against less/no bench rotations to create fatigue. There’s enough injuries as it is.
 
Mar 11, 2018
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Na you make a valid point. I’m just dead against less/no bench rotations to create fatigue. There’s enough injuries as it is.

No worries mate.

It’s quite the conundrum where the game is at this point in the history of our game.

There’s no easy answers to “fix’ it all.

Over umpiring is on top of my list of things ####ing up the game.

It starts from there.

They are killing the flow of the game.

I hate it. Saddens me.
 

footyfan000001

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No worries mate.

It’s quite the conundrum where the game is at this point in the history of our game.

There’s no easy answers to “fix’ it all.

Over umpiring is on top of my list of things ####ing up the game.

It starts from there.

They are killing the flow of the game.

I hate it. Saddens me.

It’s funny as I’ve always actually just wanted the game left alone!
 
Sep 21, 2004
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The s**t commentary doesnt help.

The GWS v Bris game they had some problems and for about 5 mins it was just crowd noise and umpire mic.

Was actually quite good just watching it without hearing rabble.

On SM-G925I using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
Apr 11, 2002
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The s**t commentary doesnt help.

The GWS v Bris game they had some problems and for about 5 mins it was just crowd noise and umpire mic.

Was actually quite good just watching it without hearing rabble.

On SM-G925I using BigFooty.com mobile app

I think it's a bit understated just how many fans have issues with the coverage of the game these days but simply put up with it.

Personally I rarely if ever listen to the broadcaster commentary, it's radio or bust & especially now with the introduction of Kayo, very easy to sync TV & radio.
 

Consolaçao

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Seems to be more love for the 16 a side game now than we've seen in the many previous discussions re the state of the game/congestion footy. We already know it works, the VFA played 16-a-side from 1959 until 1992, so it doesn't need to be trialled, just implemented, like the 6-6-6 was this year.
The problem is that it is simple, logical and would be generally well accepted. For these reasons the AFL won’t entertain the thought.
 

Consolaçao

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Same problem at state league level with defensive tactics and numbers around the ball. I’d love to see either the SANFL or the WAFL trial 16 on the field and/or a limit to interchanges (3 per quarter) for a year.
These are the ‘purest’ changes they could make. One is a natural response to elite level fitness of players these days, the other is a return to the way it used to be.
 
Sep 13, 2015
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Seems to be more love for the 16 a side game now than we've seen in the many previous discussions re the state of the game/congestion footy. We already know it works, the VFA played 16-a-side from 1959 until 1992, so it doesn't need to be trialled, just implemented, like the 6-6-6 was this year.
The 3 game VFL trials of the rules last year were more valid than the sample you’ve given us there. Totally different game.
 

Consolaçao

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Na you make a valid point. I’m just dead against less/no bench rotations to create fatigue. There’s enough injuries as it is.
I’d like a professional view of whether less rotations will necessarily lead to injuries. It’s entirely reasonable that if increased fatigue did generate more injuries, clubs and their staff would adapt training regimes and in-game strategies to address this. Maybe by, I dunno.... ‘resting’ a player in the forward line? Kind of how Lockett and Dunstall used to ‘rest’ up there?
 
Mar 11, 2007
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Game is crap. Cancelled Foxtel and Kayo a month ago.

6 forwards on both teams should stay in the forward half of the ground. That's why they are forwards. Ditto for 6 defenders each side. Personally I think it's time to trial zones just for the above simple change. How they police it and how it would function, I don't know.
 
Feb 21, 2006
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I’d like a professional view of whether less rotations will necessarily lead to injuries. It’s entirely reasonable that if increased fatigue did generate more injuries, clubs and their staff would adapt training regimes and in-game strategies to address this. Maybe by, I dunno.... ‘resting’ a player in the forward line? Kind of how Lockett and Dunstall used to ‘rest’ up there?

It might increase soft tissue injuries but decrease collision injuries?
 

St Plugger

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The 3 game VFL trials of the rules last year were more valid than the sample you’ve given us there. Totally different game.
What???? 3 training trials Vs the VFA's 33 seasons with 2 divisions of 10 teams each, plus reserves and under age teams. I think the VFA had a slight weight of numbers advantage in proving that the 16 a side worked! Oh and by the way, the AFL already have a 16 a side comp, that being the AFLW!!!
 
Last edited:
Jun 14, 2015
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It's not dead, it is just being run by morons. The game is so easy to fix and it doesn't need a competition committee.

1. Get rid of prior opp - all the congestion, stoppage and low scoring problems have evolved from this crap rule about 20 years ago. Why should a player have a god given right to just hatch it because he got to the ball first?

2. Get rid of ruck nominations - it wastes time and creates additional numbers around the ball. Umps should just throw it up immediately there is a ball up.

3. Reduce rotations down to 10 per qtr. Tired legs will promote more positional play.

4. Last possession out of bounds is a free to the opposition. Make the rule black and white. It will promote corridor footy and less throw ins will reduce stoppages and congestion.
Agree the game is run by morons. First two points make sense.

3: Skills turn to s**t when players are fatigued. And skills are secondary when you have players who can run all day anyway. The game didn't suck with unlimited roations

4: Hard to say how this would affect the game or how the coaches would respond to it.
 

Sedat!

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Oct 3, 2003
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Agree the game is run by morons. First two points make sense.

3: Skills turn to s**t when players are fatigued. And skills are secondary when you have players who can run all day anyway. The game didn't suck with unlimited roations

4: Hard to say how this would affect the game or how the coaches would respond to it.
Point 3 is a very vexing topic, and you may well be right. It could also be argued that players who don't have the physical capacity to go full ground defence might be incentivised by their coaches to remain in their positions if there are less rotations, thereby increasing one-on-one contests - I would hope this is the case.

Point 4 is purely to turn a current grey interpretive rule into something black and white, thereby making the umpire's job easier. It's a known fact that the introduction of out on the full in the early 1970's increased scoring dramatically because it incentivised teams to go through the corridor. If last possession OOB was introduced as a black & white rule, it would similarly incentivise teams to plat through the middle whilst at the same time reducing stoppages by way of having much less throw-ins.

It's not just deliberate OOB, there are far too many rules in the game that are currently interpretive - it is an absurdity that the same incident could have up to 4 completely different outcomes (free to x, free to y, play on, stoppage) and all of them can be technically correct.
 

Captain_Bender

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May 21, 2015
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Ever since the interchange cap was introduced scoring has gone down, people saying reduce it even more don't know what they are talking about

Remove 6-6-6 and the interchange cap and scoring will increase
 
Sep 13, 2015
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Start each team on 50pts

Imagine if, at half time, the score was 2.1 (13) to 3.9 (27)
This thread would be going gangbusters.

That was the score in the 2nd half last night - but the whingers didn't notice because to wasn't as obvious as if it was in the first half. The scoreboard has a 'good' score on it, must be a good game.

So if we started teams on 50pts games would be infinitely more enjoyable.
 

Rusty Brookes

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Another round with unexpected or close results. Despite our game being "dull" there were some killer marks, some clever as hell goals, an incredible cameo by Fyfe, young players making their mark - I dunno, I reckon the same thread would have existed 10 years ago or 20 years ago or 30 years ago.

We expect every game to be perfect when there's no chance of that happening. Sure there's issues but the game is still the best sport going.
 

Balance

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Perhaps not the game itself, but the AFL is dying, a long death.
 
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