Should the AFL provide clocks that players can easily see?

[Syd]

I'd rather leave it as it is, but there is definitely an argument for it. It wouldn't surprise me if it's brought in ala goal-line technology after something like the following happens in a big final.

I too am a "Yank", and one that has lived here for almost 28 years.

The vision above (thanks for the great memory BTW jimbler) is exactly why I like not having a clock.
Those likening having a time to end of game displayed to the stop\start nature of the NFL clock needn't worry as this is better compared to the clock stopping and time on TBH.

Still the subtle nuance of not knowing exactly when time is up forces changes in players mentality on whether to hold or move on quickly and like I said, I'm a fan of not showing the time.

 

[Stewies Power]

Having no countdown clock definitely adds to the excitement/relief when the final siren goes and your team is less than 2 goals in front. Port v West Coast this year is very good example of this.

 

[Sydney Bloods]

Stuff that lithe one thing I loved about ten's broadcast was the count up.

A close game on the edge of your feet final 5 mins when will it end your teams up, the other mob keep coming they've kicked a goal.

Centre clearance is won the balls hammered into the opposition fwd line A goal here and they win the game
they've split the mark it come out of the pack player running in to kick it off the ground......siren goes! You escape by the skin of your teeth!

Best TV coverage there is!

at the ground I never watch the clock so it doesn't matter but I still say it should count up. Fact is players are made aware of the time left re-runners why do we have to Americanise everything?

 

[Wallaby]

The only benefit I can see, is that the team in front would have more incentive to waste time. Generally, there is not much an attacking team can do to hurry up their attack - OK - bomb it into the forward line - that's about it. It's not going to change attacking play much, but it will actually make the last few minutes more DEFENSIVE.

Teams would have 2-minute drills - 'How to stall for 2 minutes and hang onto a lead'. 3-minute drills - 'How to stall for 3 minutes and hang onto a lead'. 30-second etc.

 

[SUNS]

Why? What does it bring to the game SUNS?

Leaving it out leaves the excitment, tension etc because we all don't know when the siren will go.

Take the recent Geelong v Hawthorn games for example. They are the best because we have no idea when the siren will go, leaving us all on the edge of our seats.

lolwut?

Bring me into this s**t? Now IM MAD

 

[vonn]

No. Not knowing how long there was left exacerbates everything you are feeling towards the end of the game. That feeling when the siren sounds in a close grand final (2012) will go down as one of the best in my life. That would have surely been reduced if I could see a clock and countdown. We had someone around us who told us 3 minutes etc, and that's enough. Any closer IMO and it would have taken away from the tension. Maybe have a five minute warning come up on the screens if any changes but a clock is too much.

 

[corio bay]

Fact is players are made aware of the time left re-runners why do we have to Americanise everything?

precisely, would make no difference to the players - most of them know how long is left from the runner .

 

[leeloo]

I don't think we need a clock. Players are aware of approximately how much time is left, I think that in close games it may lead to some of them panicking more than they do now!

 

[FRUMPY]

All well and good when the team behind has the ball. but teams who are in front and know for a fact how long they have left will milk the clock even more than they do now. The difference in basketball/NFL is that they only have a certain amount of time with the ball (shot clock and certain number of plays). Aussie rules doesnt have a certain amount of time/plays for each team to have possession.

Plus there is nothing better than being at the ground and not knowing how much time is left. That is pure on the edge stuff. Knowing how long is left would kill the buzz.

And taking it further, dont do things just because america do things. Hell there gun rules are more relaxed than ours, how does that work out?

 

[jim boy]

precisely, would make no difference to the players - most of them know how long is left from the runner .

I'd like to get rid of runners, I can't see the need for them - but that is another topic.

 

[JimmyDE]

No, it wouldn't necessarily ruin the game. But it would take out the excitement and competitive nature of the dying minutes.

 

[master bate]

Nothing beats the excitement of the last 5 minutes of a close game and not knowing how long is left. Seeing runners come out like crazy and players unsure to go backwards or forwards.

It could be worth a trial in the nab cup but I agree with whoever said its mainly going to increase defensive footy because the club behind will still attack like crazy. The other thing unlike NBA, NFL where you can run the clock down for the last possession and then make a shot or field goal in the AFL if you are behind you have to take your chance to score when you get it. You can't hold the ball on the wing for a minute waiting to get inside 50.

Plus it might just be me but I think basketball is ruined by 6 timeouts in the last minute and 10 fouls. Makes it hard to watch.

 

[basashi]

So in the only draw this year....

Fremantle were criticised by the match day commentary team, after the bounce team, the 360 team and on the couch team.... why?

Because apparently a runner should have gone out to tell Johnson exactly how much time was left when he took his kick.

...So everyone seems happy with the idea that players should know and that they should play accordingly.... but we are just against having an efficient way of letting them know by putting up clocks?

 

[Honeyboy Wilson]

I don't think I'm for it, but I'm sick of people saying anything brought into the game is "Americanising" it. Get over your ridiculous patriotic bullshit and judge ideas on their own merit.

I wouldn't mind seeing it trialled in the NAB Cup or something. Just put the actual timekeeper's clock on the scoreboard or something.

 

[Father Jack]

I agree, just trial it in the NAB cup and see how we go.

 

[barmy44]

My only beef with is similar to Synaphai's.....teams that are behind a couple of goals with just a couple minutes left, but the dude who just got a free kick dilly-dallies around, running precious time off the clock. GET GOING!!!!

but any player whose team is behind by a couple of goals deep in a final quarter is under no illusion as to how much time is left - not much.

its not like they could think there is 20 minutes to go... and if they do, they probably couldnt read a clock at the ground, anyway.

the precise amount of seconds to go is kind of irrelevant to stupid 'time wasting'. stuff like that is just poor decision making, or maybe not wanting to be responsible for the ball at the death.

the players know when the end of the game is near enough.

 

[BomberWatson]

I've learned one thing from this thread; apparently the concept of keeping track of time was something Americans came up with...

 

[Running Dog]

yep. let's follow the americans again. #culturalimerialism

'Imerialism', now there's a fresh new 'ism' for the zeitgeist. But I wouldn't worry about it- it'll all get swept away by the evolution.

 

[barmy44]

I'd rather leave it as it is, but there is definitely an argument for it. It wouldn't surprise me if it's brought in ala goal-line technology after something like the following happens in a big final.

the difference between this and an incorrect decision by an umpire (hawkins, wellingham posters) is one is an incorrect decision based on poor vision, an occurence of which is outside the intended limits of the game. the other is an incorrect decision based on poor game sense that perfectly within the limits of the game.

if a player doesnt have the nous to realise the end of the quarter could happen at any time, and they choose to play on, then thats the game.

 

[alter_ego]

All the clocks (apart from the actual officials clock) should be count up, including the broadcast clock. It's just better from a viewing perspective, you get two moments (Say when the last goal is kicked AND when the siren goes) instead of just one (When you look at the clock and realize that they can't score). Teams would probably then employ their own timekeepers, but likely that they would still be a few seconds out (Chances of stopping the clock at the exact same time as the official timekeeper for every stoppage being quite low) by the end of the quarter. It'd just produce what we have at the moment - players with a basic idea of when the game will end, but not exactly when it will end.

Gets rid of the weird situation where you know how much time is left watching a game but the players don't.

 

[Tulip]

They do have the clocks on the scoreboard and on the LED panels at the G, but certainly something that should be looked at re. Docklands. Not a fan of the countdown clock, however

 

[Geoffa32]

I'd like to get rid of runners, I can't see the need for them - but that is another topic.

I have been thinking this for a couple of seasons now.

With players rotating on and off the bench are runners needed anymore?

 

[Geoffa32]

I don't think I'm for it, but I'm sick of people saying anything brought into the game is "Americanising" it. Get over your ridiculous patriotic bullshit and judge ideas on their own merit.

I wouldn't mind seeing it trialled in the NAB Cup or something. Just put the actual timekeeper's clock on the scoreboard or something.

I personally have no issue with "Americanising" but do have issues with our game evolving into something that is not really Aussie Rules, but a hybrid of Basketball/Rugby Union.

 

[Sttew]

So...something that frustrates me watching footy games is when players are not aware of the time remaining at the end of quarters. Every round I see players in possible goal kicking position play on with only a few seconds left instead of taking a set shot. Or a player will not realize he only has time to drive a ball deep into the forward fifty and instead chip a short pass or do something else to waste an opportunity. Stuff like that happens a lot.

You'll see the runners out on the filed telling players what time is left on the clock. I'm happy with that arrangement

 

[funk44]

I'm a Yank, so clock management has been ingrained in me from an early age. Getting the most out of the final minute(s) of quarters/halves is an integral part of basketball and US football, so players are expected to be very aware of time remaining. Thus the time main remaining clocks are always very visible to players.

On top of this, both sports have a different clock that countdowns the time allotted to each possession (shot clock in basketball and play clock in football). These clocks are positioned on top of the backboard and in the endzone respectively, so players can easily see them.

So...something that frustrates me watching footy games is when players are not aware of the time remaining at the end of quarters. Every round I see players in possible goal kicking position play on with only a few seconds left instead of taking a set shot. Or a player will not realize he only has time to drive a ball deep into the forward fifty and instead chip a short pass or do something else to waste an opportunity. Stuff like that happens a lot.

I've never been on or to a footy stadium so I'm not familiar with sight lines, but it seems to me that there should be clocks positioned so players can easily see them. Maybe 4 clocks along the boundaries (up against the wall) or the stadiums like Subiaco that have LED boards along the boundary could add a clock to the graphics. The clocks could turn on with 2 minutes left in the quarter, alerting players to the fact that time is running out (in NBA games the stadium announcer says "two minutes!")

it is the way it is, if it wasn't how it is then it wouldnt be the way it is