Should the AFL provide clocks that players can easily see?

[Ron The Bear]

It comes down to a personality thing. I reckon the clock should be removed from TV coverage as well, then a) nobody would be calling for a clock at the game, and b) people would realise how much more exciting the game is when you don't know when it's going to end.

 

[Blind Turn]

I can guarantee you that the game will become a routine bore-fest at the end of each qtr when the game is close. Chipping sideways will be regimented with about 2 mins left. The instinct to attack until the siren sounds will be removed. The game will not be improved by having a countdown clock. Plus it would bring the irritating crowd countdown which would distract massively from the action out in the middle.

 

[Sherrinator]

According to many, it would supposedly it would kill the excitement of the game if we had a countdown clock visible at the ground. Personally, I'm all for it. I'd be in favour of flat 25 minute quarters, with the clock stopping when the ball goes out of bounds.

So you want the game longer??? They're 20 minute quarters with the clock stopping. The only people who see the total time are at the game.

If players could see that there was 1 minute remaining they would go automatically into possession kick mode. Now THAT is boring.

 

[Hodge is God]

lolwut?

Bring me into this shit? Now IM MAD

No, I'm asking you because you seem very keen on this idea.

 

[SUNS]

No, I'm asking you because you seem very keen on this idea.

What makes you say that haha?

I think I can think of pro's and con's. But the suspense is good. Keep people in their seats right til the end!

 

[SBYM]

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

My turn...I'd like free vuvuzelas for blockbuster matches. They could be in team colours, would be the duck's nuts.



Ps. OP is a shocking idea. The 'play-dictated-by-the-clock' that characterises some American sports is the worst part of some pretty shit sports.

 

[Hodge is God]

What makes you say that haha?

I think I can think of pro's and con's. But the suspense is good. Keep people in their seats right til the end!

Oh shit, avatar confusion.



Haha, soz.

But good to see you believe what I do! haha

 

[Dont be a lemon]

Yes, the real clock should be visible to players and the crowd.

 

[coldlunch]

not sure this would work very well, the ground is too large to have clocks easily visible from anywhere.

another idea would be to let play continue after the siren until there is a score, or the ball goes out of bounds (ala rugby). you would obviously need to eliminate the deliberate out of bonds rule for play after the siren.

 

[treefingers]

I've got to admit I'm not a fan of it, though I can see the merit of it.

At the Grand Final last year the last quarter went for 34 minutes or something. I spend the last 5 minutes of game time convinced the siren would go any second, it was the most nailbiting and shithouse 5 minutes of my entire life.

Wouldn't change it though. In fact I'd rather have no one know how longs left except the timekeepers. Bring back the 5 min warning ala channel 10.

 

[Lord Eddard]

I'm torn. Love the suspense of not knowing. I think vs port this year the telecast screwed up the countdown clock and they just showed the continuous clock counting up for the last quarter. Nail biting.

That said I just watched game 6 of the NBA finals which was an all time classic and the clock definitely added context to what was happening. Players like Ray Allen knew his shot was do or die. It was theatre at its best which in AFL you only really get with after the siren goals.

Imagine if nick davis' goal had the context of "that was the match winner" when he kicked it. Not "race back to the centre we don't know how much time is left".

Like I said I'm torn I'd like to see it trialled in pre season.

 

[Oneiros]

This reminds me of Brian Taylor freaking the hell out commentating that Geelong game where they had to use a count-up clock in the broadcast...

 

[jim boy]

That said I just watched game 6 of the NBA finals which was an all time classic and the clock definitely added context to what was happening. Players like Ray Allen knew his shot was do or die. It was theatre at its best which in AFL you only really get with after the siren goals..

That's the thing about the nature of NBA and basketball, as long there are just a few seconds left on the clock and the scores are close, you are never out of it. With the larger grounds of the AFL and the nature of the game, the same isn't true about footy

 

[hcd199]

Imagine if nick davis' goal had the context of "that was the match winner" when he kicked it. Not "race back to the centre we don't know how much time is left".

Like I said I'm torn I'd like to see it trialled in pre season.

I think Nick Davis' goal works better under the "don't know how long's left" context - we know the game is due to end sometime very soon, so there's still the belief it's the matchwinner, but at the same time the game still has time to run and the lack of knowledge of how long that is adds to that.

The current situation works well. As others have said, teams use how long is left to guide how defensively they'll act, but the less they know about how long is left, the more cautious they are about going too defensive. If they know there's exactly 2 minutes left, they'll know to execute their 2-minutes-left plan for retaining possession; if they only know there's somewhere in the vicinity of 2 minutes remaining, they'll try and retain possession but with a great deal more hesitancy, which affords a greater quality to the tension at the end of the match. Just in general, from the perspective of the supporter, not knowing when a game will end is a good deal more dramatic than knowing how long is left. Compare the 2005 grand final - where you don't know Sydney have got it until the game is over - to the 2010 grand final, where it becomes obvious it's almost certainly going to be a draw when the ball gets locked on the wing in the last minute. Without a countdown clock, you don't know until the end, and that makes the whole thing much more dramatic. A return to count-up clocks on TV would be great, at least the "5 minute warning".

 

[Wallaby]

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?

Of course it's an advantage for both teams to see the clock telling them exactly how much time is left. Since the coaches box have access to the actual clock, they certainly tell their players how much time is left, and the Freo coaching staff failed here.

That's not what's under discussion. It would also be an advantage to the players if they had gigantic butterfly nets to mark the ball in - doesn't mean that's better for the game.

The argument is - does having the countdown clock make the game better for spectators? The majority (not all) of responses here seem to indicate no.

 

[themidlandmaster]

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?

I think the difference is most people are happy for players to know how long is lest, but don't want to ruin the awesome experience of being there at the game, begging for the siren to go in a close one

 

[Hawkers]

No countdown clock at the ground and get it off TV as well

Coaches shouldn't know either. They need to figure it out themselves.

The only ones that should know how much time there is to go in a quarter are the time-keepers

 

[GeelongFTW]

Stop farking mentioning nick Davis. Still gives my nightmares!

 

[nicshata]

shit idea DO NOT WANT

 

[Balance]

Would love to see what OP suggested, it's logical and could only add the the excitement to the game. But of course, the AFL only want to bring in confusing rules that are untried and guesswork at best, how dare we change the landscape of our game by bringing clocks for players to view.

 

[blitzer]

I'd like to see clocks introduced so the players knew how much time is left. That Dempsey moment was a shot on goal for the win after the siren opportunity missed. Now to be fair he probably wasn't going to make the distance but I'm disappointed he didn't get to even attempt it. Plus why do we want our players to be ignorant on the ground. More knowledge helps them build better strategies which could actually improve the game. Teams will know exactly when they have to unleash an all out attack to rein in an opposition lead. Sounds good to me.

 

[Superstar swan]

I think it should be kept the way it is, adds an element of excitement. Besides I think the players would have a fair understanding courtesy of the interchanges and runners being out there

 

[Lord Eddard]

Suppose it'd only work if there were a shot clock rule such as in basketball. Cannot posses ball for more than 90 sec without a i50.

Might change the game too much.

 

[AstroboyUK]

As a general idea, don't you think it has merit?

no it doesnt. It will just encourage more time wasting, and playing for the siren and yes it will definately spoil some of hte excitment of being at the ground and not knowing when the siren will go. Dont even like it on TV. Our game is meant to be free , spontaneous, unpredictable. Every little thing we add that 'defines', herds and narrows the range of possibilites is a cancer... things like 50m lines that take's player judgement of distances out of the equation, like throwing the ball up and not having a variation from the bounce, like not know when the siren goes... these are not decorations to our game, they are part of its fabric. The more you seek to close down the unexpected the more you play into the hands of coaches and tacticians who win games not on skill, speed, judgement and daring, but the dark, yet truly drab arts of defensive, numerical tactics that turn players into mere chess pieces, with no individual creativity.

In this sense, Gridiron, (for example) and Football could not be more opposite in philosphy.
Equally, if we want more predicatblity in our sport, hey, why not stop using an oval ball that bounces funny (that must cause injuries!), and lets not play on an oval field that doesnt have straight lines, lests make it rectangle so that the field is nice and regular, and sometimes we're not 100% on a goal so lets put a net at the back of the goal and not worry if anyone touched it on the way in. If you really want to go down that path theres tonnes of ways to 'straighten out' our game and bring it up to (cough) "international standards." But poor ol' backwards me will still prefer the game that embodied the true Australian spirit, or at least our aspiration of it.. free, wide ranging, without silly rules on where you can go and room for any man big or small to make their mark, and play and play, until the final siren goes (whenever that might be)

 

[Perry Pie]

It comes down to a personality thing. I reckon the clock should be removed from TV coverage as well, then a) nobody would be calling for a clock at the game, and b) people would realise how much more exciting the game is when you don't know when it's going to end.

Perfect. I like the uncertainty too - the tension starts early too.