The corporatization of Australian Rules

[jonbe54]

We don't pay our politicians enough and we get what we pay for. Then again we don't demand enough of them and we get what we ask for. Regardless, players deserve what they get. It's a short career that shuts out any other full time and most well paid options and sometimes it is physically debilitating. Many players don't play 5 years at AFL level. The ones that do might be lucky to last 10 or so years.

If the show they put on wasn't good enough you wouldn't be here posting because you wouldn't follow the game they put on. The players aren't bigger then the club but there is still no club without the players playing the game.

If you pay peanuts you get monkeys working for you

 

[MarkT2]

Pity some of them don't have nut allergies.

 

[jonbe54]

Old joke . . . .

Q What do you call a thousand dead politicians on the bottom of the ocean???
A A bloody good start

 

[Gone Critical]

As with JonB there are aspects of the game that I truly miss. The preponderance of high flying marks, for one and for another, the genuine 1 on 1 match-ups without a 3rd man up or blocking. There was also more daring runs with multiple bounces, there was 60yard drop kicks (some of which were deadly accurate and spinning properly and a thing of beauty to see), acts of supreme dedication in the face of what would now been seen as unbelievable brutality.
On the other hand, the sheer athleticism, the endurance levels, the speed (both of movement and decision making) have all improved to the nth degree. Shame about the kicking standards!
The one constant has been the Pies. Regardless of how we have gone during our season ( on the ladder or in finals ) we have always had at least a couple of players that were exciting to watch and capable of leaving us and other people in the footy world in awe. This year we have a wealth of players that are capable of such feats. They simply need to play for each other (and Bucks) and the Pies will have the most successful H&A season since 2011. It could be beautiful.

I would disagree with these two points.

The kicking of the modern footballer is what allows a game to be played in such confined spaces. The speed and accuracy of delivery has improved greatly with every generation since I started watching.

I find the bravery of the modern footballer astounding. They literally go where angel fear to tread without hesitation or thoughts for their own safetly. There was a lot more self preservation and short stepping back in the 60's, 70's and 80's before the game was so closely dissected.

 

[jonbe54]

I would disagree with these two points.

The kicking of the modern footballer is what allows a game to be played in such confined spaces. The speed and accuracy of delivery has improved greatly with every generation since I started watching.

I find the bravery of the modern footballer astounding. They literally go where angel fear to tread without hesitation or thoughts for their own safetly. There was a lot more self preservation and short stepping back in the 60's, 70's and 80's before the game was so closely dissected.

Not so sure on the overall standard of kicking - I think it comes down to the tempo of the game, much more mark then go back and kick in the older days.

In today's footy its all about maintaining 'pressure' with quick play.

The spectacle of individual contests all over the ground has almost completely disappeared from the game in favour of the mass movement spectacle.

The game gets closer to rugby every year and simply bears little resemblance to the '70's game. Whether that is a good or bad thing will ultimately be decided by the 'consumer' but I would make one further observation.

If the game continues to evolve ever closer to rugby there can only be one outcome - one or the other will fade.

 

[Vicky Park]

There is a lot that I miss about the footy I fell in love with, at Vic Park. But that may just be nostalgia on my part.

One thing I don’t miss is the thuggery. Violence on the footy field - where the intent is to injure and maim - is never acceptable, be it the 1970s or 2020s. The adulation of the ‘hard men’ who went around thumping the opposition, never sat well with me.

 

[NoobPie]

Not so sure on the overall standard of kicking - I think it comes down to the tempo of the game, much more mark then go back and kick in the older days.

In today's footy its all about maintaining 'pressure' with quick play.

The spectacle of individual contests all over the ground has almost completely disappeared from the game in favour of the mass movement spectacle.

The game gets closer to rugby every year and simply bears little resemblance to the '70's game. Whether that is a good or bad thing will ultimately be decided by the 'consumer' but I would make one further observation.

If the game continues to evolve ever closer to rugby there can only be one outcome - one or the other will fade.

A game that is often said to be getting "closer to rugby" is alternatively said to be becoming like basketball

I liked the classical "man-on-man" form of football but its professionalised form is still richer and a more entertaining spectacle than any other

 

[76woodenspooners]

I liked the classical "man-on-man" form of football but its ...

Each to their own I guess ...

... today’s game is more strategic: A bunch of young athletes working together can defeat a field of thugs as long as they stay out of thumping range - which they usually can due to superior fitness. I prefer today’s game.

 

[TradeDraft]

No Longer game of the People

 

[76woodenspooners]

Viewing the competition from a lens of 50 years support it's saddening to see how much of the game has been taken away from the average supporter.

To be fair, if our game hadn’t corporatised, and Gaelic football had ...

... then it’d be AFL’s best players who would be travelling over to the other side of the world to pursue their sporting career. We’d all have County Down as our second team because Steele Sidebottom plays for them, and we’d be spending season after season speculating whether next year would be the year that Sidey will come back home and play for Collingwood again ...

... and a player like Scott Pendlebury at age 17 / 18 would have probably gone off to become some NBA / NBL player we don’t care about ...

... and players like Brodie Grundy would have been snapped up as marquee players for NRL in the way that Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau were in AFL ...

... and forget about players like Mason Cox joining the competition.

 

[Saintly Viewed]

No Longer game of the People

Interesting take.
Millions go to the game.
Millions watch the game.
Millions love the game.

The people still love the game.

 

[jonbe54]

To be fair, if our game hadn’t corporatised, and Gaelic football had ...

... then it’d be AFL’s best players who would be travelling over to the other side of the world to pursue their sporting career. We’d all have County Down as our second team because Steele Sidebottom plays for them, and we’d be spending season after season speculating whether next year would be the year that Sidey will come back home and play for Collingwood again ...

... and a player like Scott Pendlebury at age 17 / 18 would have probably gone off to become some NBA / NBL player we don’t care about ...

... and players like Brodie Grundy would have been snapped up as marquee players for NRL in the way that Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau were in AFL ...

... and forget about players like Mason Cox joining the competition.

No argument 76 I'm just saying it comes at a cost competition wide.

 

[Gone Critical]

Not so sure on the overall standard of kicking - I think it comes down to the tempo of the game, much more mark then go back and kick in the older days.

In today's footy its all about maintaining 'pressure' with quick play.

The spectacle of individual contests all over the ground has almost completely disappeared from the game in favour of the mass movement spectacle.

The game gets closer to rugby every year and simply bears little resemblance to the '70's game. Whether that is a good or bad thing will ultimately be decided by the 'consumer' but I would make one further observation.

If the game continues to evolve ever closer to rugby there can only be one outcome - one or the other will fade.

I have a really strong belief that the improve dkicking iskey to the modern game. In the 60s and 70s kicking was much more floated,balls took a lot longer to get to the destination and this made contests between players inevitable. The modern game can be played in a shoebox almost because the players can hit targets with great skill and speed, the ball is in the air for a much shorter period of time preventing contests being as frequent.

If you gave the modern player the space afforded players in the 60s and 70s and played positional football they would be next to no contests. The game would resemble the sevens sort of stuff we saw last preseason as it would be so easy for the players to pick off the targets without giving the opponent a chance of getting near the ball. With that sort of space the ball would just ping up and down up-and-down with no contests at all.

I love the modern game I must say

 

[jonbe54]

No argument

I have a really strong belief that the improve dkicking iskey to the modern game. In the 60s and 70s kicking was much more floated,balls took a lot longer to get to the destination and this made contests between players inevitable. The modern game can be played in a shoebox almost because the players can hit targets with great skill and speed, the ball is in the air for a much shorter period of time preventing contests being as frequent.

If you gave the modern player the space afforded players in the 60s and 70s and played positional football they would be next to no contests. The game would resemble the sevens sort of stuff we saw last preseason as it would be so easy for the players to pick off the targets without giving the opponent a chance of getting near the ball. With that sort of space the ball would just ping up and down up-and-down with no contests at all.

I love the modern game I must say

No argument on the modern skills - they have their charms but so to does the man on man contest of old. Full back on full forward and centreman on centreman was enthralling as was seeing Ronnie Wearmouth tearing down the wing - trailing various opponents floundering in his wake lol.

 

[Kappa]

No argument

No argument on the modern skills - they have their charms but so to does the man on man contest of old. Full back on full forward and centreman on centreman was enthralling as was seeing Ronnie Wearmouth tearing down the wing - trailing various opponents floundering in his wake lol.

Maybe we'll see more of that in 2019 with the mandatory starting positions, 6/6/6 and a FF/FB starting in the goals square

 

[magpiewarrior]

Maybe we'll see more of that in 2019 with the mandatory starting positions, 6/6/6 and a FF/FB starting in the goals square

Could do, I reckon.

 

[barrackers]

I wasn’t alive during this era but from what I can tell, having lived 33 years this earth, 2019 is the greatest time to be alive in history. Sure you can be nostalgic and hone in on a few amazing aspects that you remember growing but I would argue the game is better than its ever been. With the money/corporatism comes more professionalism, broadcasting and accessibility to the game, which is only a good thing if you’re a fan.

If I were you i’d order some fish and chips on Uber eats, kick back in a recliner with your favourite micro brewed beer, chuck on the surround sound and watch the game live on the 60 inch TV.

Times change, keep up, remember the good moments and enjoy the ride that we’re on.

Having said that... if you don’t like it, head down to the local footy - it’s pretty close to what you’re describing in your post.

The VFL makes a great alternative too although I fear with the comp moving under the umbrella of AFL house and push for curtain raisers it may not be the case for much longer.

I find a day spent a suburban ground watching VFL is much more relaxing; no obnoxiously loud music during breaks, pre-banner warm-up that I miss at AFL level and a much less tactical game, which is arguably more pure footy albeit the skill & talent level is much less. That said in contrast to AFL level footy the broadcasting accessibility is much less making the game/team/players much harder to follow if one's not able to frequently attend games.

From a spectators point of view I think the balance between AFL and VFL and their differences is currently pretty spot on. We're damn lucky that the lower levels haven't received been Americanised and corporatised yet can still experience a highly professional game at AFL level.