The Sherrin

[SydneyGoose]

Just a question I have about AR Footies.

Why is it that Australian Rules Footy is the only Code of Footy I know of where we haven't given up the Leather ball in favour of Synthetic Balls?

RU & RL did it so that there would be no difference between the weight of the ball on a wet day and dry day, I'd assume Association Football did it for the same reason.

Are we holding onto it for Traditional reasons, for the added challenge of adapting to a heavier ball during wet conditions...

And for the Trolls out there, I like the leather footy (though I keep putting cuts on it when I bounce it on the walk up to the park) and don't want to see it go. But why are we the last bastion of the leather ball?

 

[Danog]

I keep putting cuts on mine when I bounce mine too.

 

[aneale]

It's like the opening bounce, its part of the game.

Given that there is a bag of 8 balls at either end of the ground these days, the need for one synthetic ball for the game is probably not an issue

 

[Hawkers]

You're kidding yourself if you think a leather ball and synthetic balls are the same

 

[kahuna71]

if it ain't broke, don't fix it...

 

[paulige]

What exactly is the point of using a synthetic ball, 'so that it's the same in wet and dry weather'?

The condition of the ground isn't the same in the wet, so I don't see why it's important the condition of the ball is too.

 

[SydneyGoose]

hAWKERS, COMPLETELY GET THAT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN OTHER WAYS OTHER THAN WATER ABSORBTION... MY SISTER WAS DOWN WITH MY NEPHEW THE LAST FORTNIGHT AND I KEPT TAKING HIM UP TO THE PARK TO KICK THE FOOTY. HE'S STILL YOUNG SO I TOOK AN OLD SOFT-TOUCH FOOTY (SYNTHETIC) I HAD AND AFTER 5 ATTEMPTS TO KICK IT 30+ M I GAVE UP TRYING, NOT ENOUGH WEIGHT IN IT TO RESIST THE AERODYNAMIC FORCES. I'M SURE A PROPER SYNTHETIC BALL WOULD HAVE IT'S PROBLEMS TOO.

AGAIN, JUST CURIOUS ABOUT IT.

 

[SydneyGoose]

The wet/dry thing was the reason i found on wiki for the change in rugby. Not saying i agree with it. I love watching games where it's been wet all day and the ball gets heavy and hand passes don't connect so you're forced to compete for the ball more. But then again, i like watching ugly games of footy as much as i like watching clean games.

 

[mcuzzy]

Bugger that, kicking a leather ball is fantastic, even though the balls take some time to put into the correct shape.

Synthetic isn't suited for AFL, kicking synthetic footys is horrible imo.

 

[Andrew Mc]

I guess with league/union to some extent you are more heavily penalised if you drop the ball.

 

[BarneyBent]

I guess with league/union to some extent you are more heavily penalised if you drop the ball.

Kicking also isn't nearly as important. If you suddenly changed the leather balls to synthetic ones, you'd have a lot of players struggling to make the change.

 

[The Kipster]

You're kidding yourself if you think a leather ball and synthetic balls are the same

I've got synthetic balls and they definately are not the same

 

[Cousins2Higgins]

The wet/dry thing was the reason i found on wiki for the change in rugby. Not saying i agree with it. I love watching games where it's been wet all day and the ball gets heavy and hand passes don't connect so you're forced to compete for the ball more. But then again, i like watching ugly games of footy as much as i like watching clean games.

But the synthetic ball they currently use for RL is actually worse in wet conditions...??

 

[rhaz]

NBA changed their ball from leather to a synthetic surface, and one season later they had to revert back to leather from heaps of complaints by players.

Dont fix what isnt broken

 

[Del80659]

we should all be happy with our balls

 

[seanoff]

NBA Balls are leather

NFL/NCAA footballs are leather go to the Wilson site and watch the video

soccer balls it is a matter of lightness really. the keepers hate them because they are so light they move around unbelievably. that's why sometimes you see keepers rooted to the spot when someone scores, the ball has gone in 4 directions.


Th rugby codes synthetic balls have their own problems. they get very very very slippery with dew on them or light rain. (touch footy balls are the same btw) They are better in really heavy conditions as they don't get heavy or as slippery strangely. they had a huge segment on the NRL footy show about this earlier this yr. The error rate in night games with dew or light rain is out the window compared to afternoon games.

 

[John Dorian]

Oh, I love it when you make perfect connection with the leather Sherrin, the sound and feeling is great as you watch it spin backwards through the big sticks.
Keep the leather footy.

 

[Notorious_29]

Ive always found i could kick a leather ball further as well, not sure if its just me?

 

[SydneyGoose]

Yeah, you can kick a leather ball further if you've got the leg muscles to do it. The leather ball weighs more, but Aerodynamics is based on size and shape. So if you have two balls the same size and shape but one weighs more, when you kick it through the air they have the same drag on them, but the heavier ball will be deccellerated less due to the increased mass.

And I completely Agree with better feeling to it. Synth balls just feel so dead.

 

[mcuzzy]

Ive always found i could kick a leather ball further as well, not sure if its just me?

same, more accurately too.

 

[Damon_3388]

They actually did a demonstration (with a scientist present and everything) a few months back on the NRL Footy Show to show the difference between the leather and synthetic rugby ball. Fatty Vaughtin wondered aloud why they don't make the synthetic rugby ball from the same material as a water polo ball, and it was a good point I thought. As they showed during the same demonstation, water polo balls remain easy to grip and handle whether wet or dry.

That being said, I don't think that a synthetic ball would be ideal for footy, because just from observation (not sure on the exact science of it, but I've kicked those kid's synthetic footies in the past) the weight of the ball has something to do with the distance and speed at which it moves. You just can't get the same distance on a kick with a synthetic footy, and it has a different feel to it both in your hands and 'off the boot'. Kind of like the difference in playing cricket with a tennis ball in the backyard and a proper cricket ball in the nets or on the pitch.

 

[Gitfinger]

Something about the smell of a fresh new Tommy...

 

[dread and might]

I keep putting cuts on mine when I bounce mine too.

I get pi$$ed off when someone bounces my Sherrin on anything but grass. A mate pulled me up about it telling me to settle down, it's only a ball.

I was like, "nice call mate when we are on to my second Sherrin and you don't even own one." Cheapa$$

 

[rdhopkins2]

Good call. Sherrin's should not be bounced on the path, especially if you're too cheap not to by the ball.

 

[smoovy]

I thought this thread was going to be about the merit of Sherrin v Faulkner balls.