The Top 5 issues the AFL must address...

[Sttew]

Here’s my top 5 burning issues the AFL must address to avoid the game heading down the toilet:

1. Bring back curtain raisers.
2. Ticketing - if I want to go to the footy with a group of friends it is nigh impossible to be seated together because of the ‘Covid ticketing’ system. Just open it up to walk ups.
3. The 50m penalty - keep it for serious on field transgressions but for things like lifting your hands when a spurious ump decision is made, and other trivial things like accidentally stepping off the mark, we need a 15m penalty.
4. Who is rucking at a boundary throw in or ball up around the field? Who cares. Just throw the ball in or bounce it. Don’t ask who is rucking; it slows the game down.
5. Commit to a team in Tasmania. Should be a no brainer, IMO

What are yours?

 

[Bostonian]

No more than 18 teams.

 

[Max Power 83]

1. Being able to compile a list in consistant ascending numerical order.
4. Being able to count to 5.

 

[Sttew]

1. Being able to compile a list in consistant ascending numerical order.
4. Being able to count to 5.

Fixed!

 

[HairyO]

I still think the competition needs 14 teams and 26 games a year so every team plays every team twice.

We need to spend a year looking at the rules and come up with empirical ways of judging things, not the horribly subjective interpretations we have now. We need to stop the chopping and changing every year and through the year.

Also no matching for 1st round picks. F/S is wonderful, but the competition comes 1st.

 

[Max Power 83]

Fixed!

Now I look like the idiot

 

[greekstyler]

Here’s my top 5 burning issues the AFL must address to avoid the game heading down the toilet:

1. Bring back curtain raisers.
2. Ticketing - if I want to go to the footy with a group of friends it is nigh impossible to be seated together because of the ‘Covid ticketing’ system. Just open it up to walk ups.
3. The 50m penalty - keep it for serious on field transgressions but for things like lifting your hands when a spurious ump decision is made, and other trivial things like accidentally stepping off the mark, we need a 15m penalty.
4. Who is rucking at a boundary throw in or ball up around the field? Who cares. Just throw the ball in or bounce it. Don’t ask who is rucking; it slows the game down.
5. Commit to a team in Tasmania. Should be a no brainer, IMO

What are yours?

Agree with all this - but no mention of umpires. The dissent crusade and free kicks in the Hawks v Lions were absolutely horrendous.

 

[Enviable Tradition]

Giving members back control of their clubs.

 

[gelder01]

Community Football
Stop changing/ implementing new rules every 5 minutes to appease the minorities
Community Football
Community Football
Bring back Macca

 

[Underarm]

Here’s my top 5 burning issues the AFL must address to avoid the game heading down the toilet:


2. Ticketing - if I want to go to the footy with a group of friends it is nigh impossible to be seated together because of the ‘Covid ticketing’ system. Just open it up to walk ups.

This already is back in Melbourne.

 

[Sttew]

This already is back in Melbourne.

Not for all games

 

[PhatBoy]

1. Find a way to make the cycle of success less restrictive. With a few minor exceptions - Geelong and Sydney, and both those sides haven’t won a flag in a decade - teams cannot stay up the top forever, and that’s fine, it gets boring if it’s the same teams every year. Equally however once you hit the slide, you are stuck there for at least 4-5 years realistically, often a lot longer. At any given time there are up to half a dozen fan bases who are basically twiddling their thumbs for an extended period. I bang on about NRL a lot, I know, and it bores a lot of people to tears im sure. And im the first to say that the transit-lounge nature of NRL player movement detracts from the soul of the game but at least fans of any team know that with some shrewd recruitment decisions they are never more than a couple of seasons from the possibility of competing. The current structure in afl doesn’t allow that and I think of some tweaks were made it would help

 

[Sassermon]

Umpire dissent rule without a doubt. Yes its important to stop umpire abuse but holding your arms out or yelling something along the lines of "how is that a free kick!?" is not and has never been abuse. an over correction that is sporadically and inconsistently adjucated

 

[im_a_lazy_sod]

1. This
2. Is
3. Mambo
4. Number
5

 

[AndyLucimitis]

Start Friday night games at 7:15pm at the latest (I'd prefer 7pm to be honest).

Friday night games aren't finishing until nearly 10:30pm at the moment.

 

[Underarm]

Not for all games

Which games has this not been true for in Melbourne?

I definitely think the complicated system from 2020, plus the sloppy introduction of digital cards hasn't helped. But you can definitely get GA tickets and sit with friends in 2021.

 

[FRUMPY]

Definitely ticketing - just make it easy, basically reverse what you've done this year

tbh, the first game i went to i had no clue if i did actually have a ticket or not and what the numbers on the ticket meant...i just presumed it was top of grandstand and it was, if i hadnt been before i would have no clue.

 

[AFDogs]

1. Umpiring and rules
2. Umpiring and rules
3. Umpiring and rules
4. Umpiring and rules
5. Umpiring and rules

I haven't been to a single game this year nor do I feel the need to. The current product is disgusting.

 

[FRUMPY]

If you want jobs for boys, give them a job cleaning toilets, not be in charge of the game (Hocking and now Scott)....

 

[Virgin Dog]

I still think the competition needs 14 teams and 26 games a year so every team plays every team twice.

We need to spend a year looking at the rules and come up with empirical ways of judging things, not the horribly subjective interpretations we have now. We need to stop the chopping and changing every year and through the year.

Also no matching for 1st round picks. F/S is wonderful, but the competition comes 1st.

The issue with reducing the number of teams is that no one is happy for their own club to be the one merged/removed. If they did go this route, I think they'd need to go ahead with merging most VIC teams in order to enable Tas to come in

 

[HairyO]

The issue with reducing the number of teams is that no one is happy for their own club to be the one merged/removed. If they did go this route, I think they'd need to go ahead with merging most VIC teams in order to enable Tas to come in

There are 2 teams in QLD and 2 teams in Sydney, and between the 4 of them they are towards the bottom of member numbers. Sure, consolidate Victorian teams, but the AFL has to admit that GCS and GWS arent going to work. They can spend another 20 years propping them up and there will be minimal change.

Im sure they exist, but the only GWS members I know are members of other clubs and only joined GWS so they can see more football. GWS will always be their 2nd team.

 

[Corn Cobbers]

The issue with reducing the number of teams is that no one is happy for their own club to be the one merged/removed. If they did go this route, I think they'd need to go ahead with merging most VIC teams in order to enable Tas to come in

There is just no way there are going to be any more mergers

We need more teams, not less

There are still highly populated areas which don't have a team

24 teams, two rotating divisions of 12 who play each other twice, final five in each division with the winners to play in the GF

 

[Virgin Dog]

There are 2 teams in QLD and 2 teams in Sydney, and between the 4 of them they are towards the bottom of member numbers. Sure, consolidate Victorian teams, but the AFL has to admit that GCS and GWS arent going to work. They can spend another 20 years propping them up and there will be minimal change.

Im sure they exist, but the only GWS members I know are members of other clubs and only joined GWS so they can see more football. GWS will always be their 2nd team.

I don't disagree. If looking at mergers, those two states would be easy moves, but I think we'd also need to look at reducing the number of Victorian teams by at least 3. Using my own club as an example, you'd potentially look at merging Dogs/Cats with the aim of the club representing Western Melbourne / country Victoria.

Problem is, so many people advocate for reducing teams but never seen to include their own club as candidates. It's easy to say we relocate North or merge Saints (the two most common targets brought up) but imo, that's not enough

 

[Sttew]

I don't disagree. If looking at mergers, those two states would be easy moves, but I think we'd also need to look at reducing the number of Victorian teams by at least 3. Using my own club as an example, you'd potentially look at merging Dogs/Cats with the aim of the club representing Western Melbourne / country Victoria.

Problem is, so many people advocate for reducing teams but never seen to include their own club as candidates. It's easy to say we relocate North or merge Saints (the two most common targets brought up) but imo, that's not enough

True. There is no reason to dilute the only regional team in Victoria and 2nd oldest in the competition. It would be a recipe for disaster, IMO.

 

[Power Raid]

1. mid strength beer is not beer. bring back real beer
2. plastic cups for beer is not a real beer container. bring in beer glasses with handles, preferably steins
3. limiting beer to two or four beers per customer is not responsible alcohol service. It's cruel and unusual punishment.
4. having to walk to get beer is so last century. All seats should be fitted with their own tap.
5. something else about beer