Unpopular AFL Opinions

[Corkintheocean]

Hamish Brayshaw using Maynard as an example of tribunal inconsistency is crap, they always let players off for accidental concussions.

The Lions player who knocked out Murphy in the GF wasn’t even cited.

They only changed the rules after all the sooking.

If he wanted to get some cut through, he should have used Kozzie Pickett as an example. He regularly gets a slap on the wrist for deliberately trying to shirtfront players.

But he didn’t, because it was just emotional drivel.

Hopefully he has a spell now along with Schofield who is fast becoming #3 media turd behind McClure and Robbo.

AFL fans comprehension skills are atrocious. Just because they speak loudly on social media platforms and fan forums doesn't mean they have the capacity to understand reasonable, nuanced arguments that if followed, would benefit the game they profess to love.

 

[Corkintheocean]

Players who attempt to trick the umpire into paying them a dangerous tackle free kick by staging or contributing disproportionately to their own head contact should be eligible to be reported and suspended for unduly endangering themselves.

 

[Woolly Mammoth]

This is alongside all the other "marquee games" that aren't based on performance like Anzac Eve, Kings Bday, Easter Monday, making it impossible for a club like St Kilda or North to ever get that kind of exposure and relevance.

In 2018 North v St Kilda were given the Good Friday match, something that had massive potential to be developed as a marquee game. Neither supporter base bothered to turn the f*ck up. The league can only do so much.

 

[jwint43]

In 2018 North v St Kilda were given the Good Friday match, something that had massive potential to be developed as a marquee game. Neither supporter base bothered to turn the f*ck up. The league can only do so much.

haha i remember that one, might be the worst game of football i've ever seen. I stand by my point though, the fact that the other marquee games are set each year and not changeable as it stands is still incredibly unfair. You even hear it in the media, the journo's feed into the idea of a free agent going to "play for the big clubs in front of big crowds." The Saints, North or Bulldogs could win 4 flags in a row and will never be rewarded with anything more than Friday night games. Just gotta hope one day for 20 teams and 20 rounds to make it as fair as possible.

 

[jwint43]

Ken Hinkley is the second greatest coach in the AFL era.

This is a diabolical opinion. I love it

 

[matthew_s]

Players who attempt to trick the umpire into paying them a dangerous tackle free kick by staging or contributing disproportionately to their own head contact should be eligible to be reported and suspended for unduly endangering themselves.

Exhibit A: Michael Walters writhing around like he was shot in the Barrass tackle. Strange the writhing stopped as soon as the whistle blew and it was time to get up to take the free kick.

 

[Back One Out]

In 2018 North v St Kilda were given the Good Friday match, something that had massive potential to be developed as a marquee game. Neither supporter base bothered to turn the f*ck up. The league can only do so much.

It's the Easter holiday. Most people are loading up their car and getting away with friends and family for the long weekend, their last chance to do so before winter sets in. All the Easter weekend games draw sub-par crowds.

Easter Monday has worked for Geelong & Hawthorn, mainly because of the strong rivalry, but also because many fans make a point of beating the traffic, getting home by noon and finishing the Easter holidays with the late 3:20pm game at the G.

Why on earth would anyone expect North v St Kilda of all teams to magically draw a big crowd in excess of 35,000 on the Thursday night before Good Friday??? Talk of "developing it as a Marquee game with massive potential" makes no sense at all. That's pure horseshit.

 

[Tarkyn_24]

It's the Easter holiday. Most people are loading up their car and getting away with friends and family for the long weekend, their last chance to do so before winter sets in. All the Easter weekend games draw sub-par crowds.

Easter Monday has worked for Geelong & Hawthorn, mainly because of the strong rivalry, but also because many fans make a point of beating the traffic, getting home by noon and finishing the Easter holidays with the late 3:20pm game at the G.

Why on earth would anyone expect North v St Kilda of all teams to magically draw a big crowd in excess of 35,000 on the Thursday night before Good Friday??? Talk of "developing it as a Marquee game with massive potential" makes no sense at all. That's pure horseshit.

Easter weekend was the fourth highest attended round last season, so I don’t think the argument that people go away holds weight. Especially when you consider that the highest attended club always plays away at a stadium with constrained capacity (limiting their influence over the overall attendance number).

To me it indicates people will go to the footy in a weekend with two gazetted public holidays, and absolutely North and St Kilda’s supporters let their clubs down big time that year and fumbled the bag that they spend so long bitching and moaning about. Call that my unpopular opinion.

 

[Cleansweep17]

So you’re saying we have another 12 years under the 70 year rule ?. Works for me.

Who do you propose we merge with given no-one else is close to 60 years now ?.

Tassie, Gold Coast, North or some Chinese team.

They’ll keep their names though and essentially just get free players.

 

[Atomboy]

Tassie, Gold Coast, North or some Chinese team.

They’ll keep their names though and essentially just get free players.

None of those other teams will have met the 60 year rule though, bit harsh on them.

 

[Underarm]

In 2018 North v St Kilda were given the Good Friday match, something that had massive potential to be developed as a marquee game. Neither supporter base bothered to turn the f*ck up. The league can only do so much.

North were the home team so they have to take the lions share of the blame. North couldn't convince their North Members to show up for free, what hope did they have of convincing Saints supporters of paying $30?

 

[DQ 4EVER]

Harley Reid will never be a star at AFL level. He became famous for kicking bags as a midfielder in juniors. But that never happens at AFL level. The whole team defense is too good. West Coast would be best served to trade him for picks while they still can

Strong date of post to post content correlation

On SM-G960F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[DQ 4EVER]

bulldozed. the land gets re-used as an injecting room for stray cats.

That would rock this town

On SM-G960F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Purple7x08_24]

I can't stand Dunstall as a commentator.

He's just awful.

Unbelievably bias. He clearly has his favourites and just constantly rides his own narrative all day.

Patronising.

States the obvious constantly.

Tows the AFL line unshamably.


Woeful.

I love what he brings to the table. At least he's entertaining.

At this point there are no good commentators.

 

[Rusty Brookes]

He speaks exactly how I imagine 85% of the BigFooty population would...on their good day.

Are you saying 15% of the Bigfooty population would do a better job than Selwood?

Or are you saying Selwood is like 85% of the posters who would have no business being paid to comment on the sport?

Either way, it's hardly a ringing endorsement.

 

[Mr Meow]

Are you saying 15% of the Bigfooty population would do a better job than Selwood?

Or are you saying Selwood is like 85% of the posters who would have no business being paid to comment on the sport?

Either way, it's hardly a ringing endorsement.

You got there in the end.

 

[Lsta062]

I don't know if this is unpopular, but this seems like an appropriate thread based on opinions I've seen on here.

Draft pick positions only make a big difference if you have a top 5 pick in a year with stand-out candidates (e.g. Matt Rowell

18

Matt Rowell

Age

22

Ht

180cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.4

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

9.8

5star

M

0.8

1star

T

5.2

5star

CL

3.8

5star

D

17.4

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

9.8

5star

M

0.8

1star

T

5.2

5star

CL

3.8

5star

D

17.4

5star

K

7.6

3star

HB

9.8

5star

M

0.8

1star

T

5.2

5star

CL

3.8

5star

, Finn Callaghan, Sam Walsh

18

Sam Walsh

Age

23

Ht

184cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

25.1

5star

K

13.5

5star

HB

11.6

5star

M

5.1

5star

T

3.2

5star

CL

3.4

5star

No current season stats available

D

26.2

5star

K

15.4

5star

HB

10.8

5star

M

6.0

5star

T

3.2

5star

CL

4.8

5star

, Harley Reid, JHF). Otherwise, it doesn't really matter where you pick. Hundreds of footballers nominate for the draft every year, and drafting players isn't an exact science. Some later players in the draft could make it if clubs put as much time into them as they do with top picks.

Also, the reason why some bottom teams 'burn' through so many top picks while top teams get 'diamonds in the rough' from later picks is because top teams have a better development program. Some people keep saying things like "[insert good player] was on the board at pick 50 and no one took him". Yeah, because that player wasn't anything remarkable until the team that got him made him into something. Some also say "[Insert club] bombed out of this draft with the good picks they had". Yeah, because that club was most likely terrible at developing players.

Players come with different characters, and how a team handles that (especially in the early stages of a player's career) is important to maximising their potential. If a club doesn't know how to handle certain characters (i.e., extroversion, introversion, sensitivity to criticism, misbehaviour, inclination towards losing fitness, arrogance, low self-esteem), then those players might not make it at the club regardless of how good their natural talents are. Some of these players change clubs and thrive in their new environments (e.g., Jesse Hogan

23

Jesse Hogan

Age

29

Ht

196cm

Wt

100kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.0

4star

K

9.3

4star

HB

5.7

4star

M

6.4

5star

T

1.4

3star

G

1.9

5star

D

10.3

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

4.3

3star

M

5.3

5star

T

0.0

1star

G

0.0

1star

D

13.0

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

4.0

3star

M

6.4

5star

T

1.4

4star

G

1.8

5star

at GWS and Tyson Stengle

18

Tyson Stengle

Age

25

Ht

175cm

Wt

71kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.3

2star

K

5.8

2star

HB

3.5

3star

M

1.8

2star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.1

4star

D

10.3

3star

K

5.3

2star

HB

5.0

3star

M

1.3

1star

T

2.0

3star

G

0.5

4star

D

8.8

3star

K

5.6

3star

HB

3.2

3star

M

1.8

2star

T

2.6

4star

G

1.6

5star

at Geelong). Other naturally talented individuals have become so ruined by their previous club that they don't make it anywhere. If a club knows how to handle a character from the onset, then they might even reach their full potential (e.g., Richmond with Dusty and GWS with Toby Greene

4

Toby Greene

Age

30

Ht

182cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

22.7

5star

K

12.5

5star

HB

10.2

5star

M

4.8

5star

T

3.0

5star

G

1.2

4star

D

17.5

4star

K

9.5

4star

HB

8.0

4star

M

4.8

4star

T

1.0

2star

G

2.3

5star

D

26.6

5star

K

12.4

5star

HB

14.2

5star

M

4.8

5star

T

3.6

5star

G

0.0

1star

). Alas, not everyone reaches their full potential because not every club knows how to draw that out of them.

The only time I'd blame recruiters for their selection is if they either skip on a standout candidate (e.g., St Kilda skipping on Petracca) or if the list composition doesn't make sense (e.g. no KPFs or no small forwards on the list). Otherwise, it's usually the club's development program or environment that's to blame.

That's why teams like Sydney, Geelong, Collingwood and GWS constantly have competitive lists. The first three in particular don't always use top picks to select good players. They just select players within their reach and develop them well. They know how to maximise their players' potential during development, what positions to play them in, who are suited to be stars, who are suited to be role players etc. That's why they're good in most years. Meanwhile, North Melbourne is playing midfielders with star potential at half-back and has LDU checked out of the season. They have the raw talent to do better, but their environment seems messed up. They need a spring clean in the player development department. That's what Richmond did pre-2017, and surprise surprise, young players and rookies started making impact AFL level.

TL;DR - People put way too much emphasis on draft pick position and not enough heat on a club's player development. Some players don't make it because their club doesn't know how to develop them. It's rarely ever that they're just a completely useless bust.

 

[PhatBoy]

I don't know if this is unpopular, but this seems like an appropriate thread based on opinions I've seen on here.

Draft pick positions only make a big difference if you have a top 5 pick in a year with stand-out candidates (e.g. Matt Rowell, Finn Callaghan, Sam Walsh, Harley Reid, JHF). Otherwise, it doesn't really matter where you pick. Hundreds of footballers nominate for the draft every year, and drafting players isn't an exact science. Some later players in the draft could make it if clubs put as much time into them as they do with top picks.

Also, the reason why some bottom teams 'burn' through so many top picks while top teams get 'diamonds in the rough' from later picks is because top teams have a better development program. Some people keep saying things like "[insert good player] was on the board at pick 50 and no one took him". Yeah, because that player wasn't anything remarkable until the team that got him made him into something. Some also say "[Insert club] bombed out of this draft with the good picks they had". Yeah, because that club was most likely terrible at developing players.

Players come with different characters, and how a team handles that (especially in the early stages of a player's career) is important to maximising their potential. If a club doesn't know how to handle certain characters (i.e., extroversion, introversion, sensitivity to criticism, misbehaviour, inclination towards losing fitness, arrogance, low self-esteem), then those players might not make it at the club regardless of how good their natural talents are. Some of these players change clubs and thrive in their new environments (e.g., Jesse Hogan at GWS and Tyson Stengle at Geelong). Other naturally talented individuals have become so ruined by their previous club that they don't make it anywhere. If a club knows how to handle a character from the onset, then they might even reach their full potential (e.g., Richmond with Dusty and GWS with Toby Greene). Alas, not everyone reaches their full potential because not every club knows how to draw that out of them.

The only time I'd blame recruiters for their selection is if they either skip on a standout candidate (e.g., St Kilda skipping on Petracca) or if the list composition doesn't make sense (e.g. no KPFs or no small forwards on the list). Otherwise, it's usually the club's development program or environment that's to blame.

That's why teams like Sydney, Geelong, Collingwood and GWS constantly have competitive lists. The first three in particular don't always use top picks to select good players. They just select players within their reach and develop them well. They know how to maximise their players' potential during development, what positions to play them in, who are suited to be stars, who are suited to be role players etc. That's why they're good in most years. Meanwhile, North Melbourne is playing midfielders with star potential at half-back and has LDU checked out of the season. They have the raw talent to do better, but their environment seems messed up. They need a spring clean in the player development department. That's what Richmond did pre-2017, and surprise surprise, young players and rookies started making impact AFL level.

TL;DR - People put way too much emphasis on draft pick position and not enough heat on a club's player development. Some players don't make it because their club doesn't know how to develop them. It's rarely ever that they're just a completely useless bust.

It’s dead right. Really if you look at any game outside of two absolutely hopeless teams, half the players on the field should be ‘good’ players. Not necessarily excellent players but good. If both sides are at near full strength there should be 20-25 ‘good’ (relatively) players on the field which theoretically tells you that more or less every second player in the league should be - as common sense would suggest - at least slightly above average. That’s what averages are for right? As such in the draft, every second player picked should be slightly above average so that’s what - 40 or so players and there’s no real reason why based solely on things like the combine or some output in some junior leagues where the competition is on a totally different scale or level, those above average players, will be limited to the most ‘obvious’ picks at the top of the tree. There’s no reason that it should just be limited to having to be in the top 5-6 picks hoping to get a shot at a few stars each year because logically there will be a lot of good players available if they’re managed right

 

[Rusty Brookes]

You got there in the end.

Well played

 

[RonnieRaven]

Freo has the best midfield in the AFL
Darcy
Serong
Brayshaw
Young

Backups
Jackson ruck
Fyfe midfield

Have beaten
Blues
Lions
Roos
Power
Dogs
Crows
Tiges midfields convincingly

 

[Billy ray]

if the AFL allow carlton to wear home jumper against essendon, richmond and collingwood with white shorts.
And allow essendon to wear home with white shorts against collingwood, carlton and richmond.
And allow Richmond to wear home with white shorts against collingwood, carlton and essendon.

Then they should allow SUNS to wear red jumper with white shorts against brisbanes maroooooon

 

[RonnieRaven]

if the AFL allow carlton to wear home jumper against essendon, richmond and collingwood with white shorts.
And allow essendon to wear home with white shorts against collingwood, carlton and richmond.
And allow Richmond to wear home with white shorts against collingwood, carlton and essendon.

Then they should allow SUNS to wear red jumper with white shorts against brisbanes maroooooon

Come on Billy Ray
That’s not how the business operates!

 

[GoldbergsGold]

I have the most controversial. I really like both Port Adelaide's prison bar guernsey and Collingwood's guernsey.

 

[RUNVS]

I really think the AFL should be 16 teams and no more.

I think the ideal distribution is

Victoria - 7 teams
South Australia - 2 teams
Western Australia - 2 teams
New South Wales - 2 teams
Queensland - 2 teams
Tasmania - 1 team

The competition would be far more healthy, both financially and also importantly on the field if it were like that as we would drop the worst 90 players from the league.

 

[CarnTheScray]

Freo has the best midfield in the AFL
Darcy
Serong
Brayshaw
Young

Backups
Jackson ruck
Fyfe midfield

Have beaten
Blues
Lions
Roos
Power
Dogs
Crows
Tiges midfields convincingly

You just named like all 4 bottom 4 sides 2 middling ones and Carlton who ended up beating you anyway.