What makes a great game of football

Catsnlakers

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I really enjoy a tight tussle between teams that end up between 12-14 goals each, enough goals to keep you cheering but tense all the way through so you ride every bump.....Two that come to mind for me are the 07 Prelim vs the Pies & the ‘16 QF vs the Hawks....Both in my mind truly great football matches.
 
Nov 12, 2002
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Surely nobody is suggesting that the wins against Melbourne and Gold Coast proved that the meaningful competition across the league wasn't getting far better at containing attacking football by 2011. Both clubs were absolute laughing stocks of the AFL at the time.

As for the Collingwood game, it was certainly an incredible demolition. But hardly indicative of a yawning chasm between the sides in the objective sense. As the GF a few weeks later revealed, the teams were actually very well matched, and arresting their momentum in the second quarter proved crucial to keeping us in that game.

Never said it wasn't. My point was the world didn't suddenly shift because of the 2010 Prelim final. The game was heading that way already. Just as it didn't shift after 2011, or 2012. It's always incremental.

There are the odd exceptions, like the games you mention above. But overall it seems ridiculous to me to suggest that the game hasn't become far more defensive (and teams far more effective defensively) over recent years. The scoring downturn over numerous seasons now objectively bears out the observation of a reliance of all clubs on a predominantly defensive mindset.

Completely agree. Unless the coaches come up with something it's not changing anytime soon either.

And the proposition that our coach has played a huge role in lurching in this direction just doesn't hold up, given our position on the 'points for' ladder over every year of his tenure.

2011 1st
2012 7th
2013 2nd
2014 6th
2015 9th
2016 3rd
2017 5th
2018 4th
2019 3rd
2020 1st


In the end, averaging fourth on points scored over the 10 years is hardly grounds for proposing that our coach is the key player in driving a defensive mentality across the comp.

Valid points, except I didn't mention our coach. So not sure what argument you're responding to there. Not mine anyway.
 

goyoucatters

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Valid points, except I didn't mention our coach. So not sure what argument you're responding to there. Not mine anyway.

There's a narrative that's run alongside the supposed dearth of attacking football from the Cats in recent seasons that attributes blame to our senior coach. Whether you share that view or not, I was simply making the point that he's far from the root cause of how the game has degenerated in recent years. If anything, he has proved capable of retaining an ability for his team to score heavily enough to win a lot of games.
 
Dec 10, 2003
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Wrong person to ask.

I neither know nor care what an "AFL audience" is. I follow Geelong, or, good games of footy with high demonstrations of skill. I personally love games - particularly finals - where it's tight for 2-3 quarters and one side breaks them open. The 2001 Grand final was a good example of this, 2017 was another. Neither had close finishes but were good games to watch.
2011 gf?
 
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Once I would have said a win.... I really hate games that are acclaimed as 'great' games where geelong are the loser. I rarely get much enjoyment watching these type of replays... the ess geelong game when ablett kicked 14 for instance always tended to be less enjoyable

now I like to see skill and talents that result in both side play a blend of defence and attack. Super low score with no scoring.. or a super high score with little defence is probably to biased. Score without some sort of checking actually devalues the score..games like basketball can demonstrate this. I don't like defensive tactics which revolve around squashing the play..i prefer one on one.


AFL player are the best in our sport. Let them play. Team defence as much as it works, is about reducing the performance of individuals, probably not a great enhancement for footy...
 
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Goggin Our Best

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Once I would have said a win.... U really hate games that are acclaimed as 'great' games where geelong are the loser. I rarely get much enjoyment watching these type of replays... the ess geelong game when ablett kicked 14 for instance always tended to be less enjoyable

now I like to see skill and talents that result in both side play a blend of defence and attack. Super low score with no scoring.. or a super high score with little defence is probably to biased. Score without some sort of checking actually devalues the score..games like basketball can demonstrate this. I don't like defensive tactics which revolve around squashing the play..i prefer one on one.


AFL player are the best in our sport. Let them play. Team defence as much as it works, is about reducing the performance of individuals, probably not a great enhancement for footy...

Totally agree

I know we got the wrong result in the end - but i think the 13PF as a game rates very highly - watching it you didnt have time to blink - enough goals scored - good blend of defending and attacking ( Guthries running/bouncing goal an absolute ripper ) - Birchall shirtfronting Stokes

I think most neutrals would rate that game very highly

Flags bring plenty of joy obviously - however some of those stirring come from behind Geel wins against Haw ( in the 11 game streak ) id watch them anyday ahead of the GF wins - from a pure football perspective .
 
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Totally agree

I know we got the wrong result in the end - but i think the 13PF as a game rates very highly - watching it you didnt have time to blink - enough goals scored - good blend of defending and attacking ( Guthries running/bouncing goal an absolute ripper ) - Birchall shirtfronting Stokes

I think most neutrals would rate that game very highly

Flags bring plenty of joy obviously - however some of those stirring come from behind Geel wins against Haw ( in the 11 game streak ) id watch them anyday ahead of the GF wins - from a pure football perspective .

I have an issue that the scoring style now means my enjoyment has reduced. Game style is different to what I grew up with A 12 to 16 goal game is not the same as it was 20 year ago. Something in the range of 3-4 goals a quarter is roughly my ideal ..yet the type of goals we now see can diminish the the score as purely the only factor to rate games ...having 3 or 4 goals a game from the goal square walk ins... adds little to my enjoyment to be honest.

The style of the game now means that classic mark and kick goals are rare. Goals like Martins from the grass are more the norm.


On 13... I struggle to want any game where Haw has beaten us..so I have never watched it back. Being at the ground 7 years ago..being a final..I would have taken the worst looking rubbish game..to win it.. ....but Home and away.. I would prefer us to be brave and not shut the game down too much...or why both going to the game..
 
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Dec 10, 2003
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There's a narrative that's run alongside the supposed dearth of attacking football from the Cats in recent seasons that attributes blame to our senior coach. Whether you share that view or not, I was simply making the point that he's far from the root cause of how the game has degenerated in recent years. If anything, he has proved capable of retaining an ability for his team to score heavily enough to win a lot of games.

He is a weed among a paddock of them. He does what he does to win ..in the modern game. It is no use saying I want fight a war like the did in WW1, things have changed. ... but the first word out his mouth on games style has nearly always been about defence first..and from there everything spirals.

CS has been an excellent team manager , has he been a great coach?... He is better version of Ayres in some ways... I guess in relevance to this thread..how many great games has he been in charge where I want to watch the game back for game highlight? He has made great hay from what he has had on the list..

and some of that is the era he is within.
 
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Sep 15, 2007
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What is with the AFL obsession over changing rules?? The games fine.
All I see this being is the AFL hates defensive football and is trying to appeal to some international expansion market by wanting a 200 goal football match every game.

the last thing I want to see every week in a super high scoring competition are matches that blow out regularly to 60-100 point margins, which will happen very often when playing the bottom four sides in a high scoring competition.

what fans love are seeing tight contests that go down to the wire.. not high scoring blowout games.

if I have the option to choose between watching port Adelaide and Richmond play and it’s a 60 point margin, or watching Gold Coast and hawthorn play in a close contest, I will flip the tv to watch Gold Coast hawthorn...

free flowing footy is boring as it’s more often large blowouts.
Tight contests are for soccer fans.

i want long kicking to packs.

i want high scoring but not easy scoring.

i want lots of fast handball. No chip kicking for marks and no kicking backwards for marks.

i want lots of strategy. No zones or player limits in certain areas.

i want a ground where they deliberately chop it up creating a mud bog in the centre and goal squares before the game starts each week.

I want them to stop paying holding the ball when players dont have significant prior opportunity.

Less free kicks and more ball ups. ball ups are fine. We need to stop hating ball ups.
 

Spearman

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Tight contests are for soccer fans.
i want long kicking to packs.
i want high scoring but not easy scoring.
i want lots of fast handball. No chip kicking for marks and no kicking backwards for marks.
i want lots of strategy. No zones or player limits in certain areas.
i want a ground where they deliberately chop it up creating a mud bog in the centre and goal squares before the game starts each week.
I want them to stop paying holding the ball when players dont have significant prior opportunity.
Less free kicks and more ball ups. ball ups are fine. We need to stop hating ball ups.
BlueYellowConey-max-1mb.gif


and how about soft core pornography,
opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve,
long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days?


:p :D
 
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Sticksman

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As the heading says, what do we each thing makes a great game of football...

- is it a tight contest that goes down to the wire
- or maybe a match like the 07 where one team is at the top of their game

If you were introducing a newbie to the wonderful game of AFL and could only pick 1 match to show them, which match would it be

I agree with both of those. Closeness of the scores or when a masterclass is on display.
 
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the round 14 match in 09 between Geelong and St Kilda.

I think that might have been the greatest regular season match I have ever seen.

two undefeated teams, huge momentum swings, high skill and a very dramatic climax. Yes we ended on the wrong side of it but it surely doesn’t take away from the spectacle.
 
Nov 12, 2002
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I’m surprised no one has mentioned the round 14 match in 09 between Geelong and St Kilda.

I think that might have been the greatest regular season match I have ever seen.

two undefeated teams, huge momentum swings, high skill and a very dramatic climax. Yes we ended on the wrong side of it but it surely doesn’t take away from the spectacle.

Great game undeniably.

I'd be curious to know how many fans pop it on to watch on replay though.
 
As the heading says, what do we each thing makes a great game of football...

- is it a tight contest that goes down to the wire
- or maybe a match like the 07 where one team is at the top of their game

If you were introducing a newbie to the wonderful game of AFL and could only pick 1 match to show them, which match would it be
Three things for me:

  1. Quality football with plenty of scoring and slick ball movement - I cannot stand low scoring tussles;
  2. A close contest where Geelong prevails - close games where Cats lose are still enjoyable (e.g., R13, 2009 v Saints), but winning is extra special;
  3. A game that has people talking positively afterwards
 
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Great game undeniably.

I'd be curious to know how many fans pop it on to watch on replay though.
I can recall watching it on replay once - no doubt a great game when watching it live, but knowing the result and being on the wrong end makes it hard to want to watch

I will give credit to Saints members at the game though - that match was before I had as membership & I simply bought a ticket to attend the match, somehow ending up in the middle of the Saints members area on the wing. They're was 2 of us in Cats colours in that particular bay (not together) and even after the final siren there was no nastiness, arrogance or rudeness from them towards us - kinda a respect for what we had all just witnessed and the idea that we may well meet again in September
 
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the round 14 match in 09 between Geelong and St Kilda.

I think that might have been the greatest regular season match I have ever seen.

two undefeated teams, huge momentum swings, high skill and a very dramatic climax. Yes we ended on the wrong side of it but it surely doesn’t take away from the spectacle.
Only game where all i could get were standing room tickets at Etihad, and only Cats loss where I went home satisfied in the knowledge that next time we played Saints we could/would win
 

Catsnlakers

Even Hank Moody is in awe of Geelong!
Oct 2, 2016
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Only game where all i could get were standing room tickets at Etihad, and only Cats loss where I went home satisfied in the knowledge that next time we played Saints we could/would win
I felt exactly the same.. I still remember telling the old man on the way home you add Johnson, Ottens & the big stage of the ‘G & we will beat this team come finals.....No doubt they were an extremely good side but our depth of talent was better, in the same way the Eagles of the 90’s depth was better than ours.
 
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the round 14 match in 09 between Geelong and St Kilda.

I think that might have been the greatest regular season match I have ever seen.

two undefeated teams, huge momentum swings, high skill and a very dramatic climax. Yes we ended on the wrong side of it but it surely doesn’t take away from the spectacle.
Sorry, imho, it does. A great game MUST include us winning.

Spectacle 2.
Win 1.

That's why for me, the 94 prelim v NM was superb, as was the 2011 GF, and the Hawks game where we led by heaps early on, Hawks clawed back, then Hawkins sealed it with a long range goal.
 
Aug 2, 2012
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Tight contests are for soccer fans.

i want long kicking to packs.

i want high scoring but not easy scoring.

i want lots of fast handball. No chip kicking for marks and no kicking backwards for marks.

i want lots of strategy. No zones or player limits in certain areas.

i want a ground where they deliberately chop it up creating a mud bog in the centre and goal squares before the game starts each week.

I want them to stop paying holding the ball when players dont have significant prior opportunity.

Less free kicks and more ball ups. ball ups are fine. We need to stop hating ball ups.
And bring back the knobs on top of the goalposts.
 

Sticksman

Club Legend
Feb 7, 2013
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I’m surprised no one has mentioned the round 14 match in 09 between Geelong and St Kilda.

I think that might have been the greatest regular season match I have ever seen.

two undefeated teams, huge momentum swings, high skill and a very dramatic climax. Yes we ended on the wrong side of it but it surely doesn’t take away from the spectacle.
And the disappointment of that loss was wiped away completely by the GF a couple of months later.
 
Sep 15, 2007
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Where i need to be
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I’m surprised no one has mentioned the round 14 match in 09 between Geelong and St Kilda.

I think that might have been the greatest regular season match I have ever seen.

two undefeated teams, huge momentum swings, high skill and a very dramatic climax. Yes we ended on the wrong side of it but it surely doesn’t take away from the spectacle.
It was a great game but there have been others that were its equal and in some ways surpassed.

geelong vs collingwood 2011. Both teams go in undefeated. Both clearly the best teams in the land. The game is a thriller decided by less then a goal.

geelong vs hawthorn 2009. The view pre game is Hawthorn must win to keep its back to back aspirations alive. Hawthorn come all guns blazing. Geelong struggles to stay in it to half time. Geelong lose two players before half time and are down on the bench. Hawthorn creep out to 28 point lead early in the last as geelong then turn it on and win after a kick after the siren. Massive rub down from mackie on fraknlin in the last couple of minutes as franklin is about to seal the game.

geelong vs hawthorn 2012. Big scoring game. Geelong get big lead. Massive hawthorn comback. Hawthorn get 2 goals ahead late in the last. Some huge tackles deep in the hawthorn goal square before geelomg run it up the other end for hawkins to kick a goal to seal the win after the siren from 60 metres.

north vs essendon game in the late nineties with massive lead and then the great comeback.

merger game between hawthorn and melbourne 1996. Teams were looking like merging and by coincident played off against each other in the last game of the season and possibly the last of the clubs. Hawthorn also need to win to make finals. Hawthorn won by a point.

various swans vs eagles games in the mid 2000s.
 

Spazz Cat

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It was a great game but there have been others that were its equal and in some ways surpassed.

geelong vs collingwood 2011. Both teams go in undefeated. Both clearly the best teams in the land. The game is a thriller decided by less then a goal.

geelong vs hawthorn 2009. The view pre game is Hawthorn must win to keep its back to back aspirations alive. Hawthorn come all guns blazing. Geelong struggles to stay in it to half time. Geelong lose two players before half time and are down on the bench. Hawthorn creep out to 28 point lead early in the last as geelong then turn it on and win after a kick after the siren. Massive rub down from mackie on fraknlin in the last couple of minutes as franklin is about to seal the game.

geelong vs hawthorn 2012. Big scoring game. Geelong get big lead. Massive hawthorn comback. Hawthorn get 2 goals ahead late in the last. Some huge tackles deep in the hawthorn goal square before geelomg run it up the other end for hawkins to kick a goal to seal the win after the siren from 60 metres.

north vs essendon game in the late nineties with massive lead and then the great comeback.

merger game between hawthorn and melbourne 1996. Teams were looking like merging and by coincident played off against each other in the last game of the season and possibly the last of the clubs. Hawthorn also need to win to make finals. Hawthorn won by a point.

various swans vs eagles games in the mid 2000s.
There's some great games there.
 
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