What unpopular AFL opinions do you have? (Part 1 - cont in Part 2)

[Colonial]

There needs to be less clubs in VIC, Want a national comp with the big dollars then need to make the cuts sth of the border.

 

[bluemarq]

The Sydney/West Coast Grand Finals were two of the better in recent memory

I think that's pretty much accepted by everyone who is not completely Victoria - centric.

My two cents:

1. Channel 7, Foxtel and Telstra overpaid for the current TV rights.
2. 18 teams is too many.

 

[bluemarq]

A genuine national competition is impossible. Areas without a history and culture of Aussie Rules will not embrace it, any more than they will embrace American Football.

 

[Rustin Cohle]

Bartel plays for free kicks, particularly when the heat is on in close games.

 

[Hollow Knight]

4. The Brisbane - Gold coast Q-clash 1 last year was rigged. Go back and watch it and try and tell me that that it wasn't fixed.I have never seen a team in a VFL/AFL game systematically helped across the line by the umpires like Gold coast were on that night

Fire away.....

I'm really happy to see a neutral say that. I couldn't believe what I was watching that night.

The BigFooty match thread was full of neutrals that night saying the same thing, that it looked like a massive fix. over time people forgot about it and moved on, but something seriously stank about the umpiring that night. It was LUDICROUS.

 

[entourage]

I like the way holding the ball is payed these days. Makes perfect sense to me, every now and then an odd one is picked out but that happens for every rule, but I fully understand the rules and get frustrated with how people carry on about s**t like "he clearly dropped it!"...yah, but he had it for about .1 of a second and the ball came out in the tackle.

 

[Colonial]

A genuine national competition is impossible. Areas without a history and culture of Aussie Rules will not embrace it, any more than they will embrace American Football.

You mean like the Sydney Swans and Ncrisbane Lions??

GWS so far have equal to the Sydney crowds at League games

 

[Rocky_Star_Pro]

1. I like Ross Lyon
2. As painful as it is to say, Collingwood are a very entertaining side to watch.
3. Hurley is a defender and will become a superstar if he plays in the position he was recruited for.

 

[Matching Mole]

Umpiring an AFL match is an insanely difficult thing to do even adequately, and that most of the time the umpires we have do a good job. There's always going to be bad calls, but people overreact at the first opportunity they get.

 

[Pessimistic]

If I say I support Demetriou too, does that make it a popular opinion and disqualify it from thei thread ?

Paul Roos is a tosser

 

[Coledinho]

The Grand Final has to be moved away from the MCG. Its a old worn out tradition which is too much of a disadvantage to interstate teams when versing Victorian teams in the final. It wasnt a factor in the past with the awesomeness of Brisbane but with a more even competition it is just too much of a advantage to justify

Tradition is a buzz word that is used to keep unfair practices in play. Time to grow out of it and share the GF around if it is to become a national game as opposed to Victorias game

 

[Necromancer Beth]

Interested to hear some of the unpopular opinions people have and why.

For me:
1. I like Andrew Demitriou. I believe he has done a good job developing the game's brand. I like his no nonsense attitude in interviews.
2. I believe the games rules should be reviewed and sometimes changed. Players get better, coaches develop new tactics and strategies and so the game changes. Having a good institution to review the state of the game as a spectacle is healthy.
3.Lance Franklin isn't in the top few players in the league. That's not to say he couldn't become the very best player in the AFL. He misses too many easy goals. Anyone who has played sport knows that a failure to reward effort is deflating. He needs to become more accurate. This goes for all forwards - Kurt Tippett, Nick Riewoldt and our Lindsay Thomas of course.

Buddy kicks at 57% for career accuracy. That's as good as most key forwards and a little better than the overall average the last few years. If you were privy to his heat maps, you would also see he takes more shots on angles and in general play than any other forward. In finals he averages more goals than in the home and away season and kicks at a staggering 67% accuracy in finals. He has won so many games for us. I don't think you know what you're talking about regarding his goal kicking. Are you another one on this website who thinks his contested marking is poor as well despite him being top 5 in the comp for contested marks this year? Ah well everyone has there opinions.

 

[Necromancer Beth]

If I say I support Demetriou too, does that make it a popular opinion and disqualify it from thei thread ?

Paul Roos is a tosser

Paul Roos is a w***er! Agreed.

 

[calyam]

The Grand Final has to be moved away from the MCG. Its a old worn out tradition which is too much of a disadvantage to interstate teams when versing Victorian teams in the final. It wasnt a factor in the past with the awesomeness of Brisbane but with a more even competition it is just too much of a advantage to justify

Tradition is a buzz word that is used to keep unfair practices in play. Time to grow out of it and share the GF around if it is to become a national game as opposed to Victorias game

Have you looked at the record of interstate teams in grand finals? Their record is very good and the reason for that is because the best teams tend to win anywhere and therefore the disadvantage is minor at best.

 

[pazza]

1. The game is too tactical and has not improved with forward presses and what not.

2. Because of 1. we have lost a lot of the skills of the game. We've pretty much lost the spectacular mark and have definitely lost the ability of using the torpedo punt as a skill.

3. The game is becoming increasingly elitist and unaffordable to the average punter. People are being asked over and over again to fork out hundreds upon hundreds of dollars for memberships, fundraising etc.

 

[The Punter]

Brad Johnson complained to umpires as much as any AFL player, and no one called him on it.

Supporters of the big four clubs are threatened when the "minnows" near success (St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs being the most obvious two, Melbourne also), especially when supporters of those clubs act like they realise their clubs are being successful.

The best AFL umpires are probably at top Metro or Country level, only because they can't bounce the ball.

The umpires are the sole adjudicators of when a match ends. The ALP dominated AFL commissioned overturned 100 years of precedent and the rule of law when they awarded Fremantle the match in Round 5, 2006.

The best place to watch footy is Etihad Stadium.

Dane Swan doesn't chase, and is maniacal about getting rid of the ball before being tackled. Some ride tackles, others avoid them. Swan is in the second group.

Jonathan Brown is held in high regard as a footballer in part because of the type of person he is, and the style of play he uses. Nick Riewoldt's record, except as it relates to premierships, is superior in every way. And no, crying doesn't count unless you are not serious about football.

 

[Musrum]

Was your life improved? Did it help you achieve your goals? Did you wake up and find yourself living in a Toorak mansion with a beautiful wife and $10,000,000 in your bank account?

What a tragic way to measure worth.

All we ever have are particular moments in time that are richer for sharing.

 

[Coledinho]

Have you looked at the record of interstate teams in grand finals? Their record is very good and the reason for that is because the best teams tend to win anywhere and therefore the disadvantage is minor at best.

It wont true now the draft and free agency are taking effect to even the game up. Things change and this will be one of them. No interstate team will win a flag in the next 10 years IMO

 

[Macca81]

1) 3 Victorian clubs should merge - namely Roos, Bulldogs and Melbourne. They only have a handful of members (discounting the Victorian joke that is 3 game memberships). At what number of members is not enough to warrant a fold/merge? 5000? 1000? 500? Just get rid of the drains on our competition already.

2) Home games should be classified as those where you do not leave the state. Therefore, currently the Eagles play 12 home games, whereas teams like Collingwood play 18 home games. Then to balance this out, the Vicorian teams would have to travel sometimes twice to play Sydney, West Coast, etc to make travelling fair.

3) Lenny Hayes is overrated, and gets unwarranted over the top praise in a sluggish and uninspiring St kilda midfield. Put him in a Port or Dockers jumper and the 250 game wank fest never happens.

4) The draw should be randomized. Letting certain teams play in ANZAC day games, etc just further unbalances an uneven draw.

 

[bluemarq]

You mean like the Sydney Swans and Ncrisbane Lions??

You mean the teams that have been established in Australia's biggest and third biggest city for 30 years and 25 years respectively and still get average home crowds of less than 21,000 and whose games are still all carried on 7's digital channel because there insufficient demand to put them on the main one?

Yes. Those are the teams I'm talking about.

GWS so far have equal to the Sydney crowds at League games

No they haven't. Less than 7000 people bothered to watch GWS play the Eagles on a perfectly fine day. At the opening of their new stadium, against one of the AFL's most popular teams, they only managed to draw about 12,000 (the AFL expected about 20,000) - 5000 of whom were Essendon fans who made the trip, the rest being comprised of God knows how many free tickets and corporate promotions pacakages.


Then there's the matter of television ratings - which make grim reading for Foxtel, 7 and the AFL.

 

[Blackas87]

There needs to be less clubs in VIC, Want a national comp with the big dollars then need to make the cuts sth of the border.

You mean like the Sydney Swans and Ncrisbane Lions??

GWS so far have equal to the Sydney crowds at League games

Too many teams in NSW and Queensland

Equal to league games, pitty you're not playing in the NRL, this is the AFL where League crowds don't cut it. Brisbane 20491, Sydney 20317, GWS 14939 and Gold Coast 13296 are the 4 lowest average home attendances in the league despite Brisbane and Sydney playing up there for 25-30 years plus. Before rubbishing Vic clubs look at your own state and remember where the money came from for you even to have a club up there.

By the way Melbourne 5th highest home average despite our shocking start to the season.

 

[RodneyMaynard]

• I have zero problem with rule changes. There is no sport on the planet more open to abuse through coaches’ tactics than Australian Football, and the rules need to keep up to ensure the core game remains fun to watch and play.
• Grand Final, Brownlow and AFL Draft should be rotated ‘round the states.
• Tradition isn’t a stand-alone reason for anything, it’s an excuse. Throw the ball up, make Essendon wear a clash jumper, etc.
• I like the idea of a drawn GF replay (not because of tradition, but because of awesomeness).
• Collingwood and Essendon should keep ANZAC day.
• North should merge with Melbourne.
• I’m glad the bump is dead.

 

[sportsmaniac89]

That Fremantle are routinely treated like filth by the umpires and AFL administration and we won't win a flag until Demetriou pisses off from AFL Headquarters

 

[beez]

1. Andrew Demetriou has done a fantastic job with both the on field and off field aspects. I would be more than happy to see him stay in the top job for another 10 years.

2. Ross Lyon is a fantastic coach, I loved watching the tactics involved with St Kilda games, now I look forward to watching Fremantle play every week. I also really like the way he handles himself in all media interviews, he's a realist and always tries to answer the questions truthfully.

3. The umpires do a fantastic job week in week out. Unfortunately, many a fan still don't understand the rules correctly. It really irks me that posters on here, callers, media people etc will always complain about the 5-6 blatant mistakes in a game, when they clearly ignore the 784 correct calls. Umpires are human, of course they are going to make mistakes.

 

[Quokka]

That playing each team home and away (currently 34 rounds) is the best system and is possible.

Obviously with major changes like scrapping the preseason comp, larger lists, a mid year trade week or rookie list changes to help cover injuries, road trips interstate ( so Vic teams do one trip west and play both teams) maybe the GF gets played in October etc