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

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JoondalupJ

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1) Clubs on the downward march with star players should trade these stars while they still have draft pick value and those draft picks can fuel the next wave of growth in the list. Examples: Lloyd & Lucas at Essendon, Jono Brown from Brisbane, etc

2) Tanking makes sense for clubs and shouldn't be demonised. Throwing matches though is match fixing and should be punished.
3) Only way Melbourne have a bad year is if they finish in the bottom six but not dead last! Therefore only dumb thing Melbourne can do is to win!
(Now a biased one)
4) Ryan Schoenmakers will be an All Australian defender sometime in the next 4 years!
(Okay, another biased one)
5) If Luke Darcy wasn't on the All-Australian panel last year, Grant Birchall would have been AA instead of Robert Murphy!
Although Murph carries the doggies at times.
 

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Effes

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Centre bounce is a tradition to be kept, the only sport where an official actually has a skill to perform. Round the ground throw up though.
Detracts from their job though; they are there to make the correct calls.

Bounce is a waste of time, a waste of umpire's energy

Rucks should be able to compete fairly and not have to be concerned about where the bounce may go. Mids shouldn't have to be concerned about it either.

Some reforms are unpopular but in the long run they make the game better.

It's a shame the AFL move so slowly with these matters; too many fogeys in high positions.

They took so long recognising the head ducking was a problem.
 

Ian Dunross

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I am hugely skeptical of the impact Roos will have at Melbourne.​
Took Barassi, then Eade, along with Paul Kelly, Tony Lockett and their former President to turn the old club around. Roos came into an already strong organisation when coach at Sydney.​
 

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I am hugely skeptical of the impact Roos will have at Melbourne.

Took Barassi, then Eade, along with Paul Kelly, Tony Lockett and their former President to turn the old club around. Roos came into an already strong organisation when coach at Sydney.
Well he can't make it any worse.
 
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There needs to be more umpires on the field. There should be two goal umpires at each end, and four-five field umpires. A number of times, umpires get caught out of position trying to make calls, if you had more umpires, they'd always be someone close to the action. Oh and umpires should be sectioned off so that they can only call decisions in their section, no paying dubious free kicks when you're 100 meters away from the play when there's an umpire much closer waving play on.

Don't know if that's unpopular though.
Always thought this, I mean basketball has 3 refs for a lot less players and a lot less ground to cover. Its ridiculous.
 

Richo83

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I don't hate Collingwood either, they're just another club to me, like West Coast or Footscray. If Richmond beats them, I'm happy because they won and Richmond has a monkey off their back, not because of some long standing rivalry. You have to go back to the 20s to find a time when Richmond and Collingwood were serious rivals in a similar way to Carlton and Collingwood.

Neeld was unfairly treated. Was given a poisoned chalice which he wasn't up to, was a first time coach who tried to improve the culture of the club after a 30 goal embarrasment. The players (who were and are terrible) refused to play for him, because he was too direct? I'd be willing to give him another go as an assistant coach at least, but it looks like he's been forever tarred. He's not close to being perfect but let's not forget that he was sacked after only 33 games.
 
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Neeld was unfairly treated. Was given a poisoned chalice which he wasn't up to, was a first time coach who tried to improve the culture of the club after a 30 goal embarrasment. The players (who were and are terrible) refused to play for him, because he was too direct? I'd be willing to give him another go as an assistant coach at least, but it looks like he's been forever tarred. He's not close to being perfect but let's not forget that he was sacked after only 33 games.
I agree with this and have felt bad for the guy since the day he got the job.

I'd also contend that your statement is equally accurate by taking taking "Neeld" and swapping it with "Knights". Poor Matthew Knights should never have gotten the Essendon job, and I think could've been a quality AFL coach a couple of years later at a different club. But taking over from Sheedy, looking outside the club for a coach was always going to be death for whoever they chose. Wrong club, wrong place, wrong time.
 

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cmndstab

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Which is exactly why it needs to go. We can't have the little bald headed maggots thinking the game is about them imo
Rather than taking the "**** the umpires" attitude, the better solution would be to simply pay the umpires a good salary, but start requiring them to umpire properly. If they screw up the bounce too often, or miss important free kicks, or pay bad free kicks too often, they don't umpire matches for some time and lose that huge salary. Get demoted too often and they're on their way.

The AFL is worried about not being able to find umpires because everyone screams at them? Pay them highly enough and I guarantee you'll never have that issue again. And if more people want to be umpires than are required, the competition will raise the standard of umpiring.


Of course, this all requires the umpiring board to actually be willing to say when an umpire makes a mistake, which might be a bridge too far.


As for my unpopular opinion, I think the mainstream acceptance of calling umpires "maggots" is the most embarrassing part of AFL footy today. Watching parents do it with their children right next to them doing the same thing makes me cringe every time.
 

Partridge

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As for my unpopular opinion, I think the mainstream acceptance of calling umpires "maggots" is the most embarrassing part of AFL footy today. Watching parents do it with their children right next to them doing the same thing makes me cringe every time.
The more I watch footy the less I blame the individual umpires. They get ridiculous directives, which change fundamental ways to officiate a game on a weekly basis. How about let the game go (which they usually do in finals), and let them develop a feel for it.

Agree though more transparency is part of the package. You cannot have one group immune from criticism. Just idiotic.
 

old55

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As for my unpopular opinion, I think the mainstream acceptance of calling umpires "maggots" is the most embarrassing part of AFL footy today. Watching parents do it with their children right next to them doing the same thing makes me cringe every time.
Agree completely. The very best umpires are traditionally booed when they walk on the ground at the GF - it's a disgrace.
 

JoondalupJ

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Agree completely. The very best umpires are traditionally booed when they walk on the ground at the GF - it's a disgrace.
The maggots are not to blame , its the flies that change the rules too much who have put the decision making in the garbage bin.
 

GOHORCS

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I like Demetriou too, he'd have to be close to our best commissioner ever surely.

I think Nick Maxwell is an overrated hack, worst captain in the AFL and plays a position that would be easy for any average VFL player to get a kick. Waitaminute, that's a popular view! :)
Nick Maxwell is a great captain, it is the fact that he gets a game which is surprising.
 
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