Opinion What unpopular AFL opinions do you have? - Part 2

[Scotland]

Fitness and tactics go hand in hand. No point asking Lockett and Dunstall to chase and tackle inside 50 and push up the ground to be part of an 18 man zone because they would be spent by QT. Tactics were more positional in part because they needed to be. Lower level comps are more like old footy because players aren't coached to death or trained to elite levels. AFL listed players going back to state leagues generally have no trouble finding the footy due to the superior fitness base.

Was watching Harry McKay

10

Harry Mckay

Age

26

Ht

200cm

Wt

106kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.9

3star

K

7.5

3star

HB

2.4

2star

M

5.5

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

1.4

5star

D

6.6

1star

K

4.6

2star

HB

2.0

1star

M

3.6

4star

T

1.4

2star

G

1.4

5star

D

8.8

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

2.0

2star

M

4.4

4star

T

0.8

3star

G

2.0

5star

yesterday and he's 204cm and 100kg+. I remember when Paul Harding was our ruckman and he is 193cm and nowhere near as skillful or mobile as McKay. We've had a dozen 200cm players and most of the have been gumbies as that was the expectation when you are that tall. Now we've got Hawkins 198, Franklin 199, Dixon 200, the Kings 200+, Daniher 200 etc. running around as athletic mobile forwards. These guys are bigger, stronger, faster than their counterparts in previous eras and asked to do more around the ground.

 

[Aristotle Pickett]

Bevo was spot on to call Tom Morris a disgrace because he is a disgrace.

 

[footyfan1978]

Bevo was spot on to call Tom Morris a disgrace because he is a disgrace.

That is not unpopular.

 

[footyfan1978]

The balance of skills, fitness and athleticism was at its best just after the game went professional.

Sadly, the bulk of the game eating into players week is used on things not really adding to skills of game.
Mainly just to become as fit as possible to run up and down the ground as much as possible.
The pre-season is mostly about that in particular.
The balance at some time will move back towards skills but that will require removing quite a number of rules and changes to the game since mid 90's that had it go more that way.

 

[Pessimistic]

I think we need more games which are just ruckmen competing to knock the ball back over th boundary at throw ins, then repeat, but a few metres closer to their goal for several minutes just to remind us what a spectacle a good portion of the games ‘back then’ were

 

[Oliver09]

The Franklin/Lockett moments in Sydney have been wasted on people who don't understand/appreciate footy like the other states do.

The impact that Franklin has had on the Sydney market has been way overstated. When Lockett went up there Sydney were on the bones of their backside, they were just awful and crowds under 10k were the norm. Lockett arrived, Roos at the same time (who actually didn't want to go there but Sydney had the first pick in the pre season draft, worked out well in the end), a few draft concessions as well and within 2yrs Sydney were in the GF. Ever since then Sydney have been a pretty strong club and had a strong following. Crowds dropped in the couple of years before Franklin arrived but that was due to ground renovations than a lack of interest from the Sydney public. Lockett by far had a bigger impact on the Sydney market than Franklin.

 

[Pessimistic]

Let’s Be frank here. The crowd last night, Clarko wasn’t the only one with a brand new scarf. All those people just there to record themselves on their devices soon pissed off to the pub

But it was the same with buddy’s 100th in 2008. Plenty of hawks fans couldn’t get tickets, the stadium cleaned out after the run on

 

[Tim Evans Beard]

Let’s Be frank here. The crowd last night, Clarko wasn’t the only one with a brand new scarf. All those people just there to record themselves on their devices soon pissed off to the pub

But it was the same with buddy’s 100th in 2008. Plenty of hawks fans couldn’t get tickets, the stadium cleaned out after the run on

How is this an unpopular opinion?

It’s a pretty popular opinion.

 

[Partridge]

If a player is perpendicular to the boundary and kicks it over the line, then I have no issue it. But players hacking the ball forward or even kicking for touch down the line should not be penalised. My argument has always been in those instances, the primary intent is to get the ball out of the immediate area. I actually miss players that could kick it forward and get it to roll out. And as a life long defender, I reckon it's only fair that the backs have this option. Forwards don't get penalised for shots on goal that roll out of bounds.

Completely agree. Anyone with the barest grasp of footy understands that for the most part players don't actually want the ball going out of play. As you say, they DO want it out of their area if they are defenders. To me the number of times players genuinely kick the ball out of play is extremely small. Now fans and sadly umpires seem to think every single time is deliberate. And the umpires clearly act mostly on crowd noise. Totally unnecessary interpretation and has added nothing to the game.

 

[deanc]

Sadly, the bulk of the game eating into players week is used on things not really adding to skills of game.
Mainly just to become as fit as possible to run up and down the ground as much as possible.
The pre-season is mostly about that in particular.
The balance at some time will move back towards skills but that will require removing quite a number of rules and changes to the game since mid 90's that had it go more that way.

Moreover the emphasis on recruiting players with supreme athletic ability vs footy skills is a contributing factor to the poor spectacle of the game.
Related. just check out the B&F winners across clubs over recent years and you'll note an increasing amount of winners from draft picks in the 30's, 40's and 50's...

 

[footyfan1978]

Moreover the emphasis on recruiting players with supreme athletic ability vs footy skills is a contributing factor to the poor spectacle of the game.

That just is a by-product of what I said already about the focus on training players to run up and down the ground.
The cause is wanting those players to run up and down the ground for tactical reasons and that a by-product of interchange bench turned into something it was never created for. When the bench was used for mainly injuries and a few tactical moves it was not being exploited beyond what it was meant for.
That just one of the mistakes since late 90's that never got fixed. You go from 2 on bench to 3 and 4 in no time, there are consequences....

 

[yodellinhank]

I think we need more games which are just ruckmen competing to knock the ball back over th boundary at throw ins, then repeat, but a few metres closer to their goal for several minutes just to remind us what a spectacle a good portion of the games ‘back then’ were

Was there in '91 when Ironmonger worked the ball between the arcs against the tigers, think he even got a double fister in amongst it at centre wing. My mate and I still talk about it to this day, and he's long forgotten Broderick's 4 goals.

 

[Corkintheocean]

In order to avoid clustering team defenses and rolling mauls, the AFL should use the available GPS tracking on players to reduce movement. Allocate 10km per player each game and once that 10km has been reached the player must leave the field without a replacement.

Do teams continue to flood numbers to the contest to build up and early lead, only to be reduced to 15 players left on the field in the final quarter, or do they keep players in localised areas to their starting position to ensure they have 18 on the field until the final whistle? Would incentivise stay at home forwards and backs and limit the amount of tracking back midfielders can do to plug holes in the defense, mimicking a return to 70s-90s football that everyone seems to champion.

 

[Blackhawk42]

Completely agree about the Dogs and Treloar. Do they REALLY need him in their midfield? Should have spent capital elsewhere to improve their weak defence or forwardline.

They were 40 minutes of incredible Melbourne football away from winning a premiership with Treloar as one of their best players. Do they NEED him? Perhaps not. Was he a huge contributor to what was anybodys Grand Final with 40 minutes left to play? Definitely.

 

[Simche]

Fitness and tactics go hand in hand. No point asking Lockett and Dunstall to chase and tackle inside 50 and push up the ground to be part of an 18 man zone because they would be spent by QT. Tactics were more positional in part because they needed to be. Lower level comps are more like old footy because players aren't coached to death or trained to elite levels. AFL listed players going back to state leagues generally have no trouble finding the footy due to the superior fitness base.

Was watching Harry McKay yesterday and he's 204cm and 100kg+. I remember when Paul Harding was our ruckman and he is 193cm and nowhere near as skillful or mobile as McKay. We've had a dozen 200cm players and most of the have been gumbies as that was the expectation when you are that tall. Now we've got Hawkins 198, Franklin 199, Dixon 200, the Kings 200+, Daniher 200 etc. running around as athletic mobile forwards. These guys are bigger, stronger, faster than their counterparts in previous eras and asked to do more around the ground.

To be fair Dunstall worked really hard on the defensive side of the ground (or at least by 80s/90s standards).

My unpopular opinion is I'm beginning to think the interchange should be scrapped entirely. It is a better option to open up the game than the mooted reduction in players and I would allow 2 medical subs in case of injury/concussion.

 

[HeathySure]

i

To be fair Dunstall worked really hard on the defensive side of the ground (or at least by 80s/90s standards).

My unpopular opinion is I'm beginning to think the interchange should be scrapped entirely. It is a better option to open up the game than the mooted reduction in players and I would allow 2 medical subs in case of injury/concussion.

I like the thinking process i just think its untenable given that players need injury treatment without being subbed off during a game and then they can play on.

 

[Simche]

i
I like the thinking process i just think its untenable given that players need injury treatment without being subbed off during a game and then they can play on.

Maybe, but then again maybe that also creates a new consideration for coaches/medical staff as to whether they immediately access the sub or play a man down. I think from a player welfare perspective that might be better than taking a bloke down the rooms, taping and jabbing them up until you can get scans the next day?

Just a thought anyway. Anything to open the game back up I think would be a good thing and player fatigue is one thing that does actually open the game up given they can't maintain structure and guard space if they are required to run constantly to do so.

Good luck playing behind the ball late in a fourth quarter for example if you physically can't get yourself up and down the field. Further, big blokes would be more likely to 'stay at home' in the forward line as not all of them have the endurance to hunt up and down the wing for ten minutes and then cop a rest.

 

[Xtreme]

That Sydney fan should have kept the Buddy 1000th ball

 

[Soggy2112]

That Sydney fan should have kept the Buddy 1000th ball

I reckon he earned it, was a serious grab.

 

[footyfan1978]

That Sydney fan should have kept the Buddy 1000th ball

An absolute muppet.

 

[windyhill]

That Sydney fan should have kept the Buddy 1000th ball

Maybe. He would’ve been hounded non-stop though. Glad he did it early, we would never hear the end of it.

 

[Pessimistic]

What do you give a Sydney ‘fan’ as a reward?

A membership

 

[Simche]

What do you give a Sydney ‘fan’ as a reward?

A membership

Probably got corporate seats at the next Waratahs' game out of it!

 

[nat013]

AFL explains Friday night's unusual 'overlapping' double-header

Clubs and broadcast manager Travis Auld sheds light on the reasons behind Friday's overlapping games

www.afl.com.au

Based off Gerard Wheatley and some others, people don't seem to like the overlapping Friday night games but i think its a great idea personally and hope it works

 

[Jables]

That Sydney fan should have kept the Buddy 1000th ball

I mean legally he couldn't.