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

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Duskfire

Norm Smith Medallist
Jun 30, 2007
7,746
7,357
Perth
AFL Club
Geelong
I think all Free Agency is doing is keeping the successful clubs good for longer, and making the bad clubs struggle more. All it does is allow good teams to steal talent from lower teams, and lose fringe players to them and get more than they would have if traded.
 

Saint

Norm Smith Medallist
Feb 1, 2006
9,275
16,638
Victoria
AFL Club
Essendon
I think all Free Agency is doing is keeping the successful clubs good for longer, and making the bad clubs struggle more. All it does is allow good teams to steal talent from lower teams, and lose fringe players to them and get more than they would have if traded.

Correct.

Before free agency, if a top team wanted a player from a bottom team they had to give up a draft pick. Geelong had to give up picks to get Dangerfield, Carlton to get Judd, but GC got Ablett for free, Sydney got Franklin for nothing, Richmond got Lynch for nothing. The other club got compensation, but the side got their player and got to keep their draft pick.

In another world, if FA had come in earlier, Carlton would have got Judd and kept Kennedy plus pick 3 and 20 in that draft. Draft Dangerfield and win 4 flags.
 
May 1, 2016
28,404
55,369
AFL Club
Carlton
People bitching about the poor quality of sports journalism in this country need to look at themselves more than they look at Barrett, Hutchinson, Wilson, King or Cornes.

By reacting to their work, they provide evidence that can be measured for that work's reach. They can go and approach Ch.9, SEN or whoever they work for and say, 'Look, I get X hits and mentions on social media, that's how many people are reading/listening to me, discussing my views', and broadcasters/tabloids can translate that into advertising revenue.

If you want these people to * off, don't mention them. Don't bite. Leave it the * alone. Exercise some restraint and use your head.
 

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May 5, 2006
62,726
70,017
AFL Club
West Coast
Correct.

Before free agency, if a top team wanted a player from a bottom team they had to give up a draft pick. Geelong had to give up picks to get Dangerfield, Carlton to get Judd, but GC got Ablett for free, Sydney got Franklin for nothing, Richmond got Lynch for nothing. The other club got compensation, but the side got their player and got to keep their draft pick.

In another world, if FA had come in earlier, Carlton would have got Judd and kept Kennedy plus pick 3 and 20 in that draft. Draft Dangerfield and win 4 flags.

Judd was drafted in 2001 and traded in 2007. Under current FA rules he would not have been able to leave as a free agent.

All the current FA system seems to achieve is players moving for overs and clubs weighing up compo vs matching based on ladder position.
 

Richo83

Brownlow Medallist
Oct 2, 2005
19,853
7,540
Melbourne
AFL Club
Richmond
Would happen often. But players have to agree to it. Jared Polec has two years of $700k left at North or something like that. If they had their way they'd offload him to the first bidder.

Players sometimes don't get much of a choice though. "Hey Brett we can either delist you and you go to one of the worst clubs or you can play along and we can get a trade worked out". Again, Deledio had no intention of leaving and was pushed out and basically just had to accept his future. Sure, he had some say in where he was traded but the initial decision to trade wasn't his and he wanted to stay. He didn't get his preferred option and the club won out. Polec may have more power because he's under contract and delisting him would cost North a fortune in wasted cap space. But if you're out of contract, you're often at the whim of the club just like Deledio was.

I don't know if anyone has ever run stats on it but I *think* fewer country players request trades due to homesickness. That could be complete bullshit, mind.

I also think homesickness is a bit of a get out of jail free card, like mental health. Wasn't that long ago every man and his dog wanted out of Brisbane which coincided with them being a bit dysfunctional off field and ordinary on it. Now they are settled off field and making the finals they've attracted Ah Chee, Birchall, Ellis-Yolmen, Lyons, Neale, Adams etc. who aren't even from Qld in the first place. Clark claimed homesickness then chased cash at Melbourne. Polec went back to Adelaide and joined Port then 5 years later moved states for more money. Redden (from SA) joined us at the end of 2015 because there was an opportunity for a fresh start and a decent trade for them to help the rebuild so win win. Etc.

So what? Let's say you're working for a company miles from home with no family or friends, their products suck, no-one's getting promotions, the boss is an a-hole, the pay and hours are bad and there's no capacity to move up. Suddenly the prospect of working for a company close to home which is good at what they do is alluring. People hate players for chasing success but many successful clubs are successful because they're well-run clubs where people feel comfortable. I don't understand why people criticise players for wanting to leave a poorly run club when they don't even live there. Of course players are going to be more willing to stay at a club which is well-run.

IIf you just say 'I want to play for a team that's not sh*t, I want more money, the coach is a flog' then you get no sympathy in the court of public opinion. But if you claim homesickness or mental health then the club gets painted as the bad guy if you don't get your wish.

Mental health is different and some players genuinely struggle at a club. I don't really see them as the same. I think if clubs are losing players due to homesickness, maybe they need to look internally as to why. If a company loses lots of staff, it's often because it's poorly run and the staff rightly see greener pastures elsewhere.
 
Apr 27, 2008
64,474
78,069
The 'Yabba
AFL Club
Port Adelaide
Other Teams
Chael Sonnen: Moral Champion
'Getting out of the AFL bubble' is another one.

Like Troy Chaplin complains about people talking to him at the shopping center in Adelaide, then moving to small club Richmond in the apathetic AFL town of Melbourne.
 

Pistol Night

Brownlow Medallist
Sep 3, 2019
17,240
49,888
AFL Club
Collingwood
People bitching about the poor quality of sports journalism in this country need to look at themselves more than they look at Barrett, Hutchinson, Wilson, King or Cornes.

By reacting to their work, they provide evidence that can be measured for that work's reach. They can go and approach Ch.9, SEN or whoever they work for and say, 'Look, I get X hits and mentions on social media, that's how many people are reading/listening to me, discussing my views', and broadcasters/tabloids can translate that into advertising revenue.

If you want these people to fu** off, don't mention them. Don't bite. Leave it the fu** alone. Exercise some restraint and use your head.
And Kane Cornes plays the masses beautifully with this exact thing
 
Jul 28, 2012
11,013
10,331
Melbourne, the lost City.
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
QPR, Buffalo Bills
Unpopular in 2020! The Dirty Dozen!
1) Axe some Victorian teams, 30 Round fixture. (Melbourne is toast as a major city for a long time to come).
2) Go to 16 team National Competiton. (18 is too many for an even competition)
3) 2 WA, 2x SA, 2 x QLD, 2 x NSW, 7 x Victoria, 1 x Tasmania in Tassie colours.
4) All games played Thursday - Sunday (keep TV happy)
5) 18-minute QTRs plus time on (They only play a variation of footy these days anyway...shorten it)
6) No kicking backwards (play on if you do, it's time this nonsense stopped)
7) Free kick after last touched between 50-metre arcs ( Gives the Umps less to worry about)
8) Automatic 1 week off for a concussion (The grounds are too hard in 2020, too many collisions due to playing speed)
9) Bring back 3rd man up ( The ruck rule is madness)
10) Axe pre-finals BYE (It's just there for the AFL to sell tickets, a midseason BYE only! )
11) Scrap "white" away strips ( I simply hate them, I can't identify with those teams)
12) Put the Goal umpires back in coats and hats! (It was unique, it was a great look)
 
Apr 7, 2010
32,008
41,702
West
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Brewers
I don't know if it's an unpopular AFL opinion but it seems to be an unpopular BF opinion. I think Dwayne Russell is the best in the business and is so influential he has created great terms (eg. chaos ball) that have now entered footy lexicon.

Weren't getting enough bites on the other thread?
 

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Sep 11, 2006
13,061
17,085
MCG
AFL Club
Collingwood
Specialist wing players should not be gifted AA spots.

Jackson Macrae would play the wing role better than Hugh McCluggage if instructed to. He is a better player right now.

It would just be stupid if Hugh was a 2 x AA player right now and Macrae had none just because he lined up on the side of the square less.

They should continue to give the best players within the entire midfield group the AA wing spots.

McRae was a gun wingman is his early years as well, just like McLuggage is right now.

And just like McRae did, McLuggage will no doubt pick up AA honours once he plays more inside mid.

Just the way the cookie crumbles.
 
Sep 11, 2006
13,061
17,085
MCG
AFL Club
Collingwood
People bitching about the poor quality of sports journalism in this country need to look at themselves more than they look at Barrett, Hutchinson, Wilson, King or Cornes.

By reacting to their work, they provide evidence that can be measured for that work's reach. They can go and approach Ch.9, SEN or whoever they work for and say, 'Look, I get X hits and mentions on social media, that's how many people are reading/listening to me, discussing my views', and broadcasters/tabloids can translate that into advertising revenue.

If you want these people to fu** off, don't mention them. Don't bite. Leave it the fu** alone. Exercise some restraint and use your head.

But Barrett is a complete knob jockey.
 
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