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

May 5, 2016
43,464
48,499
AFL Club
Geelong
There are to many teams in the AFL - and not just in Victoria. Freo only exist as the Victorian clubs where fearful WCE where too powerful and the AFL where worried about Rugby League and the Western Reds ( laughable now but true ) . The AFL used Port Adelaide to force the SANFLs hand to have a team. SO ! Ditch PA , Freo , St Kilda , and Gold Coast . Bring in Hobart . Keep GWS . This would leave a 16 th spot available for future expansion . Darwin? Canberra ? Play a 21 week season with a mid reason bye . Pigs might fly . I’m expecting to be bagged for this .


The reds were doing perfectly fine. They had 11 wins in their first season and averaged about 12,000 per match.

Then super league happened. They were culled before the reunification but for a significant period they looked the most promising of the Australian expansion clubs (South Queensland, Adelaide and North Queensland struggled either onfield, off it, or both) and there IS actually a rugby league community in Perth.
 
May 5, 2006
62,726
70,017
AFL Club
West Coast
There is a small rugby league community in Perth. The odd relocated club game and SOO as an event is enough, we don't need a team.

I liked the Western Reds when they came in (would've been about 10 maybe) but they weren't a huge success. Got some big crowds early on (freebies galore) but didn't take long for 5-10k to be the norm - which in the ARL/NRL is the norm I guess.
 
May 5, 2016
43,464
48,499
AFL Club
Geelong
There is a small rugby league community in Perth. The odd relocated club game and SOO as an event is enough, we don't need a team.

I liked the Western Reds when they came in (would've been about 10 maybe) but they weren't a huge success. Got some big crowds early on (freebies galore) but didn't take long for 5-10k to be the norm - which in the ARL/NRL is the norm I guess.


16k
 

btdg

Norm Smith Medallist
Oct 7, 2005
5,579
9,436
Melbourne
AFL Club
Carlton
Other Teams
Carlton
I like that under the new draft/trade/salary cap structures teams like Geelong and Richmond can add players and reboot/reinvigorate their list without necessarily bottoming out.

The pre-2010 pre-free agency era felt TOO cyclical, too artificial. To get to the top just required waiting your turn, and once at the top everyone got their 2-3 years then dropped again.

Now, you can manage your cap well, wait for some lucky breaks and keep the cycle rolling, particularly if you are well coached. Dynasties are memorable and fun, and also something to aspire to - I remember fondly Carlton' success in the 80s and 90s and ency Geelong their recent success.

It also brings great risk. Hawthorn made the same moves as Richmond at a similar point in their success cycle (trading for Mitchell amd O'Meara = Taranto and Hopper)... and landed first in mediocrity, and then back to the bottom. There's a balance there, can swing and have a go, and that's more fun.

The exception for me is the Academy system - more because it is so poorly designed and it has been so ridiculously unfair. Anyone can access free agency, but it is bonkers that Sydney have an Academy covering a whole city that constantly churns out good players (including players whose fathers were AFL players), while Carlton's zone covers 12 blocks in northern Melbourne inhabited entirely by 86 year old Greek pensioners. The academy system is just an utter failure and should be completely redesigned or scrapped.
 

hoddo22

Club Legend
Jan 22, 2011
1,886
3,554
AFL Club
Carlton
Other Teams
Buffalo Bills
Every off field person involved in the Essendon saga should have got life bans so we wouldn't have to be dealing with stupid James Hird drama every year.

As long as Slobbo draws breath (he ran that close last year I might add) there would have been Hird drama every year anyway.

On SM-G781B using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
Aug 2, 2012
34,820
56,387
AFL Club
Geelong
The exception for me is the Academy system - more because it is so poorly designed and it has been so ridiculously unfair. Anyone can access free agency, but it is bonkers that Sydney have an Academy covering a whole city that constantly churns out good players (including players whose fathers were AFL players), while Carlton's zone covers 12 blocks in northern Melbourne inhabited entirely by 86 year old Greek pensioners. The academy system is just an utter failure and should be completely redesigned or scrapped.
How's Kouta travelling these days, anyway?
 

Sky

Doctor Demise
Feb 14, 2021
3,769
7,826
NT
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
Raptors, Storm, Chelsea
I like that under the new draft/trade/salary cap structures teams like Geelong and Richmond can add players and reboot/reinvigorate their list without necessarily bottoming out.

The pre-2010 pre-free agency era felt TOO cyclical, too artificial. To get to the top just required waiting your turn, and once at the top everyone got their 2-3 years then dropped again.

Now, you can manage your cap well, wait for some lucky breaks and keep the cycle rolling, particularly if you are well coached. Dynasties are memorable and fun, and also something to aspire to - I remember fondly Carlton' success in the 80s and 90s and ency Geelong their recent success.

It also brings great risk. Hawthorn made the same moves as Richmond at a similar point in their success cycle (trading for Mitchell amd O'Meara = Taranto and Hopper)... and landed first in mediocrity, and then back to the bottom. There's a balance there, can swing and have a go, and that's more fun.

The exception for me is the Academy system - more because it is so poorly designed and it has been so ridiculously unfair. Anyone can access free agency, but it is bonkers that Sydney have an Academy covering a whole city that constantly churns out good players (including players whose fathers were AFL players), while Carlton's zone covers 12 blocks in northern Melbourne inhabited entirely by 86 year old Greek pensioners. The academy system is just an utter failure and should be completely redesigned or scrapped.
Agreed because Geelong would claim the Falcons
 

Demon13304

Club Legend
Feb 12, 2014
1,815
3,298
AFL Club
Melbourne
The disparaging of the AFLW by mostly males is pure misogyny. I don't see why people keep putting it down. First of all, you don't have to watch it if you dont like it, Second of all, its in its early stages and when there are girls who have had 5 to 10 years of playing it before they start it will be of much better quality, and thirdly, its marketed to a different audience than AFL is.
The bagging of it is puerile and annoying.
Bang on.

I find it hilarious when they say things like "I don't dislike AFLW, I just don't like it being shoved down my throat!!"
If you don't like it, just ignore it and scroll past, it's not that hard😂 And if you do see it an ad or something, you'll be right mate it has no effect on your life you're gonna fineee
 
Equalisation is working.
Since 2010 it’s only
Ess
Carl
GC
That haven’t played in a prelim or better and there’s a pretty good argument all three of em have buggered it up from an admin/governance level before anything else.
 

Hawksboy72

Club Legend
Sep 20, 2016
1,877
1,596
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Liverpool, Red Sox, Philly Eagles
1: Hawthorn's run of winning a premiership every decade since the 60's will end this decade.
2: The GWS list is not as talented as some would proclaim week after week.
3: The dogs should trade the Bont.
 
Jan 14, 2002
12,637
16,545
...
AFL Club
Richmond
I like that under the new draft/trade/salary cap structures teams like Geelong and Richmond can add players and reboot/reinvigorate their list without necessarily bottoming out.

The pre-2010 pre-free agency era felt TOO cyclical, too artificial. To get to the top just required waiting your turn, and once at the top everyone got their 2-3 years then dropped again.

Now, you can manage your cap well, wait for some lucky breaks and keep the cycle rolling, particularly if you are well coached. Dynasties are memorable and fun, and also something to aspire to - I remember fondly Carlton' success in the 80s and 90s and ency Geelong their recent success.

It also brings great risk. Hawthorn made the same moves as Richmond at a similar point in their success cycle (trading for Mitchell amd O'Meara = Taranto and Hopper)... and landed first in mediocrity, and then back to the bottom. There's a balance there, can swing and have a go, and that's more fun.

The exception for me is the Academy system - more because it is so poorly designed and it has been so ridiculously unfair. Anyone can access free agency, but it is bonkers that Sydney have an Academy covering a whole city that constantly churns out good players (including players whose fathers were AFL players), while Carlton's zone covers 12 blocks in northern Melbourne inhabited entirely by 86 year old Greek pensioners. The academy system is just an utter failure and should be completely redesigned or scrapped.
It's a really good post btdg, but I just want to clarify a couple of things given that I've obviously followed Richmond drafting/trading strategy through this "dynasty" very closely.

Unlike just after Hawthorn flags, in the AFL National Draft Richmond actually drafted in 5 youngsters in the 2021 draft, all of whom were taken before Pick #30. In 2020, Richmond took 2 kids in the draft, 5 kids in the 2019 draft, 4 kids in the 2018 draft, and 5 kids in the 2017 draft (including 4 inside pick #34). That's 21 kids across only 5 drafts, most of whom were in the top 30 picks.

During those 5 years of the 2017-2021 period, Richmond did not trade in a single player from another AFL club. Yes, they FA'd Tom Lynch in 2018, and grabbed Matthew Parker (2020) in a mid-season draft (and maybe Mav Weller in the 2018 pre-season draft?, can't remember exactly), but not a single player brought in from trades.

In a similar post-dynasty time frame, Hawthorn traded out picks or players to bring in the following - Chad Wingard, Jaegar O'Meara, Tom Mitchell, Jarman Impey, Tom Phillips, James Frawley, Tom Scully, Johnathon O'Rourke, Jonathon Patton, Ricky Henderson, Ty Vickery, Michael Hartley, Jack Fitzpatrick, Jack Scrimshaw and Sam Frost - forgive me if there's a couple of FA's in there. Some on the cheap, but some at great trade cost too.

This is not a knock on the Hawks or Clarko - they had their strategy and they went for it hard. I'm in awe of what the Hawks achieved in those glory years and they had every right to push for more flags while they were white hot. But for anyone to even remotely suggest Richmond have had a similar mentality is completely back-to-front.

This trading in of Taranto and presumably Hopper is a clear strategy on Richmond's part to complement, and maybe even offset a little, the huge number of kids they've added to their list in the last 5 years of national drafts.
 
Last edited:
Jul 14, 2012
8,725
13,906
AFL Club
Carlton
1: Hawthorn's run of winning a premiership every decade since the 60's will end this decade.
2: The GWS list is not as talented as some would proclaim week after week.
3: The dogs should trade the Bont.
First two are more than fair and hardly unpopular.

But what makes you think they should train Bont, their captain/goat club player?
 
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