What unpopular AFL opinions do you have? Part 2

[I Lost My Keays]

People who legitimately have actual hatred for a team are sad and pathetic. I see it on here a lot with the SA and WA fans. Like yeah you can have friendly banter but when it comes to shit like "I loved it when Nic Nat injured that big oaf Sandi" and "Wingard is a dog campaigner" it gets a bit much. It's fine if it's just playing it up for an upcoming match, but real hatred is just pathetic. What did they ever do to you?

Port and Adelaide have a strong hatred in Adelaide, of course no supporter base would want any injuries for either side. But the hatred makes the Showdown amazing, who ever loses can't bare the thought on logging onto social media whilst whoever wins has bragging rights until the next showdown. I have to laugh when you said "People who legitmately have actual hatred for a team are sad and pathetic", what a joke of a statement.

 

[SterlingArcher]

Most football fans have such a bizarrely minimal understanding of the rules.

In two of the last Carlton matches an opposition player has softly thrown the ball at a player after it's gone out of bounds. Soft, sure. Not really dangerous, sure. And social media and gameday threads are in uproar about a `horrendous` decision and so on. Yet it's clearly stated in the rules that after it goes out of bounds you must drop it directly on the ground or pass it to the boundary ump. No room for subjective interpretations on was it soft, what's the feel for the game etc. 99% of fans were not aware these were clear frees.

Then there's the siren rules. When Tom Mitchell kicked his goal after the siren, heaps were saying the quarter ends not when the siren sounds but when the ump raises his hands. No. The ump raising his hands to signal the end of the quarter is MERELY the signal for the timekeeper to stop blowing the siren, to avoid a repeat of the sirengate game. Nothing to do with actual gameplay. It's a form of communication. The quarter ends when the siren sounds and as such the umpire in the Mitchell situation made an error (albeit in real time on the ground probably a difficult call).
Then there's the `knock it through` crew. If your player kicks it after the siren, it does not count as a point if your player knocks it through!! Clear as day rule - but even players struggle with this one!

Then there's the holding the ball rule. There's all of 4 subsections to the rule so it should be pretty easy to know. Yes, Razor got it right last night when he pinned Conca. 100% correct by the rulebook. People saying “how is he meant to make a genuine attempt” are missing the point COMPLETELY - if you make a tackle that prevents the player from making a genuine attempt, congrats, by the rulebook you will have likely won yourself a free kick. And just because umps get it wrong in other situations doesn't make Razor wrong, it makes Conca unlucky that he had an umpire who was on the ball ewith his decision making.

For all the whinging and carry on on this forum about umpires, very few know the rules properly. Shits me no end when you see posters calling umpires ****ing idiots and so on when really the posters are ****ing idiots who need to download the easily downloadable AFL rule book and cast their eye over it.

Similarly fans who blame the umps for mistakes but entirely avoid their own teams mistakes. Max Gawn v Geelong - SIMPLE set shot at goal, missing that is the equivalent of a coathanger tackle being missed as a high free, but you won`t see that pulled up. When Carlton are regularly missing simple kicks to our forward flank or inside 50, including our star mid Patrick Cripps who can only kick it up and under as if he has Andrew Swallows legs, yet I see umps blamed for the loss, lol. Jake Carlisle drops a simple mark then gets taken by Davis - umpires blamed by Saints fans, no mention of Carlisle dropping a regulation mark that is the mistake equivalent of an umpire letting a player run 40 meters without bouncing. Port fans and the Shuey kick - forgetting that Dixon and co pissed away the game in front of goal long before Shuey had a chance. It's no surprise that Hawthorn won 3 flags in a row - people bring up the free kick meme but forget that Hawthorn were 3 levels above in field kicking and goalkicking every other side - they executed basic kills better, surprise surprise they were the best team.

Basically umpires no matter how frustrating generally have less impact on the game than basic skill errors. And they would know more about the rules than all of us here. Of course they can improve but I don't think the constant rule changes, speed or congestion is helping them - and the quality of umpiring is still better than the quality of skills from players as a comparison

 

[ShockersBoy11]

Port and Adelaide have a strong hatred in Adelaide, of course no supporter base would want any injuries for either side. But the hatred makes the Showdown amazing, who ever loses can't bare the thought on logging onto social media whilst whoever wins has bragging rights until the next showdown. I have to laugh when you said "People who legitmately have actual hatred for a team are sad and pathetic", what a joke of a statement.

I mean, if it's just for rivalry fun sure that's good. But legitimately getting angry over a sport and a team is pretty sad. If Freo lose to West Coast sure it's disappointing but I'll sleep perfectly fine and have a good laugh the next day with Eagles mates. It may be different in SA so I don't know

 

[Hard Ball Get]

Most football fans have such a bizarrely minimal understanding of the rules.

In two of the last Carlton matches an opposition player has softly thrown the ball at a player after it's gone out of bounds. Soft, sure. Not really dangerous, sure. And social media and gameday threads are in uproar about a `horrendous` decision and so on. Yet it's clearly stated in the rules that after it goes out of bounds you must drop it directly on the ground or pass it to the boundary ump. No room for subjective interpretations on was it soft, what's the feel for the game etc. 99% of fans were not aware these were clear frees.

Then there's the siren rules. When Tom Mitchell kicked his goal after the siren, heaps were saying the quarter ends not when the siren sounds but when the ump raises his hands. No. The ump raising his hands to signal the end of the quarter is MERELY the signal for the timekeeper to stop blowing the siren, to avoid a repeat of the sirengate game. Nothing to do with actual gameplay. It's a form of communication. The quarter ends when the siren sounds and as such the umpire in the Mitchell situation made an error (albeit in real time on the ground probably a difficult call).
Then there's the `knock it through` crew. If your player kicks it after the siren, it does not count as a point if your player knocks it through!! Clear as day rule - but even players struggle with this one!

Then there's the holding the ball rule. There's all of 4 subsections to the rule so it should be pretty easy to know. Yes, Razor got it right last night when he pinned Conca. 100% correct by the rulebook. People saying “how is he meant to make a genuine attempt” are missing the point COMPLETELY - if you make a tackle that prevents the player from making a genuine attempt, congrats, by the rulebook you will have likely won yourself a free kick. And just because umps get it wrong in other situations doesn't make Razor wrong, it makes Conca unlucky that he had an umpire who was on the ball ewith his decision making.

For all the whinging and carry on on this forum about umpires, very few know the rules properly. Shits me no end when you see posters calling umpires ******* idiots and so on when really the posters are ******* idiots who need to download the easily downloadable AFL rule book and cast their eye over it.

Similarly fans who blame the umps for mistakes but entirely avoid their own teams mistakes. Max Gawn v Geelong - SIMPLE set shot at goal, missing that is the equivalent of a coathanger tackle being missed as a high free, but you won`t see that pulled up. When Carlton are regularly missing simple kicks to our forward flank or inside 50, including our star mid Patrick Cripps who can only kick it up and under as if he has Andrew Swallows legs, yet I see umps blamed for the loss, lol. Jake Carlisle drops a simple mark then gets taken by Davis - umpires blamed by Saints fans, no mention of Carlisle dropping a regulation mark that is the mistake equivalent of an umpire letting a player run 40 meters without bouncing. Port fans and the Shuey kick - forgetting that Dixon and co pissed away the game in front of goal long before Shuey had a chance. It's no surprise that Hawthorn won 3 flags in a row - people bring up the free kick meme but forget that Hawthorn were 3 levels above in field kicking and goalkicking every other side - they executed basic kills better, surprise surprise they were the best team.

Basically umpires no matter how frustrating generally have less impact on the game than basic skill errors. And they would know more about the rules than all of us here. Of course they can improve but I don't think the constant rule changes, speed or congestion is helping them - and the quality of umpiring is still better than the quality of skills from players as a comparison

But, but, but it's all the umps fault.

 

[Forward Press]

Most football fans have such a bizarrely minimal understanding of the rules.

In two of the last Carlton matches an opposition player has softly thrown the ball at a player after it's gone out of bounds. Soft, sure. Not really dangerous, sure. And social media and gameday threads are in uproar about a `horrendous` decision and so on. Yet it's clearly stated in the rules that after it goes out of bounds you must drop it directly on the ground or pass it to the boundary ump. No room for subjective interpretations on was it soft, what's the feel for the game etc. 99% of fans were not aware these were clear frees.

Then there's the siren rules. When Tom Mitchell kicked his goal after the siren, heaps were saying the quarter ends not when the siren sounds but when the ump raises his hands. No. The ump raising his hands to signal the end of the quarter is MERELY the signal for the timekeeper to stop blowing the siren, to avoid a repeat of the sirengate game. Nothing to do with actual gameplay. It's a form of communication. The quarter ends when the siren sounds and as such the umpire in the Mitchell situation made an error (albeit in real time on the ground probably a difficult call).
Then there's the `knock it through` crew. If your player kicks it after the siren, it does not count as a point if your player knocks it through!! Clear as day rule - but even players struggle with this one!

Then there's the holding the ball rule. There's all of 4 subsections to the rule so it should be pretty easy to know. Yes, Razor got it right last night when he pinned Conca. 100% correct by the rulebook. People saying “how is he meant to make a genuine attempt” are missing the point COMPLETELY - if you make a tackle that prevents the player from making a genuine attempt, congrats, by the rulebook you will have likely won yourself a free kick. And just because umps get it wrong in other situations doesn't make Razor wrong, it makes Conca unlucky that he had an umpire who was on the ball ewith his decision making.

For all the whinging and carry on on this forum about umpires, very few know the rules properly. Shits me no end when you see posters calling umpires ******* idiots and so on when really the posters are ******* idiots who need to download the easily downloadable AFL rule book and cast their eye over it.

Similarly fans who blame the umps for mistakes but entirely avoid their own teams mistakes. Max Gawn v Geelong - SIMPLE set shot at goal, missing that is the equivalent of a coathanger tackle being missed as a high free, but you won`t see that pulled up. When Carlton are regularly missing simple kicks to our forward flank or inside 50, including our star mid Patrick Cripps who can only kick it up and under as if he has Andrew Swallows legs, yet I see umps blamed for the loss, lol. Jake Carlisle drops a simple mark then gets taken by Davis - umpires blamed by Saints fans, no mention of Carlisle dropping a regulation mark that is the mistake equivalent of an umpire letting a player run 40 meters without bouncing. Port fans and the Shuey kick - forgetting that Dixon and co pissed away the game in front of goal long before Shuey had a chance. It's no surprise that Hawthorn won 3 flags in a row - people bring up the free kick meme but forget that Hawthorn were 3 levels above in field kicking and goalkicking every other side - they executed basic kills better, surprise surprise they were the best team.

Basically umpires no matter how frustrating generally have less impact on the game than basic skill errors. And they would know more about the rules than all of us here. Of course they can improve but I don't think the constant rule changes, speed or congestion is helping them - and the quality of umpiring is still better than the quality of skills from players as a comparison

It took 10,000 posts but a quality unpopular opinion.

Hard to argue against, really.

Yes I am aware I support West Coast. So boo me.

 

[Kram]

Most football fans have such a bizarrely minimal understanding of the rules.

In two of the last Carlton matches an opposition player has softly thrown the ball at a player after it's gone out of bounds. Soft, sure. Not really dangerous, sure. And social media and gameday threads are in uproar about a `horrendous` decision and so on. Yet it's clearly stated in the rules that after it goes out of bounds you must drop it directly on the ground or pass it to the boundary ump. No room for subjective interpretations on was it soft, what's the feel for the game etc. 99% of fans were not aware these were clear frees.

Then there's the siren rules. When Tom Mitchell kicked his goal after the siren, heaps were saying the quarter ends not when the siren sounds but when the ump raises his hands. No. The ump raising his hands to signal the end of the quarter is MERELY the signal for the timekeeper to stop blowing the siren, to avoid a repeat of the sirengate game. Nothing to do with actual gameplay. It's a form of communication. The quarter ends when the siren sounds and as such the umpire in the Mitchell situation made an error (albeit in real time on the ground probably a difficult call).
Then there's the `knock it through` crew. If your player kicks it after the siren, it does not count as a point if your player knocks it through!! Clear as day rule - but even players struggle with this one!

Then there's the holding the ball rule. There's all of 4 subsections to the rule so it should be pretty easy to know. Yes, Razor got it right last night when he pinned Conca. 100% correct by the rulebook. People saying “how is he meant to make a genuine attempt” are missing the point COMPLETELY - if you make a tackle that prevents the player from making a genuine attempt, congrats, by the rulebook you will have likely won yourself a free kick. And just because umps get it wrong in other situations doesn't make Razor wrong, it makes Conca unlucky that he had an umpire who was on the ball ewith his decision making.

For all the whinging and carry on on this forum about umpires, very few know the rules properly. Shits me no end when you see posters calling umpires ******* idiots and so on when really the posters are ******* idiots who need to download the easily downloadable AFL rule book and cast their eye over it.

Similarly fans who blame the umps for mistakes but entirely avoid their own teams mistakes. Max Gawn v Geelong - SIMPLE set shot at goal, missing that is the equivalent of a coathanger tackle being missed as a high free, but you won`t see that pulled up. When Carlton are regularly missing simple kicks to our forward flank or inside 50, including our star mid Patrick Cripps who can only kick it up and under as if he has Andrew Swallows legs, yet I see umps blamed for the loss, lol. Jake Carlisle drops a simple mark then gets taken by Davis - umpires blamed by Saints fans, no mention of Carlisle dropping a regulation mark that is the mistake equivalent of an umpire letting a player run 40 meters without bouncing. Port fans and the Shuey kick - forgetting that Dixon and co pissed away the game in front of goal long before Shuey had a chance. It's no surprise that Hawthorn won 3 flags in a row - people bring up the free kick meme but forget that Hawthorn were 3 levels above in field kicking and goalkicking every other side - they executed basic kills better, surprise surprise they were the best team.

Basically umpires no matter how frustrating generally have less impact on the game than basic skill errors. And they would know more about the rules than all of us here. Of course they can improve but I don't think the constant rule changes, speed or congestion is helping them - and the quality of umpiring is still better than the quality of skills from players as a comparison

Sadly for the most part the average footy fan even though they think they are an expert either IRL or on BF is an idiot.

 

[MrDanggazz]

Gary Ablett Jnr is actually a good bloke. *hides in preparation of hate*

 

[btdg]

I think fans who bag players for 'basic skill errors' drastically underestimate how hard those skills are.

Until 10 years ago most footy just involved long kicks to contests. Watching footy from earlier, like the 80s, and most kicks just went to space or a leading target who was 5 metres clear.

Now, what appears to be a simple kick is often a 30 metre chip to a moving target, through a zone defence comprised on elite athletes. On the wrong foot. And if it isn't perfectly weighted, it ends up a turnover. Looks horrific on tv, but sit front row at the ground and you realise how hard it is - I sit there most games and often can't even see the target, let alone fathom how i would weight a kick over/through a zone

 

[Hard Ball Get]

I think fans who bag players for 'basic skill errors' drastically underestimate how hard those skills are.

Until 10 years ago most footy just involved long kicks to contests. Watching footy from earlier, like the 80s, and most kicks just went to space or a leading target who was 5 metres clear.

Now, what appears to be a simple kick is often a 30 metre chip to a moving target, through a zone defence comprised on elite athletes. On the wrong foot. And if it isn't perfectly weighted, it ends up a turnover. Looks horrific on tv, but sit front row at the ground and you realise how hard it is - I sit there most games and often can't even see the target, let alone fathom how i would weight a kick over/through a zone

Exactly. The skill in isolation is tough. Under fatigue, at full pace and under pressure, is extremely difficult.

 

[sherb]

Then there's the siren rules. When Tom Mitchell kicked his goal after the siren, heaps were saying the quarter ends not when the siren sounds but when the ump raises his hands. No. The ump raising his hands to signal the end of the quarter is MERELY the signal for the timekeeper to stop blowing the siren, to avoid a repeat of the sirengate game. Nothing to do with actual gameplay. It's a form of communication. The quarter ends when the siren sounds and as such the umpire in the Mitchell situation made an error (albeit in real time on the ground probably a difficult call).

That's not the case.

The quarter ends when any of the field umpires hears the siren (including the emergency umpire).

 

[SuperSteele22]

If a player attempts a high mark over an opponent and doesn’t mark it, even if it was a perfectly realistic attempt and the player simply spills the mark, then a free kick should be awarded to the player who he tried to take the mark over.

 

[yyou]

There is a place for time outs in our game.
Case in point, 1st quarter in the St Kilda vs Sydney game last night.
A time out in the 1st quarter could have gone a long way to preventing the game being effectively over by 1/4 time.
1 time out per half for team, should be trialled in pre-season games.
Heck, the AFL would love the chance to get a business to sponsor the time out, & there would be more time for ads.

 

[Hard Ball Get]

There is a place for time outs in our game.
Case in point, 1st quarter in the St Kilda vs Sydney game last night.
A time out in the 1st quarter could have gone a long way to preventing the game being effectively over by 1/4 time.
1 time out per half for team, should be trialled in pre-season games.
Heck, the AFL would love the chance to get a business to sponsor the time out, & there would be more time for ads.

There is an argument for the exact opposite too though. It could prevent games from being close.

 

[Knox Harrington]

I think they should do the following two things to speed up the game
1) pay more deliberate out of bounds frees. Err on the side of paying them if they look remotely suspect. If players saw that happen they'd move heaven and earth to keep the ball in.
2) pay 50s every time a player unnecessarily touches a player after he marks it. How many times is a player held up when he shouldn't be.

Keep the ball moving at all costs.

 

[John Wayne II]

I'd take Neale over Fyfe.

 

[Hard Ball Get]

I think they should do the following two things to speed up the game
1) pay more deliberate out of bounds frees. Err on the side of paying them if they look remotely suspect. If players saw that happen they'd move heaven and earth to keep the ball in.
2) pay 50s every time a player unnecessarily touches a player after he marks it. How many times is a player held up when he shouldn't be.

Keep the ball moving at all costs.

That philosophy of 'speeding up the game' got us into this mess. Coaches are forced to look for ways to slow down opposition momentum.
Bring back 3rd man up. It allows for the ball to clear a pack a little easier.

 

[kranky al]

Spray and pray shankmerchants like dangerfield, fyfe and a lesser example priddis dont win you flags

Gabletts, pendleburies and mitchells do

Too many people are so fixated on the amazing thing a midfielder has done to get a ball, evade / shrug tackles and get out - they overlook that he hands it straight back to the opposition a large percentage of the time and to a 50/50 a percentage of the time meaning that a much smaller percentage of their possesions are actually to the benefit of the team.

Whereas a scalpel blade like mitchableberry hurts you with every posession they get. Slicing defences apart for easy goals. A shanked kick to a fifty fifty means you have to work hard to win the ball after already bursting a gut on a lead.

A laser kick means after bursting a gut on a lead - you turn - have a breath - kick a goal then get another breather as the ball is moved back to the centre.

The first three win you games - the last three win you flags.

 

[Hard Ball Get]

Spray and pray shankmerchants like dangerfield, fyfe and a lesser example priddis dont win you flags

Gabletts, pendleburies and mitchells do

Too many people are so fixated on the amazing thing a midfielder has done to get a ball, evade / shrug tackles and get out - they overlook that he hands it straight back to the opposition a large percentage of the time and to a 50/50 a percentage of the time meaning that a much smaller percentage of their possesions are actually to the benefit of the team.

Whereas a scalpel blade like mitchableberry hurts you with every posession they get. Slicing defences apart for easy goals. A shanked kick to a fifty fifty means you have to work hard to win the ball after already bursting a gut on a lead.

A laser kick means after bursting a gut on a lead - you turn - have a breath - kick a goal then get another breather as the ball is moved back to the centre.

The first three win you games - the last three win you flags.

Sometimes, not always.
Some teams want to win possession first, gain a territorial advantage and then when they inevitably turn it over, they have their defensive structures to win the ball back in a stronger attacking position.

Dogs did this extremely well in 16' and wore defenses down with repeat entries, despite turning it over a shitload.

 

[footyfan1978]

There is a place for time outs in our game.
Case in point,

Shut up Darcy.

 

[Run and carry]

I think fans who bag players for 'basic skill errors' drastically underestimate how hard those skills are.

Until 10 years ago most footy just involved long kicks to contests. Watching footy from earlier, like the 80s, and most kicks just went to space or a leading target who was 5 metres clear.

Now, what appears to be a simple kick is often a 30 metre chip to a moving target, through a zone defence comprised on elite athletes. On the wrong foot. And if it isn't perfectly weighted, it ends up a turnover. Looks horrific on tv, but sit front row at the ground and you realise how hard it is - I sit there most games and often can't even see the target, let alone fathom how i would weight a kick over/through a zone

Excellent post. How these guys running flat out with a bloke hanging off them can kick 40/50 metres to a team mate who is at full speed with a bloke just half a step behind and weight it perfectly is ridiculous.

And so nonchalantly and under extreme pressure and expectation.

I'm in awe of the in congestion skills and the kicking skills these days.

 

[aflcliche]

AFL players are very good

 

[John Wayne II]

AFL players are very good

Wrong

 

[Cosmic Energy]

If a player attempts a high mark over an opponent and doesn’t mark it, even if it was a perfectly realistic attempt and the player simply spills the mark, then a free kick should be awarded to the player who he tried to take the mark over.

That would reduce the amount attempted, and the amount taken, which surely can’t be a good thing. Would you apply the same free against a high-flying spoil?

 

[RearNaked]

There is only two genders

 

[astro1212]

its sad to think this is a unpopular opinion but free kick statistics and umpire blaming is one of the most boring and unnecessary fights/discussions about the game

As a WC fan I agree