Opinion Why are there So Many Poor teams in 2025

[Golumless]

Just how the close games have panned out. It doesn't take a lot of results to turn this year into one that is well and truly alive for 14-15 teams.

Though, Port, Carlton and Melbourne not sacking their coaches last off-season hasn't helped as they're the standout underperformers this year.

 

[Atomboy]

AFL is going down the path of Rugby Union.

At the youth level the obsession is now on those from private schools. Nepotism plays a massive part of which kids get to representative sides and exposure to that next level.

It means so many more players are going to be busts because they got to where they got to through means other than pure talent.

That, and an increasingly scientific approach to the game has led to the exposure of teams if they are even a little bit off. You just get punished because teams are so highly drilled.

There are fewer players these days who do the magical stuff because defending is such a science these days and the plays are all ultra-athletic.

I reckon there’s a bit in this.

 

[Golumless]

The average skill has gone down a heap. I mean to that point, Who in the under 24 year old range is the best decision maker we have right now? Whose the next Sidey here? I dont see one

Yup, however it is worth noting that the game was a lot easier for skill execution in the turn of the millennium then now. The focus on athleticism, more sophisticated defensive systems (instead of a more traditional 1v1 set up) and a premium put on intercepts/turnovers has really spiked the difficulty.

Skills haven't lowered per-se (there are always miskicks etc), just the bar for skilled play has increased dramatically.

 

[deck]

Football now is a very big expense on a family

I don't believe this. My boss who's kid plays junior football and auskick was just saying the other day how cheap it is to play. I don't think there are too many other sports your kids could play that are anywhere near the cost of playing footy.

 

[CrowToon]

I don't believe this. My boss who's kid plays junior football and auskick was just saying the other day how cheap it is to play. I don't think there are too many other sports your kids could play that are anywhere near the cost of playing footy.

Now multiply it by 3 and assume and then factor in the cost of rep footy.

 

[deck]

Now multiply it by 3 and assume and then factor in the cost of rep footy.

But that goes for any hobby your kid wants to do. They cost money and footy is at the cheaper end of the scale.

 

[jim boy]

But that goes for any hobby your kid wants to do. They cost money and footy is at the cheaper end of the scale

Yeah , footy is cheap relative to other kids sports, cough ... basketbasll... cough. A number of junior soccer teams are also fund raisers for the seniors, which can drive prices up horrendously.

 

[deck]

Yeah , footy is cheap relative to other kids sports, cough ... basketbasll... cough. A number of junior soccer teams are also fund raisers for the seniors, which can drive prices up horrendously.

The issues over the last 20 years with cost is insurance and liability that no one gave a shit about years ago.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

The talent pool is diluted that's been obvious for years.

 

[M Malice]

Talent is diluted because there are too many teams in the competition and we are bringing in another one, it's never going to change so get used to it.

 

[Jim Prideaux]

All the old fuddy duddies are out in this one. The world must be such a bizarre and confusing place for some of you - my advice, just set the picture wireless to Alan Jones and turn up the morphine, you’ll be ok.

On the season, the top 9 is very even, and the bottom 9 is too, meaning that it’s hard for the top of the bottom to make any movement. St Kilda aren’t that bad, North are better than their ladder position, Sydney are much better than their ladder position.

It’s an even season, which makes it harder for lower teams to move up.

 

[Quinten Kennedy]

Talent pool being spread too thin certainly plays it's part.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

There are 9 teams up to standard this season. At a pinch maybe you can excuse the swans and dons because injuries. We just seeing so many uncompetitive games and big blow out even in prime time games. The AFL must be disappointed we have had so few great games where the results have been close. Evey year they roll out the line the competition is so close this season but in reality the bottom 8 (exclude the swans) are miles behind.

Because, as always, North are trendsetters. All the cool teams are crap. And so is Carlton.

 

[Sherrinator]

The 6/6/6 rule has exposed rebuilding and injury hit teams. Bottom 10 teams have always been poor or inconsistent but now they don’t have a chance to stop opposition momentum.

 

[aussierulesrules]

There are no stay at home full forwards or backs anymore, no Pluggers waiting in the square to wrestle opponents, or hit up short leads.

Ben King is. Apparently he rarely leaves the F50 and almost all of his disposals are shots at goal.

Think Gunston might be playing out of the goalsquare now too.

 

[aussierulesrules]

The 6/6/6 rule has exposed rebuilding and injury hit teams. Bottom 10 teams have always been poor or inconsistent but now they don’t have a chance to stop opposition momentum.

Think we’ve found a way in recent weeks. Push one or two up from your forward line to the stoppages and have the rest of your forwards also push really high up the ground, really congesting it all for the other team.

Is making it very hard for these good teams to play the way they want to against us the last 3 weeks.

 

[Freomaniac]

If I recall last year the race for the 8 was very close. I think this year it just happens there is a fair gap between top 9 and bottom 9.

Last year Sydney played in a gf, Port played a prelim, Carlton were up there midway through the season. Those teams have just fallen into holes for various reasons, though Sydney would've certainly finished top 8 if not for injuries. Still could, though very unlikely.

So why has Carlton dropped off this season? They got 8th with all the advantages they got.

Port has dropped off considering they finished top 2 last year

 

[Freomaniac]

Ben King is. Apparently he rarely leaves the F50 and almost all of his disposals are shots at goal.

Think Gunston might be playing out of the goal square now too.

So Ben king is like Tony Lockett.

Put it this way, I can barely Recall Tony Lockett leaving the forward 50.

If ever I saw Tony Lockett outside the forward 50 is when he takes a leading chest mark on the forward 50 line and he does a set shot from 55 to 60 metres out.

If I was saints or Sydney coach in Locketts playing career, no chance in hell would I dare ask him to run on the wing.

 

[aussierulesrules]

So Ben king is like Tony Lockett.

Put it this way, I can barely Recall Tony Lockett leaving the forward 50.

If ever I saw Tony Lockett outside the forward 50 is when he takes a leading chest mark on the forward 50 line and he does a set shot from 55 to 60 metres out.

If I was saints or Sydney coach in Locketts playing career, no chance in hell would I dare ask him to run on the wing.

Yeah guys like Plugger and Dunstall didn’t leave the F50 much outside of the breaks pretty much!

It’s fascinating that we’re seeing a bit of a return to that now.

 

[Guardian Hawk]

Everyone's talking about talent pool and expansion teams, etc as though this is the reason we have a huge divide between the top and bottom 9 and a lot of poorer performing teams this year but only last season it was the exact opposite, with 14th winning 11 games and 14 wins only getting 7th. Until late in the season, the 13th placed team was only half a win outside the 8 with a W-L record that would normally have them in the top 6.

In fact, we've had a lot of seasons like that lately - 4 wins separated 5th and 15th in 2023 (getting into the 8 has required more and more wins lately).

I don't think the 'talent pool' and expansion sides are the reason the script has flipped this season in isolation, especially when you consider a couple of Prelim finalists from last year are in the bottom 9 'poor teams' and a couple of strugglers from last season are in top 4 contention this season. Just one of those years.

(I realise that close games/competition doesn't mean the quality is high but the 'lots of poor teams this season' discussion has largely come from the significant divide between top 9 and bottom 9 this year, which is an anomalous result)

 

[Obeanie1]

Pretty simple.

Currently multiple AFL policies support clubs playing and winning grand finals.

Clubs struggling to rebuild do not get that same level of support and prioriry access to quality players.

The successful expansion clubs keep getting more support.

How do clubs rebuilding close the gap?

And free agents and senior players now want to move the these contending clubs. Not stay at a club struggling to rebuild who gets little or no support from head office.

Add to that cuts to soft caps reduced the number of coaches. Rebuilding sides need more development coaches to focus on kids. Whereas sides contending with mature lists don't need the number of development coaches.

AFL House created this issue.

 

[Andyy]

Too many teams IMO. Not enough talent.

Should have stuck with/go back to 16.

 

[ItsAllAboutMe]

Talent pool being spread too thin certainly plays it's part.

What is clear is that the QLD & NSW northern academies work, it can be no coincidence that since their introduction the amount of elite players coming out of these regions has increased from basically zero to now at a point the Vic teams are sooking about how unfair they are.. The solution for the Vic clubs is to rip away this advantage, instead they should be replicating what they are doing, perhaps the AFL needs to move back to zones and get rid of the draft all together.

 

[aussierulesrules]

What is clear is that the QLD & NSW northern academies work, it can be no coincidence that since their introduction the amount of elite players coming out of these regions has increased from basically zero to now at a point the Vic teams are sooking about how unfair they are.. The solution for the Vic clubs is to rip away this advantage, instead they should be replicating what they are doing, perhaps the AFL needs to move back to zones and get rid of the draft all together.

The draft was brought in precisely to get rid of the inequity that it is now effectively creating.

4 teams essentially have old-school zones (where they can pick anyone, of any background, and those zones are enormous), while also having access to the open pool of the draft, whereas the other 14 teams just have highly restricted access to a vastly smaller zone (from a population pov), plus the open pool of the draft.

Then you’ve got certain teams who are hitting the father-son jackpot on a consistent basis, while most other teams, through no fault of their own, are not.

 

[Giant Pete]

Largely due to free agency.