I hope you fella's realise how lucky you are

[johntheclaret]

Maybe the wrong Forum, but just watched the featured AFL game on Eurosport 2, (the only channel over here that shows any Aussie Rules, and only AvFL), between Sydney and Port.

WTF has happened to the game? Players going down like Italina prima donnas, and getting the free. You can't touch each other these days.
No passion,
No driving runs forward
No tackling
Plenty of back passes
Plenty of short kicks across the back lines.
Plenty of time wasting
Plenty of players 'falling' forward (in the UK we call it diving)
Plenty of fee kicks

Absolute cr4p.

Watched Hawthorn in Tassie the other week. Exactly the same garbage. The "national" game is being turned into a non-contact sport and it is a disgrace.

Now for the reason, I raised this topic on here. AvFL is all I get, so I hope you fella's appreciate how lucky you are to get to watch SANFL. I heard that there are some changes to the 'in the back' rule this year. If this is true, I hope for the sake of the SANFL game that it doesn't have the same effect as is has on the AvFL.

End of rant.

[once_were_warriors]

The AFL to me is like watching Mini league on Speed.

28 Players between centre half back and centre half forward , all following the ball.

Game has definitely changed , its about creating space and avoiding contests of the ball.

Almost like watching rugby league as the handball backwards and go across the ground without going even 10 metres forward.

To sum it up in soccer terms the AFL formations and tactics are somelike 8-8-2 Counterattack.

Took a mate to the SANFL ( who only goes to the PAWA games) a few weeks ago and he couldn't come to grips with the fact that there were 14 players past the centreline when the ball was in the opposition backlines. I said thats what we call a flood.

[silent hour]

I think the AFL is more comparable to netball, although I would rather watch girls play netball (mmm maybe some already are).

[Hondo]

Before we get too excited I have seen small signs that the SANFL might be picking up the trend too. I have heard on the radio commentary comments about players pushing back, side-ways kicking, possession footy. Rick MacGowan, the Weed and Mickan are 3 coaches I have heard using similar tactics at times. It would be the exception rather than the rule but it's there.

[BPBRB]

I think the AFL is more comparable to netball, although I would rather watch girls play netball (mmm maybe some already are).

You probably picked the wrong sport to compare AFL with unless your point was alluding to the AFL being soft. As for tatics in compariosn at least in Netball players have defined zones to stay in and therefore a lot of one on one contests occur, unlike the AFL tatics these days although I am not abdicating that zones be introduced nor the play on rule when kicking backwards in the defensive fifty arc.

The evolution of coaching tatics will see some of this negative backwards disaapear in time if not adverse negative publicity. The easiest solution is to get players to man up properly and thus force kicks to contests. Maybe coaches or players don't back their abilities to win one on one contests anymore and might expose some players who stay wide and suck up easy possessions?

Surely it is no more difficult than that?

[Jar Man Out]

Maybe the wrong Forum, but just watched the featured AFL game on Eurosport 2, (the only channel over here that shows any Aussie Rules, and only AvFL), between Sydney and Port.

WTF has happened to the game? Players going down like Italina prima donnas, and getting the free. You can't touch each other these days.
No passion,
No driving runs forward
No tackling
Plenty of back passes
Plenty of short kicks across the back lines.
Plenty of time wasting
Plenty of players 'falling' forward (in the UK we call it diving)
Plenty of fee kicks

Absolute cr4p.

Watched Hawthorn in Tassie the other week. Exactly the same garbage. The "national" game is being turned into a non-contact sport and it is a disgrace.

Now for the reason, I raised this topic on here. AvFL is all I get, so I hope you fella's appreciate how lucky you are to get to watch SANFL. I heard that there are some changes to the 'in the back' rule this year. If this is true, I hope for the sake of the SANFL game that it doesn't have the same effect as is has on the AvFL.

End of rant.

Simply SANFL coaches still look at entertaining.

AFL coaches when you are in charge of a $20 million business it simply becomes about win/loss ratio.

The crows are the biggest flooders in the afl BTW.

[Hondo]

WTF has happened to the game? Players going down like Italina prima donnas, and getting the free. You can't touch each other these days.
No passion,
No driving runs forward
No tackling
Plenty of back passes
Plenty of short kicks across the back lines.
Plenty of time wasting
Plenty of players 'falling' forward (in the UK we call it diving)
Plenty of fee kicks

Absolute cr4p.

Watched Hawthorn in Tassie the other week. Exactly the same garbage. The "national" game is being turned into a non-contact sport and it is a disgrace.

I think you are picking the worst points out of a couple of bad games and making some big generalisations TBH. Did you see the Bulldogs v Pies or Kangas v Carlton last week?

[doggies4eva]

I think the AFL is more comparable to netball, although I would rather watch girls play netball (mmm maybe some already are).

I see a better comparison with soccer - get plenty of players behind the ball, pass in a zig zag fashion to gradually gain ground and then try an accurate pass through lots of defensive traffic to the striker - I mean full forward who has a shot at a goal defended by lots of goalies - I mean defenders. At least they have remove the cross-bar so the forwards can kick over the defenders heads and score up high!

[johntheclaret]

WTF has happened to the game? Players going down like Italina prima donnas, and getting the free. You can't touch each other these days.
No passion,
No driving runs forward
No tackling
Plenty of back passes
Plenty of short kicks across the back lines.
Plenty of time wasting
Plenty of players 'falling' forward (in the UK we call it diving)
Plenty of fee kicks

Absolute cr4p.

Watched Hawthorn in Tassie the other week. Exactly the same garbage. The "national" game is being turned into a non-contact sport and it is a disgrace.

I think you are picking the worst points out of a couple of bad games and making some big generalisations TBH. Did you see the Bulldogs v Pies or Kangas v Carlton last week?

I get one game per week as the main feature and a round up with very limited highlights of the others from a two hour programme, so can't offer a very strong argument, however, it does seem that this style is the norm.
Maybe $$$ has made the difference, fear of injuries to big names, etc,??

I can and do compare the AvFL to the EPL. Money has taken over the game and the importance of winning overrides everything else includinig entertainment value. I cite the FA cup last week as a prime example of the non contact, sterile style of play.
I also compare the SANFL to the CCC, more contact, more attacking and more passionate, whilst lacking the skill levels of the EPL. Again I cite the CCC playoffs this season for excitement and passion.

[Hondo]

I get one game per week as the main feature and a round up with very limited highlights of the others from a two hour programme, so can't offer a very strong argument, however, it does seem that this style is the norm.
Maybe $$$ has made the difference, fear of injuries to big names, etc,??

I can and do compare the AvFL to the EPL. Money has taken over the game and the importance of winning overrides everything else includinig entertainment value. I cite the FA cup last week as a prime example of the non contact, sterile style of play.
I also compare the SANFL to the CCC, more contact, more attacking and more passionate, whilst lacking the skill levels of the EPL. Again I cite the CCC playoffs this season for excitement and passion.

There is no marked difference between goal-scoring in the SANFL compared to the AFL this season and you'd be hard pressed to prove there is any more contact in the SANFL. Also, from what I have seen, the SANFL also has it's fair share of short passing, possession footy.

Not knocking the SANFL at all, just trying to say that Hawthorn v St Kilda is not a good example of most AFL games played this year. IMHO, there's not as big a difference between the SANFL and the AFL as some posters would make you think. That's just my opinion I am sure plenty will disagree with me.

[zipzap]

Before we get too excited I have seen small signs that the SANFL might be picking up the trend too. I have heard on the radio commentary comments about players pushing back, side-ways kicking, possession footy. Rick MacGowan, the Weed and Mickan are 3 coaches I have heard using similar tactics at times. It would be the exception rather than the rule but it's there.

Those tactics arguably cost the magpies the game against Sturt

[Grahaml]

It's harder to do in the SANFL because you need a fit hard running team with good skills. No SANFL team is up to it like the AFL teams are. However, having seen footage from yesteryear I think the game is light years ahead of where it was 30 years ago. I can't stand watching footy from the 70s because the skills are so ordinary. I think people are just expecting so much more now and look back at the past with rose coloured glasses without remembering what it was actually like.

[johntheclaret]

It's harder to do in the SANFL because you need a fit hard running team with good skills. No SANFL team is up to it like the AFL teams are. However, having seen footage from yesteryear I think the game is light years ahead of where it was 30 years ago. I can't stand watching footy from the 70s because the skills are so ordinary. I think people are just expecting so much more now and look back at the past with rose coloured glasses without remembering what it was actually like.

Won't dispute the skill level Graham, after all the AvFL cherry pick the best players from other state leagues already, and I would expect the fitness levels to be higher, with more financial resources available and full time professionals, but from what I have seen, those fitness levels have rarely been tested.

As "for and now look back at the past with rose coloured glass without remembering what it was actually like", I'm one of those 70's boys and like me I suspect there are a lot of others out there that use the good old VCR to remember what is was actually like and to be honest, I like what I see.

Not trying to be contentious with you, and was just raising an observation from what I have seen over the last couple of years.

[bosvit]

Have to agree with Graham on this one

Been watching some of the old VFL and SANFL games on foxtel in the past and it is like wading through mud, terrible bang it forward with a mungrel punt football, with a couple of extremely flashy bits of brilliance thrown in.

Not a fan of the current playing style but still much better to watch than 70s/80s football IMO

[Hondo]

The other thing with the 70s and 80s is that we rarely saw full games on TV, if we did it was the match of the round. Mostly we saw highlights of the best bits of 2 matches per round. In those days a Haw v St K game would have been edited down to 30 mins (prob the last quarter) and, unless you went to the game, you would never know what the rest of the game was like. You'd read the paper review but that's not the same as the exposure each game gets today.

So it's easy to slip in to only remembering the best bits of older eras. I have some old 80s GFs on DVD and love watching them, but what I don't have is any Woodville v Torrens games from the early early 80s for me to pick to pieces ..... if you know what I mean.

I say both eras were great ... I'll always think it's the best sport on the planet.