Opinion: The future Aussie rules footy game

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Opinion: The future Aussie rules footy game

Authored by: Brett Northey
on Monday, July 14 2014 @ 12:34 pm ACST

Absolutely Aaron. Every generation laments the loss of the good old days. But they should look at footage from the 1960s of players blindly just booting the ball back and forth to position without precisely picking out their teammates and it would frustrate the hell out of them after about 2 minutes.

Maybe the 1980s were the peak. High marks, open play, the best players from around Australia heading to the VFL in unprecedented numbers so the standard was rising rapidly, big hits, plenty of fights. Trouble is, the fights were hurting people and stopping people from letting their kids play. And the rising professionalism meant players could soon run all day and execute game plans, so by the 1990s the coaches could take better control and lock down the game. There's no going back.

Hmmm, the author also repeats the mythology that Barassi started the handball craze when in fact many also say that Polly Farmer (formerly from WA) introduced it to the VFL as a weapon and when South Australian football was already using it thanks to the dominance of Sturt under Jack Oatey in the 1960s. The VFL coaches and players simply and inevitably absorbed the good ideas from elsewhere.

And innovation brought in from other sports continued in the AFL with ideas from soccer etc in the 1990s onwards. It's inevitable. There's no master plan driving it. It's a natural evolution of a sport that has become professional in a globalized world.

Yes the AFL can tweak rules to try to prevent key changes that are seen as undesirable, but often the medicine can be as bad as what it is treating.

Having said all that, there are areas I'd like to see changed.

1. I want 16-a-side trialled in the pre-season comp to see if that reduces congestion without altering the fabric of the game like zones would.

2. I reckon if you take two steps (not 3 or 4 or 5) or you attempt to "don't argue" (fend off) a tackler, then you've had prior opportunity and if the tackle sticks OR if the ball jars free then it's holding the ball. Simple.

3. If a player is tackled on the ground then no 3rd player in, team mate or otherwise. That removes the injury danger of players diving on top of him, it means it's 1 on 1 so if he's good enough to get it out then good on him but if not then holding the ball. It removes the ball-up congestion because he has a chance to get the ball out. It also removes the issue of teammates pulling the ball out of his hands which is illegal disposal but not penalized.

(I'm saying "him" because I'm thinking AFL, but this could apply to all levels of football).---
Brett Northey - Co-founder and Chief Editor of WFN

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Brett Northey - Co-founder and Chief Editor of WFN

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