The Roar
The Roar

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AFL's off-season lull: The break we need

Expert
30th January, 2015
33

AFL has been all but absent from the news over the off-season. It’s been a welcome and well earned breather for even the most ardent football follower.

Only bad news makes the headlines in summer, so any respite is good on several levels.

Absence, as we know, makes the heart grow fonder. Too often in recent years we haven’t had the opportunity to miss it.

The sad and shocking death of Phil Hughes, occurring on the same day as the AFL draft, served almost as a full stop to the never-ending football news cycle of 2014.

The Australia versus India Test series followed, as Steve Smith and Virat Kohli dominated headlines, for more than just their batting prowess on helpful pitches against mediocre bowling. The steady diet of the ever-popular BBL was spliced in among the Test action, ensuring cricket stayed in the public consciousness.

The A-League continues to do solid business with both fanatic and casual football fans, with many an entertaining goal-fest amid some gritty 0-0 draws.

Of course, all eyes have been on Australia in the Asian Cup as they’ve smoothly and efficiently made their way through to the final with a minimum of fuss.

And nothing ignites the nation quite like an Aussie surge through the tennis Australian Open, especially when led by either a genuine threat for the title or a precocious ‘young gun’. For too many years, we’ve had neither.

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Now, with the irrepressible Nick Kyrgios leading the way, we might have a few of both.

We’ll also have the Cricket World Cup to distract us over the next two months, as long as the event can avoid the feeling of interminability that has overshadowed the most recent editions. They might come up with the perfect formula for the event one day, but it will likely be more luck than design.

The Essendon drugs saga seems to be spluttering along to a tame conclusion…or is this merely the calm before the storm?

Leadership groups are being named, and captains announced. New faces, like Taylor Walker and Tom Rockliff, have taken up the skippering cudgels at their respective clubs, while Matthew Pavlich will keep on keeping on at Fremantle.

The excuses for underperforming clubs halfway through the season are yet to get an airing. Every player is either the fittest they’ve ever been, or is on a specifically tailored program to ensure they peak for the season proper.

It’s only when a side has two wins from nine rounds that we’ll start hearing about limited pre-seasons, injury-interrupted preparations, and a lack of continuity in training harming the performance of a struggling team or player.

Free agents or experienced players at new clubs are always leading the way, not just on the track but off it as well. Each draftee is a bargain, proving the doubters wrong and showing they should have been taken much earlier.

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We always find out about a player or two at each club that “doesn’t say much, but when they do, everyone listens.”

Are we ready to start talking footy again, or are we happy to accept or ignore the platitudes that are thrown our way?

Personally, I’m loving the quiet time, and enjoying the focus being on world class sporting events. Hopefully it lasts another month at least.

The NAB Cup will stoke the fires in the right way, and our passions will be burning brightly come Round 1. Hopefully the off-field nonsense will take a hike, and our roaring debates will all be about what we’re seeing on the field.

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