After just two rounds of the AFL season, already we have seen two exciting games ending in a draw. Last Sunday, Melbourne and Sydney served up the years’ first drawn game with an 84-all thriller at the MCG.
On Friday night last years runner-up St. Kilda played expected bottom four side Richmond which after a lead changing final term the game ended at 95-all.
While both games were obviously high in the excitement stakes, the other notable similarity was the players’ reactions at the final siren.
Players dropping to their knees, standing with hands on their hips, falling down to lay on their backs, the look of despair on their faces. These are the all too common reactions players like to demonstrate when the scores are even at full time.
For reasons unknown, a draw seems to bring out the most baffling reactions from players, some even more dramatic than when they actually lose a game.
A draw is not a new concept, uncommon as they may be, so the shock factor can’t be the reason.
Players no doubt would lament incidences during the game such as a missed shot at goal, a turnover, or a dropped mark. Particularly if a game had been lost, these missed opportunities and errors must frustrate players to the point they continuously ask themselves ‘what if?’.
But in a drawn game, there are no losers, so why do players from both sides react like they have gained nothing from the contest?
During the regular season points mean everything. A spot in the final eight is all that matters. Gaining four points from a win goes along way to ensuring you’re there in September, but two points does no harm either.
While every other losing team quite rightly leaves the ground devastated they have no points to add, it is baffling that two points gained from a draw is treated like a failure.
After Friday night’s match, Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said the game felt like a loss. This is an all too familiar line heard many times before and likely to be heard again. The day a coach or player comes out and treats a draw for what it is will be refreshing.
In a draw, neither side was good enough to win, but it also means neither side deserved to lose.
Sharing two points each is a fitting reward, and the players should see no shame in this.
Sure winning is everything, but a draw certainly beats losing.
Bondy
Guest
Jarrad. Im assuming you get two points for a clear win, but if you draw you still get two points. Wouldn't it hurt more if both teams were allotted one point each for the draw.
Jarrad Galaboff
Roar Rookie
Yeah i understand the feeling a draw brings. But players react like it's the worst possible outcome, rather than being at least somewhat satisfied that despite not winning and all their hard work they still get points out of the game. Obviously finals and a grand final is different because a winner is required. That's not what my article is about. It's about during the regular season. You play to earn points to get yourself in the finals. If you get two points, that's a gain, and that could be the difference between playing finals and not. You can use that logic if a team misses out on finals by 2 points, but then you need to go through everygame as well and say, well if only we had won that game, or this game.... There's teams sitting on zero points, it seems ridiculous to think players are disgusted with getting 2 points for drawing. A draw is a draw, don't treat it like a loss is all i'm saying.
Jarrad I agree with what you say yet know how I felt in the games I played that were drawn. I tried to explain it in my post and obviously didn't do a very good job but for some reason you feel worse for a draw than you do for a loss. (Okay a one or two point loss would probably invoke the same feelings and questions as a draw.) If you saw the vision of the players after the drawn Grand Final last year you will see what I am talking about. Maybe a Sports Pyschoanalyst can give us a better answer, unfortunately I can't.
Jarrad Galaboff
Roar Rookie
"If you lose you say “fair enough the other side was better” for whatever reason. If you draw you think “If I’d done this or he did that” we would of won. You feel deflated, normally more so than in a loss." GrantS are you implying it's better to lose by a point than to draw? If you lose a close game, any game really, do you not ask those same questions? 'if i had kicked that goal, if i hadn't played on, if i had marked that kick'...'maybe we would have won'. You ask those questions in a drawn game too, the difference is you still walk away with 2 points. Players seem to react as if a draw is the worst result possible when in reality, they should take a draw for what it is. An equal contest where both are deserving of points.
Bondy
Guest
GrantS. Fair point does this happen in Australia with Australian Supporters do they go to those extremes ?. People i speak to say things like Romanian Football is rigged remember they have a somewhat large Gypsy population and as you may know they do sell their daughters aged roughly 14 -16 for roughly $5.000 euro if there selling their childen for a couple of thousand euro then what would they be doing with the outcome of a football match what a different world we live in. Anohter example in Kenya roughly three months back some clown decided to sell 45,000 tickets to an International game in a 20,000 standing stadia conclusion yes you guessed it 15 people trampled to death. We live in a strange world thats my point.
Bondy I can say I only had one association with Soccer hooliganism and that occurred in Scotland. I had been in Aberdeen for about a week and every day went to the same pub after concluding my business. I had a car rental and it was always difficult to find a parking space close to the pub until I drove down there Saturday afternoon and the street next to the hotel was almost empty. I parked outside the pub and, when inside, commented to the barman how surprised I was to get a park so close. He told me to move the car or it would get smashed when the football crowd came out of the ground which was just up the road. I moved the car. A couple of hours later when the soccer finished the people came down the road and sure enough the few cars that were in the street had their windscreens smashed and were dented. I have never seen this sort of senseless destruction associated with any other sport and, from the little I read about soccer, it is an ongoing concern for all in Soccer management. That is hooliganism! A scuffle in the crowd can be anything from over exuberance to a lack of sobriety.
Bondy
Guest
GrantS. This is where i get lost in things if a fight breaks out at the Cricket or at an A.F.L. game for examples i dont associate that with hooliganism either alcohol has played a major factor or just the odd idiot's over doing the taunting that is associated with any professional sport. Why do we get lumbered with the extremist's tag. This is an A.F.L. tab and thread i should leave it at that as it is not my fortay and will depart. Good Luck.
Hang on Bondy I didn’t mean that at all and I didn’t associate Soccer with hooliganism. Yes some supporters are hooligans (same as any sport) but others seem to be such avid fans that their mentality changes completely. I have seen one eyed Aussie Rules fans but not to the same extent and I offered the premise that lack of scoring further frustrated them. With regards to your question did I ever watch a game where I thought the better team lost then the answer is yes ,but there is normally a reason. Poor kicking, bad umpiring or bad luck are some of the things that could cause this. Prague ? Good pick ! I’ve never been anywhere in Czechoslovakia . I guess the closest would have been Berlin or Munich (I’m unsure of which is closer.) All the best . :)
Bondy
Guest
GrantS. I confess one thing i don't no A.F.L., you mention if you are deafeted you new you didn't deserve to win, so you 've never watched a game of A.F.L. and come to the conclusion the other team was better but were defeated ?. Why do people such as yourself continualy associate foottball /soccer with hooliganism, by reading your last bit you almost suggest that because a draw occurs in football /soccer then a fight breaks out ( was a draw meticulously planned for violence). If football / soccer is such a violent activity then why don't we see more of the violence on the news they love it. I apoligise to some but does one feel let down when collectively 168 points were scored and the game couldn't be broken with a victor. Grant i think the closet you've been to Prague is Benalla.
My apologies to Zaharakis I meant Winderlich.
Anyone who has ever played a sport will tell you the same thing. A draw is gut wrenching. Occasionally (very occasionally) you might feel that you got lucky but normally it feels like a loss. The reason is, to have played so hard and miss winning by the barest of margins is soul destroying. If you lose you say "fair enough the other side was better" for whatever reason. If you draw you think "If I'd done this or he did that" we would of won. You feel deflated, normally more so than in a loss. It is not to be compared to Soccer where it is so hard to score that a draw is often the result. IMO this is why there is so much violence off field in soccer. Because the crowd is so frustrated. I lived in Europe for some time and saw normal, well adjusted people turn into raving lunatics over a drawn game.
No TomC the Bombers were far from excellent. With regards to the free kick to Stanton he clearly played for it by propelling himself forward. If he had stayed on his feet he would have more than likely scored and we would have won the game. There was not the same enthusiasm and tackling as in the week before and it seemed too many players were willing to stand back and let someone else make the effort. Zaharakis had a game he would like to forget and I wasn't sure Dempsey was even playing until I spotted him a few times in the last quarter. The first five games of this season are very important given that they are against five good teams and we need to perform well to gain respect. I don't think our team did that Sunday. They showed they can be run down by a determined side.
Bondy
Guest
I don't watch A.F.L., This headline caught my interest. I clicked on the link to read this story to read a thrilling draw. Why is Football or Soccer boring when that happens?.
Trev
Guest
If I had just played a full game off footy, busting my gut to get so close to a win and then not get it I'd be dissappointed too.
kick to kick
Guest
The draw in the AFL comp and its associated 2 rather than 4 competition points has interesting implications for the season ahead. It largely removes the significance of percentage for teams who play out a draw. When two teams have an equal number of wins at the end of the season, the team with a draw on the books will be two points ahead and secure a higher ranking. And unless there are two teams who have played out draws level on points, percentage does not come into play. That in itself makes a draw much more valuable than a loss. Of course this season 4 teams -nearly a quarter of the comp - have already played in drawn games and if there are more it's possible that teams with drawn games might still have to worry about percentage for spots in the final 8.
Melange
Guest
I think it was Kipling who said something like 'in sport, winning and losing are imposters'
amazonfan
Roar Guru
I think I have. Provide an example of a journalist writing an article about it or mentioning it on TV/radio, or there being a poll (or anything else for that matter) which indicates that people spoke of getting rid of draws this years. It could change, AFL Classified might mention it tonite, but so far, I stick by what I said.
Savvas Tzionis
Guest
Well you have not been listening.
maf1974
Guest
Well Jarrad aren't you just a "glass half full" kind a guy! As much as the draw is an option in the AFL it has never been considered a win and probably as Hardwick said, is considered more of a loss. What is inteesting is that it has been 100 years since there have been draws in the opening 2 rounds of a VFL/AFL seaon so you can see how rare a draw actually is. I wonder if you thinking is influenced by the A-League season where it was widely reported (at least up here in the QLD Press) that the premiers were one of the most successful teams ever in Australian sport with an unbeaten run of 28 odd games. If you look at the Roars record this season the most games they won ina row I think was 5. So obviosuly the draw in soccer is celebrated like a win - maybe your trying to apply that thinking to AFL. Don't think that - even Richmond, who most would have thought would not get close to the Saints would have been dissapointed not to win and certainly would not be considering the draw was a win. (Especially now that the umpires have come out and stated that they got one decision that cost them a goal incorrect)
amazonfan
Roar Guru
What I find really refreshing is that, for whatever reason, there doesn't seem to be any talk about getting rid of draws this year. :D