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Is hybridisation really the future of AFL?

The silver AFLX ball. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
6th March, 2018
38

It’s not always wise to take everything that the Herald Sun writes seriously, but their latest ‘How the AFL could look by 2050′ article needs a response.

The alleged success of AFLX has emboldened those who are determined to change everything in the game, and while the article is almost certainly taking the most extreme viewpoint about the future of the sport, the problem is that some near the top of the AFL are determined to listen only to this, and not other, smaller, more sensible proposals.

In 1899, a visit by the English rugby team to the Australian colonies led Henry Harrison, one of the founders of the Australian game, to propose talks to amalgamate the rules of the different codes of football which then existed – Victorian rules, rugby and soccer.

The aim was to create a game that could be played “between English and Australian footballers…as frequently as between the cricketers”.

Of course, nothing came of this and, except for a serious proposal in the mid 20th century to try to merge Australian rules with rugby league, the codes have remained entirely separate.

But now, the Herald Sun expects us to believe the AFL is on the verge of developing a code of football that will be played and accepted worldwide.

The fact that they are basically proposing a rugby-soccer hybrid seems to have been overlooked. Eleven players on a rectangular pitch with an offside rule, no bounces while running, and the removal of behinds (therefore having only two goal posts), sure doesn’t sound like Australian football – either as it is now or has been in the past 100 years at least.

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But maybe this rugby-soccer will take the world by storm. Unfortunately, it’s not a game that would be recognisable as Australian football.

In 2050, we can confidently predict that the game will still be fundamentally the same – played on an oval with the same scoring system as now.

Super-goals might be introduced, and if they are it will be hard to remove them. The number of players on the ground might be reduced to create space, likewise at least one player might have to remain inside the 50-metre arcs. And, since the AFL seems determined to get rid of them at every opportunity, boundary throw-ins might become a thing of the past.

This is not saying that these changes should be implemented, but that these are the types of changes that the AFL should be looking at if they wish to ‘develop’ the game. The difference between these changes and the ones suggested in the Herald Sun is that even if all these changes occurred, the game would still be Australian football, not a completely separate product.

Changes to the AFL should not be driven by the need to compete with other codes of football. Any changes to the game need to be driven by a desire to increase the quality of the current product, not the creation of a bastardisation of other codes.

If there is to be a kind of ‘global football’ that emerges within the next 30 years, then sure, the AFL should get involved in its creation – but its main role, as the guardian of Australian football (and its uniqueness), can never be forgotten.

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