In a recent interview, VFL legend Malcolm Blight said AFL was becoming like basketball, with coaches being too scared to take the game on, and too willing to put players behind the ball.
He couldn’t be more wrong.
Basketball is fast, free-flowing, virtually non-contact, high-scoring and quite a predictable spectacle.
Australian rules can be, at times, but generally is not.
It sounds to me that Blight wants the game to become like basketball – or, rather, this mythical perfection that apparently existed in the 1980s (it didn’t).
And he is not alone in wondering why teams are kicking fewer goals, and what can be done about it.
Teams are kicking fewer goals because coaches don’t want their opposition to kick lots of goals, and we should do nothing about it, because there’s nothing wrong with that.
There is no rule that says scoring goals should be easy in AFL. If kicking goals becomes too easy, the game becomes boring.
We don’t want to be able to guess what’s going to happen next. We don’t want easy goals. We want a tough, well-fought contest between two sides trying their best to win.
We want high pressure, we want tackles, we want good marks, and we want goals from difficult angles, brought on by the difficulty in finding a target inside 50.
High-scoring football does not equal good football, no is low-scoring football bad.
Often good defending teams make skills look bad. If you want perfect skills, go see your team do some light training. If you want perfection, AFL is not the sport for you.
It is supposed to be a messy, scrappy affair – because when it is, those scintillating plays are much more exciting. When you get those plays all the time, you start looking for something else.
There also appears to be a correlation between the lower scores and the fewer blowouts. When teams score big, they tend to win big. But the lower scoring games have offered a much more even contest, which can only be good for the game.
Chris
Guest
They're blinded by nostalgia. Theres always been terrible games every round just as theres always been great games every round. Always has and always will be. But for some reason people think the 80s contained great games only. Peope forget there were some shocking games in that period.
Evan Askew
Guest
I believe "you blokes" refers to the comment by Larrikin about football (soccer)
Maximus insight
Guest
I can't work out whether you're for real or not! Quality parody either way
Maximus insight
Guest
Who is "you blokes"? Malcolm blight said the game was becoming like basketball. Last year he said the game was becoming like rugby. Soccer is not getting picked on
Aligee
Roar Rookie
Well I know what I like, so instead of more rules, you could actually wind some of the more recent rules, rules that were meant to speed and open the game up which have done the opposite. For about 150 - yes that’s right 150 years the game got along fine without interchange, with I/C came a increased need for extreme fitness - why you may ask ?, because coaches realised fit players interchanged regularly would all become fit recharged players around the ball, the key to winning has always been good followers( midfielders) getting the ball from throwins and bounces (stoppages) and giving the forwards a good chance of kicking a goal. A fit supercharge, always regenerated midfield can get the ball first. Take that ability away and play slows down but does not necessarily get bogged down, it opens up.
dan
Guest
why do you blokes always compare it to soccer and not cricket or basketball?
Goalsonly
Roar Rookie
Malcolm Blight is never going to prefer the bang and crash over the light and fast. He was a standout player and an inspirational coach. His comments about the game come from a place of pure sport. Who doesn't love a close game where the stakes are high and the drama rises as the clock ticks down. However if we could have the drama together with the speed skill and precision of fearless and fast footy then that would be optimum. Keep the tough drama but reward the light fast and precise skills with the ultimate onfield reward which is kicking goals. At it's most simple that IS the game...GET THE BALL .... GET A GOAL. If players don't have that in their minds at all times time they will be distracted by secondary tactics. You can be so busy with stats and plans that the central idea of scoring kind of drifts to the side and the game becomes a bit of a dance. These secondary tactics are necessary but don't lose the intensity needed to achieve the ultimate goal.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
You could makes more rules... ...or have nostalgic football writers umpire remotely with red, green and amber lights. At least they know everything so they'll get it right.
Aligee
Roar Rookie
Cant speak for anyone else, more one on one contests for the ball whether on the ground or in marking contests, more goals and more open play. I want less tackling, scrums, stoppages. How do we do get rid of what i want less of ?----- either zones, less players or less interchanges. They are your options.
Larrikin
Roar Rookie
Its the best sport in the world . needs a bit of tweeking but i love it, its tough, fast, a great spectacle with high marking, brilliant foot skills and dam exciting with close games. remove the 50 mtr penalty rule & be consistent with umpiring and its done. At least its not soccer where you play 90 minutes for a boring nil nil score
Daz
Roar Pro
Scores have been trending downwards since at least 1999. I don’t have the figures here, but I’ve got a chart that shows average winning and losing scores and they are both trending the same line from about 100 points average winning score in 1999 to 85 points winning score in 2017. The average losing scores have gone from about 85 points to about 70 points in the same time. It’s not new. It’s been on the turn for 20 years. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing.