Adelaide coach Don Pyke says AFL rule changes have resulted in heightened defence, not more scoring.
The AFL rule changes have backfired, says Adelaide coach Don Pyke.
Instead of creating higher scoring and free-flowing beauty, Pyke says the law tweaks have created a defensive, contested beast.
Pyke’s Crows climbed into the top four with a gritty 20-point triumph against arch rivals Port Adelaide on Saturday night – their fourth win on the trot.
But Adelaide have cracked the 100-point barrier in just one game, mirroring a league-wide trend where scoring has become harder.
“There’s always a ripple for every rule change,” he said after Adelaide’s 1310 (88) to 9.14 (68) win over Port.
“Sometimes you can predict it and sometimes you can’t.
“That (lower scoring) is just what the game is throwing up at the moment. I don’t know what the AFL is going to do about it.”
Pyke said his Crows had to cast aside their reputation as an attacking powerhouse to become more miserly defensively – in eight games this season, they’re conceding an average of just 67 points.
“The game has changed … there’s not many scores over 100 (points),” he said.
“Sides’ defensive actions have become really strong and scoring is difficult, that is the reality of the game we’re playing in.”
Pyke said Adelaide simply had to adapt to the new trend and cast aside their reputation, forged in their losing grand final year of 2017, for attack before defence.
“The other thing is our contested ball numbers were really strong (in 2017) and that was what really to me epitomised us as a team back then,” he said.
“And those numbers are returning to levels we want to get.”
But Pyke said there was no danger of the Crows getting carried away with their four-game winning streak ahead of a trip to Brisbane to meet the Lions next Saturday.
“We have had a good solid month of footy … we have played some good footy and obviously got the results,” he said.
“I don’t get carried away with the ladder. I will worry about the ladder at the end of the year.”
Greg Cave
Guest
Don is right . There are so many senior people at the AFL now and let’s assume they are all intelligent. What is there for them to do ? Sit around and pontificate about social values and decide to change the rules . Instead of letting the coaches and recruiters build a game plan around the medium term to suit the existing rules let’s just change 3 or 4 this seasons to improve scoring. Forwards can now push in the back but backmen can’t , forwards can drag a defender out of the way to shepherd a goal through but backmen can’t . Everybody can drop the ball as they are tackled and the extended kick in after a point has moved the zone back 10 and has defences crowding the corridor . And guess what, the scores are pathetically low and the game looks like when the swans and eagles had their ugly footy going Well done S Hocking your results are exactly the opposite of your desired outcome! You’ll probably get a bonus and some more staff. Leave it alone and enforce the rules ! Cavey57
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
You fell for taking Pyke seriously? I can't wait till he goes.
Jonboy
Roar Rookie
Rubbish ! your idea will simply make it worse, and about the old day's i don't believe you even lived here then. If we start again and go back to the real rules of the 1970-80 era, it would do no harm, at least they payed holding the ball then. This rule is different from week to week now.
Larrikin
Roar Rookie
Umpires need a tape measure, 6 & 7 meter kicks rewarded as 15 meters. A blind mute can tell most times a mark has been paid as 15 meters is only about half. It's been happening for years. Fix this and make any kick backwards in the defensive arc play on then you will have game flow and limit the stop start chipping crap that goes on
alexp
Guest
totally agree on increasing the distance of a kick before awarding a mark .... this has been a frustration of mine for some years now
Cat
Roar Guru
The rules certainly haven’t had the desired effect but part of the blame should lie at coaches feet. Sides are still very reluctant to take chances with the kick out and still often opt for the little chip to the pocket. No reason the Crows had to give up so much scoring power. Adelaide was unbalanced and too attack oriented, now they have gone way too far the other way. The best teams do both. As for the rules I still say the only way to actually open the game up is changing a mark from 15m to 20 or even 25m. Right now umpires are routinely paying 10m chip kicks, at 20 or 25 we may actually get them to stop paying the ridiculously short ones. 15m mark harkens back to the days of players much less fit and shorter kicks in general. Today’s athletes can nearly all kick it 50m+ so 15m is just too short and too easy.