In watching Channel Seven’s broadcast of Friday night footy, you can’t help but feel that Bruce McAvaney is one of the hardest working men in footy in 2020.
He’s forced to sit in a studio in Adelaide, watching monitors and commentating with a team that can hear him but can’t see him, and he has to try and build atmosphere, tension and excitement around a game that looks terrible as a spectacle, with a premiership favourite in Collingwood unable to score a goal for over two quarters.
And yet some will say that we’ve seen some great comebacks, and even on Friday night, the Magpies had a moment where they threatened the Bombers – but the fact that a team with three goals at three-quarter time can even remotely threaten the result of a game says a whole lot about the quality and state of the game.
The AFL has had its moment of global exposure, launching into the US market that the game has been trying to crack for years, broadcast for the masses on ESPN, and this is what we present to them as our great and truly national game.
There have been moments in 2020 when teams have surpassed expectations, and played footy that we can agree is an exciting brand – but it’s hard to argue that on the whole, the brand is being torched.
(Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
In a post-COVID sporting landscape in Australia, the AFL and NRL have forged ahead to try and push through, and give their socially distant and sport-starved fans what they crave: good footy.
And yet, on Thursday night, NRL fans watched the Roosters and Storm play the game of the season, with Melbourne completing an all-time comeback to steal the win – and the superlatives about the game and the brand abounded.
Then on Friday night, Parramatta were dominant in playing irresistible footy. This demonstrated that both codes were at polar opposites of the footy spectrum.
For all their clear failings around player conduct and good governance early in the COVID journey, the NRL have proved how you can manage a global pandemic and present exciting footy that crowds and television audiences love.
(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
And we have the AFL, who through their constant tinkering with rules and interpretations, have created this Frankenstein of a sport, that coaches and players agree is dysfunctional and in need of help.
The AFL must be wondering where things have gone wrong. If the excuse is that players were under-prepared to play, the question has to be asked – was it better to wait and re-launch the AFL season with games that are played well, with scoring flowing freely, despite the obvious challenges of having a fluid fixture.
Even the most ardent of AFL fans will have questions about where the game is at and where it is heading with rules, interpretations and the fixture, so we can finish 2020 with a bang. Something has got to give.
Keep up the good work, Bruce – by God, we need someone to bring some positivity and light into our lives right now.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Foot passing: Yes, the 10m pass is particularly challenging. Great skill set required. And to do it 5 times in a row? Pure football gold. The Daicos goals: Yes they were unique; dribble goals are now de-rigeur - if only the ball was round. "Periods of Congestion and slow possession"? Such as 80%+ of the game? Delightful. People need to understand what the game of Aussie Rules was and not be sucked into the lemming-hype that now pervades what is acceptable. Yep, the game has never been better.
At work
Roar Rookie
Interesting proposal to all the defender to punch the ball dead (and retain possession), that would almost kill off any attacking bombs.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
I've tried to reply to this but it just disappears and I can't see why. It should appear later.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
It would be good to put a smile on Mary's face and hope the Dragons can take some anti-fade. The two rule changes would be :- ... 1. ... Defenders of the up-and-under should be allowed to punch the ball dead. The up-and-under would become much less attractive; ... 2. ... The only score allowed on the 6th tackle is a field goal and any other kick would be treated as it is now so a grubber kick could be used to get a line dropout but no tries. The restart will be dependent on the result of the field goal, either a 20 metre restart or a kick off.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Exactly. I went from a basketball fan as a kid, to rapidly losing interest as a teenager, to non-existent now for over 20 years. The repetitive back and forth nature and easy scoring wears thin. People bag soccer for the supposed lack of scoring, but the irony is I've actually seen some cracking 0-0 games where neither side could score despite great attacking prowess from both teams.
Frank
Guest
It is the number of times a team wins the ball on the wing, look up and have zero team mates ahead of them. So they chip back and sideways. Their players run forward but by then are marked by defenders. Ball kicked to a contest on the boundary line and then the opposition team win the book and look up to see nobody. Rinse and repeat. Modern day football.
Frank
Guest
That is the follow up to the part I mentioned. So following the 4-5 kicks to unmarked players they are force to kick to a contest, which is usually along the boundary line. From there the ball either goes over for a thrown in or we have 3-4 balls up.
Mark.
Roar Rookie
That almost made sense. Almost.
Mark.
Roar Rookie
Agree, except he’s a Storm supporter and he brought back memories of the Bravedogs from 2016 so he can get stuffed :)
Mark.
Roar Rookie
No wonder, you can’t even get the name of the sport right.
Mango Jack
Roar Guru
You must really hate AFL, Barry!
Mango Jack
Roar Guru
True, the number of goals/tries is irrelevant. If it was, the entire world would be watching nothing but basketball, which includes about 100 baskets per game. I still can’t get into it, though.
Mango Jack
Roar Guru
That post contained way too much sense and balance, Rory. Please get into the spirit and re-write it with loads of selective stats, invalid assumptions, baseless opinions and rants against one code or another.
Mango Jack
Roar Guru
Any game involving the Broncos these days is rubbish. And isn't that fantastic?!!
Mango Jack
Roar Guru
That was a good laugh, DL, esp the bit about the All Blacks wanting to play league!
Mango Jack
Roar Guru
"Short chip, mark, sideways chip, mark, backwards chip, mark. This is what the game has become" That's not what I'm seeing. If anything the contests themselves are the problem. So many players around the ruck that there's little chance of the ball coming out if the umpire doesn't blow a free kick.
clipper
Roar Rookie
Yes, Gyfox - it's amazing how he puts a positive light on everything league. He even tried to tell me that the Swans have never had a 'bad period' since coming to Sydney. Got a good dusting down that day!
clipper
Roar Rookie
And yet, Simon, it hasn't translated into more viewers or even closing the gap with the AFL
clipper
Roar Rookie
Yes, Randy - ratings are always higher across the board in Melbourne - I would say mainly because there isn't as higher penetration of Foxtel down there. The metro FTA figures are what advertisers take note of - that is why they are always noted and getting regionals is much harder. It is also much harder to factor in regionals as a few overlap and Tassie (an important one for AFL) is not even counted. It makes it hard to get a true figure.
Maximus Insight
Guest
I am not suggesting that you wouldn't do anything that reduces the amount of time teams are just possessing the ball in their back half.....but what portion of an actual game is that happening? If you were to believe all of the hand wringers 90% of all games are keepings off and the other 90% is a "rolling maul".