No because they are the traditional aspects of the pitch. The Gabba has always been seem friendly, Perth bouncy and fast. They are the whole wicket, not parts of the wicket being obviously curated in the manner it has been.
This is akin to having a heavily damp and green area outside the off stunp on a good length for the right-handers or a particular bouncy part in Perth.
It says more about the home team..

Thanks for that explanation MM. I had noticed the categories had changed, now it makes sense – the higher the figures, the better for the sport.

“Softer sports”? They may not hit as “hard” in AFL as they do in the Rugby code, but with no offside you can tackle/bump a player from any direction not just from the front.
No code is “soft” as you like to put it, they all have their “hard hits”.

That’s really interesting – wasn’t cricket caught out with something like that a couple of years ago? My daughter plays/played cricket in at least 4 different competitions. If I remember correctly that meant she was counted 4 times, not the once.
So the same thing could be going on. The other interesting thing you mentioned was counting Coaches and Referees, they are participants, but they are there for the game to go ahead, they are not actually playing. All numbers are rubbery I suppose and no one will ever believe all of them.

Junior soccer has for a long time had more participants than the other football codes combined, but nothing has changed much. It could be that soccer has reached its zenith….

My experience is the opposite – moved to NSW in 2015 from Melbourne. Many parents I talk to talk about the AFL not the NRL. Actually they talk more about Soccer than NRL. This is especially with the girls. Perceptions are different for everyone though. Yours is different to mine, experience as well. My kids follow the same AFL team as me, however, play Soccer. It doesn’t bother me as it would others, at least they are out playing sport and having fun.

Remember the AFL are masters of the long term game – not short goals.

In Queensland the AFL “threat” as they like to call it (and PVL mentioned when announcing the new team) has lead to the Dolphins being the expansion team, not Perth, not NZ, not Adelaide.

That is the point 43% of his runs over his last 46 innings have come in just 4 innings – 8.7%, less than 1 in 10 innings (one 5 test match series if bats in all possible innings). The other 91% he has scored 1000 runs.

Take 10 innings for a total of 100 runs – Warner scores 43 runs as his highest score, and 57 runs from the remaining 9 innings. Is that really the sign of being in form?

Since his return he has scored about 1750 runs in 46 innings. 4 of those innings he has scored about 750 in 4 innings. That leaves 1000 runs in other 42 innings with an average just over 24. Yes that includes a tour of England, but that brings it down to 900 runs in 32 innings (ave just over 28).
That’s more than enough, I would consider it more relevant than his whole career. Really basing any players performance over anything more than their last 3 years gives a “false” indication of their form.

Can you back that statement up with actual figures?

Agree – many have attacked the presence/amount of Police at Football games in the past and now complain about not having enough.
Complain about the police when they are there and when they aren’t….

Considering there is only 1 stadium that holds a crowd over 80k it would be a bit hard…

Totally agree JB, mono-code supporters who continue with this moronic behaviour pi55ing contest are an embarrassment to anyone who says they are a sports follower. Jealousy, it is at best.
I’m like you – been watching the world cup (and I play the game), love my AFL (go Cats) will watch both Rugby codes. More importantly – I love sports. I don’t turn off a game because I didn’t grow up with it, I give it a go watching it (and not just one or two games) on TV and if I can go to a couple of games. Doing otherwise is like not trying food because you don’t know what it is, so you can’t really comment on what you are missing.

So people putting down other codes who love football are threatened by the other codes? Lucy Zelic must be threatened then as she loves putting down AFL and co.

True, but if the Football community is so secure in the game being the best in the world, why get so upset someone is holding a Sherrin or Steeden ball? It just brings out those who like to niggle.
Maybe some of the skills Sam Kerr has, have been learnt playing another sport – big deal, get over it. Her brother played for the WCE, and her dad and uncles played in the West Australian Football League which is why it is mentioned. She played Aussie Rules until 12 and gave up mainly because of the archaic gender restrictions at the time. So if there was an AFLW at the time who knows where she would have ended up? Good on her for choosing Football and achieving what she has, but really to ignore her past because she played a different code is silly.

So does that mean Football can just make figures up? Or we can trust their figures but not others?
Please my daughter tried the Sydney FC Academy (poorly run in my opinion – took a lot of fun out of the game and she was on the brink of quitting) and part of the package was a membership to Sydney FC – does that count or not? She didn’t sign up for the membership, we signed her up to learn under the supposed best junior coaches in the area.
Despite her poor experience, she is still playing for an NPL club and it is her number one sport in her eyes, yet the pathway is not clear, and because she is bigger than most other players, she gets looked over at certain times. Should have played in the NSWPS championships, but they thought she was too slow (her size makes her deceptively quick). She is always misjudged until they see her play a few games. On the other hand, cricket is her other passion and she knows exactly what the pathway is and has a couple of grade clubs wanting her to come along at 13. She knows in a few years she could be playing WBBL. I would hate it If she is lost to football, but they certainly don’t care as much as they like to say.

So your random sample is no different to RB’s cherry-picking? That day the only 1 game on TV involved a team from NSW (or QLD). That’s like asking a Sydney person to watch an A-League game between Western Utd and Pheonix.
Sat 29th October – Roar vs Victory is not even in the top 20 programs of all demographics. Sydney FC also played Macarthur and the Mariners played Western Utd, again not even in the top 20 programs.

As mentioned before Chris – at least RB is providing figures. Something you are not. It would help your argument if you backed it up with figures from a reputable site.

Can you provide the figures? TV Tonight doesn’t even have 1 A-League game mentioned in the top 20 for all of last weekend of October, yet the AFLW had a viewership of 38K on Foxtel. The WBBL had 82K watching a game on Ch. 7. Can’t find the Rugby League WC though.
Provide a figure before stating facts. Not necessarily disputing your allegations, but you need to back them up.
Personally, it can be too hard to find the A-League on FTA

Yet they have just negotiated a $4.5 billion dollar contract for TV rights. If the ratings are abysmal, then either of two things – the TV networks believe the ratings will improve or the AFL would have got more money. Football is nowhere near getting the money that the AFL gets for 1 year for their whole contract. WHY? Look in-house instead of elsewhere, otherwise, you ignore or don’t identify the issue.
I enjoy watching the A-League, in particular live instead of TV. Where I live, it isn’t easy to get to games all the time.

I don’t think it is a poor standard for what Australia can produce. The best players will always head overseas because the standard is higher and it is the goal of most people who want to make it at Football wish to play for Man City, Real Madrid, Roma, etc. You ask any up-and-coming footballer and they will say they want to play for those teams and therefore only see the A-League teams as a stepping stone.

The power brokers of the A-League need to get their heads around the league being more of a “nursery” developing players to send to the overseas clubs hopefully. Yes, older players will still play, you need them for the experience. The high-quality imports will be either near retirement or coming to a stronger league than at home.

Marketing is the main issue – at the moment on the radio you are really only hearing about Celtic and Everton coming to Australia in Sydney during the WC hiatus, yet the A-League is in full swing. The clubs are also to blame here along with the A-League and FFA. But you could say the same about Rugby Union.

There are 16 teams in WA, so what is your point? Why can’t there be two teams in Melbourne?

Do you consider the FS who don’t make it after being picked in the draft?
Geelong –
1995 – Simon Fletcher MISS (no games at Geelong, moved to Carlton)
1997 – Marc Woolnough MISS(6 games). Missed out on selecting Simon Black
1997 – Matty Scarlett
1998 – David Clarke MISS (89 games before moving to Carlton)
2001 – Gary Ablett Jnr
2002 – Tim Callan MISS (15 games before moving to Bulldogs)
2003 – Mark Blake EITHER (99 games and cost the club keeping Shane Mumford)
2004 – Nathan Ablett MISS? (32 games & 2 for GC)
2006 – Tom Hawkins
2007 – Adam Donohue MISS (0 games)
2011 – Jed Bews
2016 – Sam Simpson ?? (19 games & injury – still on the list)
2018 – Oscar Brownless MISS (0 games & delisted

Only 4 have had a real impact (out of 13), the others are mostly misses. The rules changed after Hawkins, However, the following benefitted as well before the rule changes;
Brisbane – Jono Brown
Carlton – Whitnall & Waite
Collingwood benefitted from the Shaw’s and the Cloke’s before the rule change.
Essendon with Fletcher and Watson.

Did the Cats benefit? Yes with Scarlett, Ablett Jnr, Hawkins & Bews. Not with the others really. Only Scarlett played in all 3 flags from 2007 to 2011, and Ablett & Hawkins had only 2 in that period.

The point is, clubs take a risk picking a FS just the same as any other player. They are also probably under more pressure to pick a young player because of who his father is and the supporters are dirty if they go elsewhere. The Cats missed out on Ben Cousins (could choose between Geelong and WCE), and Bailey Scott (NM & Geelong) as examples. We also only remember the hits (so to speak).

And Richmond will have 8 players 30 or over next season
Riewoldt & Tarrent both 34
Cotchin 33
Martin 32
Grimes 31
Prestia, Lynch & Broad 30
So are you saying Geelong was too old and pinched one because of their age? If so how can you say Richmond aren’t at their tipping point? The Richmond players have been more injury prone as well recently.

Really? Most who haven’t read the rules properly from the MCC

41.5.5.1 If an offence under Law 42 (Players’ conduct) has been committed, they shall apply the relevant procedures in Law 42

which goes on to describe inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with a player. Wood went to push and make contact with Wade after looking at him and then taking his eyes off Wade to look for the ball. Wade pushes his hand back onto Wood while trying to run back to the crease. Both are in the wrong. It is then up to the umpire to make a decision, it could be argued both ways – umpires call.

Clearing a path doesn’t involve pushing, the player (in this case Wood) is allowed to run towards the ball to attempt the catch – he is not allowed to push a batter out of the way, hence why there is the “Obstructing the field” dismissal in cricket.

So what you are saying is that the bowler can push a batter out of the way to get to the ball with his hands. So if said bowler pushes or bumps the batter deliberately causing him to fall over so that he can’t make his ground and the batter is run out that is ok? A total dismissal of “Obstructing the batter”?

You get hits and misses, but the same happens when you select someone from “inside” as well.