Diamond_Jim

Given that clubs are non profit and that both the MCG and Docklands are owned by not for profit organisations that receive very large injections of taxpayer funding it is about time the various stadium deals were made public. Same could be said for Geelong. There is a certain inevitability in MFC moving to a smaller stadium if we continue on the same relative growth rate to other clubs as we are now. We have to target 50,000 members in 2020 (will require on field success with a good brand of football) if we are to dislodge Carlton who are the most vulnerable. If the level 2 seating lockout at Docklands was remedied and the stadium was made spectator friendly in the next upgrade it would be something that has to looked at very closely. Like everyone I love the MCG but it makes sense to look at the alternatives closely even if they are ultimately rejected.

Like most I don't have any soft spot for the Pies but I must admit liking their style back in the Hafey days. Anyway you cannot complain about the commitment that coaches get from their teams when they play for the Pies. Wish I could have said the same about Melbourne over the last 50 years. In reality we should be at least a solid rung above them... ie a second quartile team pushing for a top 4 spot with them as a third quartile team. Sadly it isn't looking that way at present

This thread caused me to go off to the wonderful world of the internet. After literally finding nothing for Fuschias .... (believe it or not there is a song called the "Nothing Song" by a band called the "Fuschias") I ventured into the world of Demons. Definitely not a place for the innocent to venture. Somehow I don't think "Feed the Demons Heart" by Fleshcrawl will feature but it did have some interesting lyrics.... In the night, the demon's heart The spawn of hell is born Creatures of the dead alive Awakened by his call Demons out of hell arise To feast upon my soul My master, my demon

Interesting to see how innovative the VFA were in their day... first to play for premiership points under lights first Sunday games first to allow live telecasts of games first to introduce a top 6 Back in 1938 they even introduced a rule allowing throwing of the ball in order to speed up the game. Great discussion on Big Footy re the history of the VFA https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/the-old-vfa.147414/ Interesting to see that congestion was being discussed in 2011: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/afl-toys-with-16-a-side-to-get-the-game-flowing/news-story/63cb43923855fcbb306f0b55ec063fab?sv=5d8ab0b12e44cc1bc7513c55919e31b6&nk=34fd14988ab099a0a18aab69e413ab5d-1525240049 With the numbers around stoppages reaching alarming levels, the league considered dropping two wingmen from each team in a throwback to the old VFA. "We spoke about that to the clubs last year, about trying it in the NAB Cup," AFL game analysis manager Andrew McKay confirmed yesterday. McKay said the league instead opted to trial the contentious last-touch-out-of-bounds rule, which was also designed to tire players quicker and reduce congestion. But McKay did not rule out the league revisiting the 16-a-side option. "It's not out of the question - who knows?" McKay said. Premier Collingwood and grand finalist St Kilda have mastered the art of filling space and pressuring opponents. With every disposal so rushed amid the congestion, the AFL is concerned that the game's skills are being eroded. Disposal efficiency has dropped from 81.2 per cent in 2000 to 73.1 per cent last year - proof that the game is more scrappy than when Essendon stormed to a premiership 11 years ago.

This is where we need sports scientists. Just reducing the rotations without reducing the player numbers means you have longer rests. Is this sufficient to introduce the fatigue affect which people are relying upon. Or is it people are assuming that the people rested will be limited to the "midfield" thus requiring the defence and offence to cover less ground if they are to avoid extreme fatigue. The more I think about it you need to both reduce the rotations and the bench size to achieve the desired impact. PS... one other thing... by reducing the rotations are you reducing the ability to bring the stars on and off... spreadsheet necessary !!

interesting line run by Buckley and the other coaches that we need the rotations to protect the players. That's the very point.. reduce the rotations and the coaches would be forced to come up with a game plan that allows players to rest on the ground. Resting ruck and resting rover were once genuine positions.

great to maintain the number but we all would have been hoping for around a 5% increase on the basis of anticipated form plus the Anzac eve game being a home game should have helped the fence sitters decide. 50k in 2020 should be an absolute must !!!

agree that is definitely the first step and is relatively easy ... would you also drop to 21 players.... say 3 on the bench. Out of curiosity do you have any ideas roughly on how many interchanges you would allow and would you make the limit per quarter or per game?

quite the opposite ... it is the neutral observer that largely keeps the game alive... if you just had club supporters watching their own game just watch your TV ratings and money plummet.

Spot on ignition... when watching the Dees I really don't care how they win. As an AFL member I have free entry to the MCG and Docklands so I often drop along to watch the Melbourne clubs play the interstate teams (very low crowds and a pleasant day). As a neutral observer you certainly notice the difference.

Hi when the press first came out I found it entertaining when at the ground. If you recall that first version was slow kicks forwards and backwards until you reached just past your wing. To a watcher it was akin to a chess game and most clubs conceded their own back half to you. Mind you after a year or so I took to reading my newspaper while waiting for them to move the ball up the ground. Probably around that time if not a little earlier that clubs introduced "tempo football" which we now see very occasionally. Do you remember the countless kicks across the half back line in an attempt to drag the press back towards the kicker. At the core of the problem is that while the fitness of the players has seen the average player develop much higher skills the price for that fitness is that they can cover a lot more ground. If anything the problem will just get worse as overall endurance increases. Listening to Leigh Matthews last night on 3 AW .... no one had an easy solution. Hate the idea and it would be as another poster points out like "bibs" in netball but do we need nominated forwards and defenders (say 6 for each team) and only those nominated can enter the scoring zone. The AFL have a comp called the VFL which they may as well use to trial some alternatives the first of which is to reduce any or all of rotations, bench players and perhaps the number on the field. PS: The in the back rule for some tackles is worth thinking about. Players had become so good at falling forward in the tackle that the interpretation was changed. I also see merit in favouring the ball player over the tackler say by allowing two opportunities to dispose of the ball. Funnily the crowd now calls "BALL" almost as soon as an opposition player touches the ball these days. (Come to think about it I cannot think of another sport that has the crowd screaming rule interpretations so frequently... perhaps it should stay for that reason alone.) Off to the World Cup in a couple of weeks so I shall have lots of time to watch the art of the slow build up !!

When first hearing this I accused young Petracca of being negligent in the sense of his failure to notify club doctors etc. For that I apologise as it would seem to be untrue. Good luck young man... infections kill .... lucky it was caught. Football is only a game or at best your profession. Health and family are so much more important.

Hi AF.. highly respect your posts but this problem is not new.. The press...first adopted by the Bulldogs in 2000 to give Essendon their only loss for the year. 18 years and the tactic has been continually honed to the detriment of the traditional playing sides. The press has now become the "squash". 36 players in one sixth or thereabouts of the ground. FWIIW soccer is the same in the sense that the players are so aerobically fit they can run back and forward all day. To counter the squash you need to break through and race to goal... sounds like the counter attack in Soccer. As I mentioned in my opening post the television spectacle is not that bad as they focus on the squash anyway. 20 years is enough perhaps to say we might be losing what makes our game unique. In a way we have been protected by the growth in player stamina and skills... (a two edged sword I admit.) By the way I don't have the solution but like so many others I can see the problem.

Not sure that cemeteries are so green but I agree with the sentiment. One other advantage the Blues have is that they are dying in the AFL era whereas we died in the dog eat dog environment of the club era.

Balic has been out for 2 weeks with no notice and now for another 2 weeks.... poor guy.. what is it about our mature draftees. Maynard ... 8 weeks .... almost career ending in reality 11 on the list... that is in excess of 25% of the list.. whether or not they are best 22 it is not good for overall team development... (not sure if resting Flip counts as an injury)

It's either Weid or Pedersen and I think that die has been cast well and truly for the forthcoming couple of matches. He gets the next 3 to show us something. Would love to see some better positioning and more playing in front than he displayed against Essendon.

are you speaking of Tom Mc.... we now have so many walking wounded my head is spinning

Lucky we have a bye at VFL level .. might have had difficulty fielding a team and thus needed some Demonlanders to pull on the boots.

the crowd for the Anzac day match is reported at 91,440 https://afltables.com/afl/crowds/2018.html PS... wait ... something strange the game is reported twice and there is another entry for 72k

waiting for the Hogan out ...

well done to get another player on the podcast. Would love to hear from a tactician guru (not necessarily Melbourne) and a player development officer in the future. Keep up the great work

DD that has to be one of the strangest comments ever made for someone who claims to be an authority on public perception of the game. Even the TV commentators are decrying the "squash". And it's their product !!

No doubt Collingwood is playing slightly above expectations but I am still confident that the season will bring joy for us all in that respect.

but he plays like an MFC pick 3 Sorry .... couldn't help myself

not really worried about the next three games from a win viewpoint. More interested in how we win them. If we lose any the season gets very hard. My greatest concern is the game plan in the sense that it rewards lesser teams who play defensively against us and rely on the easy out the back. Playing 30 men inside the 50 makes it hard for anyone to score.