A round like no other?

[Johnny Bananas]

Not ideal, but the AFL have the means and impetus to change that.

Other Gold Coast teams in other sporting codes are always in danger of going belly-up financially, and their leagues never have the finance to stop it happening. The Suns don't have that threat of survival. For better or worse, the AFL appears to have learned a bit from Brisbane's introduction.

I agree, but they absolutely screwed the Suns at first by putting them in garbage facilities, a stadium in the middle of nowhere with substandard transport links, introducing them before GWS meaning GWS gobbled up all the top draft picks from 2012-2013, plus GWS had a better zone and mini draft picks.

The Suns didn't help themselves either with incompetent management, bad coaching and making GAJ captain though.

 

[Jesse G]

Giants had half of their best 22 out against The Hawks in Canberra. They have a legit alibi for their poor performance. Geelong were always gonna bounce back hard after a rough 2 weeks in the media, but I can't fathom Essendon's piss poor performance other than fatigue and some of their injury replacement/depth players are just no good.

And Brisbane are legit flag contenders and this year's Gold Coast outfit are the worst team I have seen since probably Fitzroy in 1996.

End of the day, there is just not enough AFL standard players in the league, they should have waited 10 years to bring in the Giants after the Suns. That is where all the current issues we have in footy, just about every club, bar arguably West Coast and Richmond have at least 3-4 players not elite level standard.

Hurley, Bellchambers, Parish, Saad, Daniher , Smith , Francis , Heppell (cant run) , Guelfi , Stewart

10 Players in our best 22

and 7 of them are in our best 10

 

[D-N-R]

Yes it's an aberration after 20 rounds that this has been the lowest scoring year for something like 40 years

The thread is about the record low scores (or near record low scores) by Essendon, GWS and North. It's more about massive blowouts, which haven't been happening all that much this year, hence the abberation.

You could blame it on the cold weather front as much as anything else if we're going to pluck reasons from thin air.

 

[Final Siren]

If this had been going on all year it might be a problem. It's just an abberation.

 

[BIRDBRAIN]

The rule changes absolutely have done nothing for the game and need to be wound back. And by rule changes I don't just mean this year, I mean back to the turn of the century.

To help with the adjustment promote all the VFL umpires to the AFL and the AFL umpires can go back to the VFL to learn the new (old) rules.

 

[Coach_Required]

People are forgetting though it's not the AFL rule changes that are making our game worse, its the teams fault who are tackling too much ...............

 

[Boomerfan99]

Couldn't agree more! My son lives on the GC, believe me there are a lot of young people/families there and it is growing fast. Also has lots of aussie rules clubs going along very successfully.

With the Lions winning this year has helped focus on AFL and away from rugby. Aussie rules will win out up in Queensland I have no doubt at all.

I'm just not convinced yet the SUNS have the right people to build them to where they need to be......but maybe I have been spoilt by the success of Fagan and Nobel.

They'll get there..

Disagree mate. I have lived in Brisbane for 31 years and AFL will always be a niche sport in Brisbane. The bandwagon fans are jumping back on board like did during your three peat. But come state of origin time, when everyone is dressed in maroon, it’s pretty obvious it’s NRL, then lots of daylight, then rugby union then AFL.

At my last work place of 50 people, there was only 1 guy I could talk footy with (mind you there was a lot of flogs there).

 

[AdamE89]

Stay on topic boys, this thread isn't about whether or not the AFL should have introduced a team on the Gold Coast.

Anyway, what are people's opinions on which was more incredible, Bulldogs kicking 21 goals in a row or North scoring 14 points?

I want to say North scoring 14 points but then again Bulldogs were roughies, odds were like Ess $1.50 - Dogs $2.50 if I recall correctly. It's not like it was Cats v Sun's in Geelong, which would still be hard to believe but a little more realistic. But 14 points is just ridiculous, I'll stick with 14 points but both events will surely never happen again.

Edit: I change to 21 goals in a row. Simply because I just remembered Don's kicked the first just after 3 disposals and 21 seconds in the game.

 

[Damon_3388]

I want to say North scoring 14 points but then again Bulldogs were roughies, odds were like Ess $1.50 - Dogs $2.50 if I recall correctly.

Incorrect, it was something like $2.20 Essendon, $1.90 Bulldogs. I was going to throw the Dons under 39 into a multi, as I thought they were a chance to bounce back after a poor showing against Port.

It's one thing to have injuries, or depth that just isn't good enough, but Essendon's insipid performance on the weekend was an effort thing. Puzzling to see how much they didn't want it, with finals on the line, and Port Adelaide hot on their heels with another percentage-boosting win earlier in the day.

 

[AdamE89]

Incorrect, it was something like $2.20 Essendon, $1.90 Bulldogs.

Ahhh, my bad,

Cheers.

 

[D-N-R]

View attachment 725251

The thread is about the round, hence the title "a round like no other". Teams scoring 14 points or a couple of goals in a game isn't really indicative of the general trend of the season. These are exceptionally low scores in a season of generally lower scores.

And all that chart tells me is that teams are scoring one point less per quarter than they were last year which isn't all that much in the scheme of things.

Some of the shit teams are a bit more competitive this year which might mean that they aren't getting flogged as much which might bring the average score down but could mean games are closer. This could be a good thing.

 

[MacMum]

Disagree mate. I have lived in Brisbane for 31 years and AFL will always be a niche sport in Brisbane. The bandwagon fans are jumping back on board like did during your three peat. But come state of origin time, when everyone is dressed in maroon, it’s pretty obvious it’s NRL, then lots of daylight, then rugby union then AFL.

At my last work place of 50 people, there was only 1 guy I could talk footy with (mind you there was a lot of flogs there).

Your opinion....but you barrack for a different team, even if you do live there. The Lions are making in-roads that you wouldn't see. I also didn't say they had taken over, just that the awareness is getting stronger....Rugby will probably always be there, but Aussie Rules will take over one day.

Bandwagoners are always welcome....they could very well become supporters of the future.

Of course for SOO they will be decked out.....even my son does, simply because it's Qld against NSW. He is a bandwagoner the other way, as I'm sure a lot are (eg. AFL supporters)

..anyway, we're talking about the GC and that there seems to be more aussie rules clubs imo than in Brisbane. They will also succeed.

I might live in melbourne, but I've been involved with the GC and how things are up there for 29yrs. You learn a lot about a place when you actually stay there repeatedly staying with family instead of holidaying as a tourist ..

..but you have your thoughts, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[Benny78]

Lol if that's some veiled crack at Steve Hocking let it be known the man goes home with a smile on his face everyday seeing his cats (of all clubs) on top of the ladder after being involved with the game directly for 2 years.

 

[Ron The Bear]

Average score for each club's games, this year and last:

Club	2019​	2018​	Diff​
Bris	170.6​	176.1​	-5.5​
W.B.	167.6​	164.2​	+3.4​
N.M.	164.3​	170.0​	-5.8​
St.K	164.4​	169.6​	-5.2​
Melb	162.8​	180.8​	-18.0​
W.C.	162.6​	166.2​	-3.6​
Rich	162.5​	168.0​	-5.5​
G.C.	161.9​	158.6​	+3.2​
GWS	161.1​	158.2​	+2.9​
Ess	160.2​	171.4​	-11.2​
Coll	159.3​	166.8​	-7.6​
Carl	158.9​	165.2​	-6.3​
Adel	158.4​	173.0​	-14.7​
Syd	157.1​	156.3​	+0.8​
P.A.	157.1​	156.1​	+1.0​
Geel	155.4​	161.7​	-6.4​
Haw	150.3​	164.5​	-14.2​
Frem	148.9​	158.6​	-9.7​
All	160.2​	166.2​	-6.0​

No big increases, but big falls for games involving the two oldest teams Hawthorn and Adelaide, plus Essendon and Melbourne.

 

[Final Siren]

The thread is about the round, hence the title "a round like no other". Teams scoring 14 points or a couple of goals in a game isn't really indicative of the general trend of the season. These are exceptionally low scores in a season of generally lower scores.

And all that chart tells me is that teams are scoring one point less per quarter than they were last year which isn't all that much in the scheme of things.

Some of the s**t teams are a bit more competitive this year which might mean that they aren't getting flogged as much which might bring the average score down but could mean games are closer. This could be a good thing.

It is indeed the first time we've had three teams register fewer than 35pts in a single round for quite a while. But there have been three other sub-35pt scores this year alone, and ten last year, including two in Round 4 and two in Round 7.

It also really does look like part of a widespread collapse in scoring since 2017, rather than a freakish outlier:



You say "that's only 1pt per quarter," but going from an average of 90pts per game to 80pts is an 11% decrease, which is very noticeable.

 

[HTPunter]

Shock horror, the AFL makes multiple rule changes on the fly to increase scoring and make the game 'appear' more attractive - and it doesn't do jack shit or compounds the issue.

The thing the AFL doesn't get is that coaches will nearly always prioritise defence and accountable play. So rule changes to try maximise scoring are only countered by defensive minded coaches.

But just as the flooding tactics of mid 2000s got overwhelmed by a run and gun Geelong team, and zone play increased the ability of a team to force turnovers and counter attack, there will always be a response in the other direction when defensive tactics hit their peak. The AFL needed to let things run their natural course. Instead they've changed the game (in terms of appearance, how messy do 50 meter penalties look these days, pretty sure the umpire goes.anywhere between 30 and 50 meters and 20 rounds in there's still confusion from players about how to man the mark) and it's done nothing.

Big shock.

 

[HTPunter]

Eventually congestion would have hit it's peak to the point it would be able to exploited, and it would have been. It still will.

 

[Beer n Skittles]

Incorrect, it was something like $2.20 Essendon, $1.90 Bulldogs.

I highly doubt that, those odds are in the punters favour

 

[Final Siren]

I highly doubt that, those odds are in the punters favour

Yeah, typo or something there, but Dogs were favourites.

 

[D-N-R]

It is indeed the first time we've had three teams register fewer than 35pts in a single round for quite a while. But there have been three other sub-35pt scores this year alone, and ten last year, including two in Round 4 and two in Round 7.

It also really does look like part of a widespread collapse in scoring since 2017, rather than a freakish outlier:

View attachment 725614

You say "that's only 1pt per quarter," but going from an average of 90pts per game to 80pts is an 11% decrease, which is very noticeable.

The average score for the Essendon Bulldogs match was 85 points per team. So it was actually an above average game.

St Kilda and Freo was only 70.5 points per team.

Which of those games were worth watching? The average score doesn't tell the full story nor does it make for a better spectacle.

Yes, the average scores are trending down. But when people point to the new rules as cause and effect when there was a bigger drop the year before I will dispute their reasoning.

Look at tactics for a start. Continuous tackling to prevent your opponent from possessing the ball is probably number one. Goal kicking is pretty ordinary and there are stats to back this up. Blame the coaches.

But teams are also trying things to counter this. Moving the ball on quickly, tapping and soccering the ball has gone up in an effort by teams to open the game up. Applaud the coaches and stop with the knee jerk reactions to isolated events.

 

[Carringbush2010]

In the end, teams like north needed to relocate. Mergers like hawks/dees would’ve been great in the long run.
Footscray dying although not nice at the time would also now be beneficial.
Simply need less clubs and clubs being spread out.

Now there are still too many sides meaning more average players in the system and no chance of a real fixture.
12-14 team comp is ideal.

18 clubs with only 1 prize on offer is just too many because so many clubs go so long without flags.
Needed to sacrifice clubs to benefit the competition.

I get that this speculation could be beneficial from a talent availability perspective. But if you're talking about merging and sacrificing teams to achieve what is ultimately speculation than you'd need to replace the paying supporter bases that you lose. How would you do that?

If you just cull 6 traditional teams you're talking about shedding arguably a million paying fans and members.

 

[mcgarnacle]

Disagree mate. I have lived in Brisbane for 31 years and AFL will always be a niche sport in Brisbane. The bandwagon fans are jumping back on board like did during your three peat. But come state of origin time, when everyone is dressed in maroon, it’s pretty obvious it’s NRL, then lots of daylight, then rugby union then AFL.

At my last work place of 50 people, there was only 1 guy I could talk footy with (mind you there was a lot of flogs there).

i'd say bred NSWmen & QLDers into Rugby League would say the same thing living in Victoria