Hawks, Cats or Swans. Who cares?

[boyOboy]

Don't win anything for 72 years and then win 2 in 7 years and all of a sudden the league is boring

 

[Art Vandelay_]

Geelong dominant this year because of easy draw

How does that work when we had the best record against top 8 sides and dropped 3 easy games to crap sides?
Surely the way we played the good clubs this season a harder draw would see us end on top not 2nd.

 

[PCORF]

9 of the last 11 premierships won by Sydney, Geelong and Hawthorn and very likely one of them is going to win it in 2016 and maybe in 2017 as well.

2005 Swans
2006 Eagles
2007 Cats
2008 Hawks
2009 Cats
2010 Pies
2011 Cats
2012 Swans
2013 Hawks
2014 Hawks
2015 Hawks
2016 ?

 

[Lithium]

They did go 8-2 against fellow top 8 sides and lost to Carlton, Collingwood and St.Kilda. How has the draw helped them?

Its clear you played your best football against top 8 sides while you had lapses against teams out side the 8.
The AFL knew this would happen and planned Geelong's draw accordingly.
It's a massive conspiracy and it won't be long before the truth comes out.

 

[MWPP]

Love how this thread was started by a Lions fan
I care - I'm still on the Swans bandwagon (after my own team
and the Crows )

 

[bzparkes]

GWS or Swans for me, not interested in seeing Geelong or Hawks win again.

 

[H2F]

Wow read the whole thread and no one seems to understand why?

The AFL's equalisation strategy was always going to have the effect it's had.

By adding so many forces of equality and so many decisions and opportunities so equal then this is what happens.

Clubs that have a great vision, strategy and culture will make better decisions in each of those incremental moments and bazinga the rest complain.

Equalisation is a joke. It's not even the right word to use. It should be the AFL's regulations or policies ... The AFL will never be equal because that would require either equal leadership at clubs or none at clubs.

I've posted this so many times. It blows my mind how amateur so many clubs are run. Eade for example as Gold Coast's coach.

Should be sacked tomorrow. Should never have been hired as I posted at the time. Why he doesn't understand Gen Y's and he's already failed with his inability to win over Prestia and JOM in two years. Sack him now or admit you're as professional as a milk bar.

Hardwick another joke. His press conference message was we have hardly any talent and just need more. Wtf? Imagine a CEO saying he/she has hardly any good staff that's why we're performing poorly.

He's only not being sacked because of fear about the tin rattling backlash.

This is crazy business.

If you want things to improve for your club don't ask for more equalisation methods (what a stupid word) demand the sacking of your board and as members write letters every day until you get the right leaders.

 

[cosman123]

Swans are dominant because of AFL salary cap. Geelong dominant this year because of easy draw. Hawks dominant because of umpires. Its not that much difference

Nailed it

 

[Farm Boy]

The 3 established teams that have landed the biggest free agents. They were already good. No surprises here.

 

[Hawk Dork]

The 3 established teams that have landed the biggest free agents. They were already good. No surprises here.

Hawks landed Frawley and lost Buddy and quite few others Suckling, Young, Ellis, Cheeny,etc
You could argue losing Buddy freed up salary to retain and recruit talent and did the opposite for the Swans, but was compensated by the AFL with exclusive access, to ridiculously cheap, academy picks.

 

[pacman]

So the top three are as predictable as ever. Does anyone (apart from the supporters of those teams) care anymore? Equalisation seems to have gone out the window under the rule of the AFL commission, and I don't see it getting better anytime soon.

Geelong and Sydney in particular seem to be building teams that will dominate for years off the back of either Free Agency or COLA.

When do you you think those teams will stop being dominant, and give everyone else a go?

Did you think the same when the Lions were in 4 straight Grand Finals?
WB GWS and Stk are about to overtake these clubs and it's then up to them to keep their club in order to provide on going success.

 

[JackFlash]

Its clear you played your best football against top 8 sides while you had lapses against teams out side the 8.
The AFL knew this would happen and planned Geelong's draw accordingly.
It's a massive conspiracy and it won't be long before the truth comes out.

Nice to know you're on the case....

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

OP may have a point but the central fact that has to be acknowledged by every single contributor to this thread is that Hawks, Cats and Swans are bloody professional well-run clubs.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

The Swans still get COLA it is been phased out now. Not to worry the academies will continue to artificially assist the $wans.

Thanks for your even-handed, impartial contribution to this discussion.

 

[Hawk Dork]

When the AFL becomes even handed and impartial in their contributions, Im sure the fans will too

 

[wagstaff]

It's an indictment on the comp in terms of how many badly run clubs there are out there, especially with the 'big 4' Victorian clubs.

It's gotten so bad that North Melbourne almost seemed to wish they weren't playing finals in recent weeks but they stumbled in due to how many crap clubs there are.

 

[base615]

Swans still have it this year.

Not for new contracts since 2013

 

[coerced]

Wow read the whole thread and no one seems to understand why?

The AFL's equalisation strategy was always going to have the effect it's had.

By adding so many forces of equality and so many decisions and opportunities so equal then this is what happens.

Clubs that have a great vision, strategy and culture will make better decisions in each of those incremental moments and bazinga the rest complain.

Equalisation is a joke. It's not even the right word to use. It should be the AFL's regulations or policies ... The AFL will never be equal because that would require either equal leadership at clubs or none at clubs.

I've posted this so many times. It blows my mind how amateur so many clubs are run. Eade for example as Gold Coast's coach.

Should be sacked tomorrow. Should never have been hired as I posted at the time. Why he doesn't understand Gen Y's and he's already failed with his inability to win over Prestia and JOM in two years. Sack him now or admit you're as professional as a milk bar.

Hardwick another joke. His press conference message was we have hardly any talent and just need more. Wtf? Imagine a CEO saying he/she has hardly any good staff that's why we're performing poorly.

He's only not being sacked because of fear about the tin rattling backlash.

This is crazy business.

If you want things to improve for your club don't ask for more equalisation methods (what a stupid word) demand the sacking of your board and as members write letters every day until you get the right leaders.

Well said, but the issue is that it is difficult for clubs to know when the payoff for their list may be.

The recruitment rules for the AFL are some of the most byzantine in the sporting world. If you're not competing for premierships regularly, how does the modern AFL side ensure they get there?

First and foremost you have to draft well. But then there are the issues of father son picks. And compensation picks for free agents. Added into the mix are academy picks. You can bid for them, but these all undermine both the value and clarity of the draft. If the draft isn't yielding for you, you can pick up a free agent, but he is only free if he has played a set number of years, if not the club can match your offer and you have to trade. You can also trade for any player, but that will probably require picks and players. Then there is the rookie draft, and also the pre season draft. You might find some gems there. Then you have to develop the players which has a pay off of about 3-4 years before you know you've done good. In the meantime you have to determine whether the coach is up to it. Do you give him a pass for the first few years because he's redeveloping? What if he improves the side up the ladder Hardwick style but they just sit there stagnantly? How do you make the call?

The above is all bullshit. Why is it expected that clubs battle through this lack of knowledge about where they are headed while they are near the bottom? Clubs are shackled into not being able to make quick decisions to turn themselves around and therefore get stuck in the mire for a decade.

I know it's a heresy on Bigfooty, but the AFL could learn a lot from the NRL. Two years ago Cronulla and Canberra played off in the third last round to determine who would win the spoon. In two weeks time they will likely play off to determine who goes through the prelim. This kind of turn around in two teams fortunes within two years is unheard of in the AFL - West Coast in 2011 were a massive anomaly making the top four after winning the spoon. More teams have won premierships in the past 15 years in the NRL than in the AFL.

How does the NRL achieve better equality than the AFL? A rigidly enforced salary cap and that's it. No draft, no trade, all players are free agents, and if you breach the salary cap, they take your premierships and competition points off you.

 

[blue harvest]

Not for new contracts since 2013

They still have it this year, people think it's gone, it isn't, there is still some being paid this year as the last part of phasing out, I think it is 600K - that was the plan, 800K last year 600K this year, zero next year (except for the new 'rental' allowance)

 

[base615]

They still have it this year.

Nope. We've renewed the contracts of most of the players who had COLA and there are a few remnants still receiving it until their contracts run out. "They still have it this year" would be the case if we could still use COLA as a way of attracting players to the club and that is most certainly not the case.

 

[blue harvest]

Nope. We've renewed the contracts of most of the players who had COLA and there are a few remnants still receiving it until their contracts run out. "They still have it this year" would be the case if we could still use COLA as a way of attracting players to the club and that is most certainly not the case.

I'm not going to derail this thread with COLA.
You are still getting some COLA this year during the phase out period, that's why it is called the phase out period, go and read some COLA threads if you need more info on how it works.

 

[base615]

I'm not going to derail this thread with COLA.
You are still getting some COLA this year during the phase out period, that's why it is called the phase out period, go and read some COLA threads if you need more info on how it works.

I understand perfectly well how it works, which is why I'm calling you out for being disingenuous about it. We can't add players with COLA during the phase out period so any supposed advantage which was gained through COLA has been ended already.

 

[Hoops]

Swans are dominant because of AFL salary cap. Geelong dominant this year because of easy draw. Hawks dominant because of umpires. Its not that much difference

Top 8 teams played twice
Geel = 3 times (GWS, Ade, WB)
WCE = 2 times (Haw, Ade)

 

[Hoops]

cats aren't that great they went out and got a top 3 midfielder and have reaped the rewards

Don't Richmond have a top 3 midfielder?

 

[kaiserchief13]

Top 8 teams played twice
Geel = 3 times (GWS, Ade, WB)
WCE = 2 times (Haw, Ade)

Top 8 teams played away and not at home
Geelong = 0
West Coast = 4 - Geelong, Sydney, Bulldogs, GWS