Matthews: Interchange system ruining football

[Hollow Knight]

What do you think of this argument? Do you agree with Leigh that the unlimited interchange system heavily tips the balance against a team who has sustained injuries in a match?

Or is Leigh just a conservative old grump?

I find the amount of interchanges used these days a bit over the top myself.

Lethal wants gladiator footy

Andrew Hamilton

April 05, 2007 12:00am
Article from: Herald-Sun


BRISBANE Lions coach Leigh Matthews wants to scrap the interchange bench and turn football into a survival of the fittest.

Matthews floated his radical proposal yesterday to eliminate the impact injuries have on the results of games.
Is Matthews right?
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Matthews suggested tonight's opponent St Kilda benefited from the "flaw in the system" last week when it ran over the top of Melbourne after Demons Brock McLean and Matthew Whelan were hurt in the first half.

And he said Brisbane was challenged late in its game against Hawthorn only when Nigel Lappin and Robert Copeland were on the bench nursing corks in the final quarter.

Lappin has been named for tonight's clash and is confident of playing, but he must prove his fitness this morning.

The Saints' stocks have dipped with star forward Nick Riewoldt ruled out by his hamstring and back problems.

On the eve of tonight's clash, Matthews said the interchange system had been troubling him for some time and revealed two radical plans that would reduce the impact of injuries on results:

ELIMINATE the interchange bench and return to the old substitute system.

EXTEND the bench by another two players.

The first would be considered the most left-field, but Matthews gave the impression it was his preferred option.

"It would be a survival of the fittest," he said.

"Once you are off the field, you are off for good.

"In some ways I've always liked the idea that you have to try and use the players on the field for the whole game."

"It would mean a return to the ruckman resting up forward pocket, which would be a good thing I think," Matthews said.

The four-time premiership coach said interchanges had become such a tactically important part of football that any injury gave enormous advantage to the opposition.

"The game is such a 22-man game. If you get a couple of injuries and it becomes 22 on 20, you lose," Matthews said.

"Because you don't want the game to become more dependent on it (interchange) as it is, do you increase it by a couple or go the other way and abolish it."

Matthews, one of football's most senior and respected statesmen, said the idea began to solidify in his mind last year during the soccer World Cup and was brought to the front of his mind last week when he watched the Melbourne- St Kilda match.

"When the soccer World Cup was the focus of our attention, I first asked myself what would AFL be like if we went back to the substitute system," he said.

"We'd have the good players out there for 100 per cent of the time.

"Last weekend was further reinforcement of this; it is amazing what an injury or two can do.

"Melbourne couldn't rotate in the second half and St Kilda ran over the top of them."

 

[C4[2]Yo`DooR]

"If it ain't broke ... don't fix it"

Shut up, Leigh.

 

[Hollow Knight]

"If it ain't broke ... don't fix it"

Shut up, Leigh.

I think Leigh is saying "it wasn't broke... so why did they fix it?".

 

[MightyFighting]

"If it ain't broke ... don't fix it"

Shut up, Leigh.

You do realise he's trying to discourage flooding?

 

[C4[2]Yo`DooR]

You do realise he's trying to discourage flooding?

ok you got me ..

I didnt read the article.

 

[MarkT]

I don’t think it helps or hinders a team that cops injuries compared to one that doesn’t and even if it did so what? If you cop injuries you are disadvantaged. That’s life. It is something that would even out over time. Bing overly concerned about it is, in part, a function of a soft, welfare regardless of merit mentality AFL.

I do have an issue with the expanded and “overused” interchange system though. IMO it facilitates the running, flooding game by allowing rotations to keep fresh legs on the ground at all times. The best way to reduce the negative flooding tactics is not to annually bastardise the rule of Australian Football it is to reduce the impact of the bench on games. Cut the numbers back to 2 and then perhaps consider limitations on use although I’d leave that for a secondary consideration.

As for ruining football, if anything is ruining football, it is coaches and the idiotic reactions to their tactics from the AFL. As for injuries in general, Mathews’ teams cop their share because they are Mathews teams. He grinds his players hard, demands they keep going and some of them break. That is not a sledge, just an observation. It is an approach that helped win a flag for my club. Mathews is ruthless and pragmatic.

As for the bench and all the issues, I blame Sheedy. He led the charge and started it all from expanding the bench to increasing its use, to tagging and general negative, stalling and flooding tactics. The flags say he did the right thing by his club. Just don’t whinge about it being ramped up and used against you now Kevin.

 

[Slacker]

I like it

 

[sydney eagle]

Well if there was NO interchange system the balance would be tipped even more against a team that sustains injuries wouldn't it ?

 

[campbell]

A lot of things are ruining football but this is not one of them.

 

[Hollow Knight]

A lot of things are ruining football but this is not one of them.

So you disagree that the unlimited interchange bench has helped give rise to flooding?

What things do you think are ruining football?

 

[Hollow Knight]

Well if there was NO interchange system the balance would be tipped even more against a team that sustains injuries wouldn't it ?

Read the article.

 

[clobba]

What do you think of this argument? Do you agree with Leigh that the unlimited interchange system heavily tips the balance against a team who has sustained injuries in a match?

Or is Leigh just a conservative old grump?

I find the amount of interchanges used these days a bit over the top myself.

No
Yes
I do also

 

[Beckers]

Well if there was NO interchange system the balance would be tipped even more against a team that sustains injuries wouldn't it ?

WTF??? What Leigh is saying is that you can use 6 interchange players but once someone is substituded, they are off for GOOD, like in soccer and stops coaches running players backsides off flooding then resting on the bench!!!! The rucks have to then rest in the forward pocket like they should be doing anyway.

Good idea IMHO

 

[Hollow Knight]

WTF??? What Leigh is saying is that you can use 6 interchange players but once someone is substituded, they are off for GOOD, like in soccer and stops coaches running players backsides off flooding then resting on the bench!!!! The rucks have to then rest in the forward pocket like they should be doing anyway.

Good idea IMHO

Glad to see someone looking at it objectively.

Everyone complains here about how the game was so much better years ago, but when someone suggests a way to fix it, people rubbish him.

 

[campbell]

So you disagree that the unlimited interchange bench has helped give rise to flooding?

What things do you think are ruining football?

yearly rules changes. Open interpretations of the rules.Not enough rally good umpires who all interpret the same things for each game the same,the tribunal lottery system,farsical drugs code.

Do you need me to go on.

 

[Hollow Knight]

yearly rules changes. Open interpretations of the rules.Not enough rally good umpires who all interpret the same things for each game the same,the tribunal lottery system,farsical drugs code.

Do you need me to go on.

So as an opponent of rule changes, when the unlimited interchange rule was brought in, you would have been against it too?

 

[campbell]

So as an opponent of rule changes, when the unlimited interchange rule was brought in, you would have been against it too?

thats not the rules of the game, totally different.sssh.

 

[Hollow Knight]

thats not the rules of the game, totally different.sssh.

Wha?

 

[Barabbas]

You do realise he's trying to discourage flooding?

Except that the Lions have been guilty of flooding recently. So he can't have that big a problem with it.

That said, I'd be interested to see the idea trialled, then see how it worked out. It's impossible to see how it will affect tactics. The 20m kick rule was meant to move the game along, but in NAB cup it only caused more flooding.

 

[campbell]

Wha?

its an interchange system.

Its not a rule of playing the game. do you get me....like, in the back, or holding the ball.

 

[Tuco]

We've had some major growing pains in the sport. A lot of them are generational growing pains that take years to iron out. But I think we're now seeing signs from teams like the Doggies of a fast exciting brand of footy developing that has never been seen before. And most people love it. This gameplan would be impossible without rotations. And already this year we're now seeing signs that key forwards are coming back big time.

Leave it as it is. Things are just starting to get interesting again.

 

[EB&W Pieman]

Leigh's idea is a very good one. Maybe a limited interchange (two or three per quarter) might be needed as a legal precaution to cater for a player who gets injured and is thus able to be taken off for observation. With no interchange, there would be huge presssure to leave the player on the field and the injury may be exacerbated (and the AFL would be liable for compensation for not providing a safe workplace)

The team that has lost the last two grand finals was the team that got one of its midfield rotation injured early (Kerr and Ablett). St Kilda lost two or three players to injury in the QF last year, faded in the last quarter, and Grant Thomas lost his job.

 

[Hollow Knight]

its an interchange system.

Its not a rule of playing the game. do you get me....like, in the back, or holding the ball.

Yeah I get you, you only have problems with direct changes to rules governing play. Why then the opposition to Leigh's suggestion?

 

[mabus]

it sounds like a good idea, instead of copying the rules of netball and basketball which they have been doing lately, why not copy soccer? you could have 5 or 7 named substitutes, but can only use 3 or 5. would make coaches think harder and long term about their subs, and when to use. would bring about the emergence of super sub players, ie hird,buckley etc would be great in those situations bring them on in the last 3rd of the game or last quarter and watch them explode...

 

[magpie_militia]

I would be in favour of limited interchanges (like RL). That would work well and stop flooding. It would also possibly create more 1 on 1 and pack contests.