Andrew Hamilton
July 14, 2008 11:30pm
LIONS coach Leigh Matthews says a major obstacle he encounters while preparing his side each week is that not enough players are "footy fans".
The four-time premiership coach said too many players had to be forced to watch the bare minimum of footy on TV needed to adequately prepare as AFL footballers because they didn't really love the game.
"We find that we have got to almost force-feed them as a group to make them watch footy," Matthews said.
"You'd think watching the opposition game at some stage during the week as part of your preparation would almost be mandatory. You'd be surprised how many wouldn't do it unless you made them."
Matthews did not subscribe to the theory the players' reluctance may be driven by a need to get away from the footy environment.
"A lot of them are just professional footballers. They only play footy because they are good at it, they don't care about the game much," he said.
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24020614-5016212,00.html
Interesting last comment by Leigh Matthews. With the advent of turning Basketballers Gaelic Footballers and Rugby fans into Aussie Rules players will thise become more common place? This could also be a driving force in the evolution in our game.
Makes you wonder how many actually play the sport for the love and how many are good athletes who have found a way to use their natural ability to make a lot of money and Aussie Rules is easier for them to excel at than other sports.