What are some of the biggest pieces of revisionist history in the AFL?

[The Tilt]

Surely the deliberate conflation of "the AFL" with "the game" has to be the biggest.

I'd have no issue with criminalising reference to the sport as "AFL".

 

[BloodySwan]

One I see regularly mentioned was Mick Malthouse was a poor coach. His time at Carlton was one to be forgotten but he had a terrific career as a coach. 3 premiership, 6 grand finals appearances. Rebuilt a number of squads, just his time at Carlton was one to forget.

The other which I regularly see is Tom Mitchell left the Swans because he never got game time. He did struggle to break into the team at first but the last 2 season played all but a couple games due to injury. Mitchell left because him and Horse clashed a lot, and Beatson has come out and said we couldn't match the offer the Hawks came with as well.

 

[Hysteria]

Riewoldt and Milne alone in the 50 isn't a forward press. Lyon evolved a very ugly form of the flood, which has existed in many boring forms for decades.

I first saw the flood when Hawthorn pantsed Essendon in about 1992. It was over by half time (memory says it was more than 10 goals, maybe 14?) so Sheedy had 16 men behind centre and jagged 2 lucky goals in the third quarter.

Malthouse's Pies manned up in the forward 50, 7 or 8 men if need be and beat the ugly Sydney flood regularly in the early 2000s. Ross Lyon was a different dog but it was the same ****.

Throughout 2009 I watched most of our home games that year from a seat behind the goals on level 2 and I can tell you with absolute certainty that St Kilda were playing a fully recognizable forward press all through that season.
Watching teams regularly struggle to exit their defensive 50 such was the level of pressure put on the ball carrier and the overall setup of the team defense gave me some of my most enjoyable days at the football during that period.

 

[Muddiemoose]

It drives me nuts with any flag that's been won. And I find people start to make up shit and spread misinformation about it if they don't like who won the flag.

Like I remember David Koch straight up saying that it was unfair for the Giants to have to travel to the MCG because they finished higher than the Tigers. that's a prominent AFL just spreading lies.

Still hated the Tigers run though lol, but demand they were good

That’s it mate, I for one can’t stand Geelong it’s something I have never hidden either but that doesn’t mean I don’t respect and admire what they have achieved as a club especially with the latest flag they won

 

[threesixpio]

That Hawks were underdogs v Freo in the 2013 GF

They were quite a pronounced favourite

I may been living in my ABC 774 bubble but remember quite vividly that most were saying Fremantle’s manic pressure was unstoppable and that the Hawks couldn’t win. Also remember being worried about it as a consequence and then pleasantly surprised when all the pressure seemed to come from Hawthorn. So there was a sense in some circles that Freo would win

 

[Wallaby]

Really??

Remember when EVERY team was flooding in the mid 2000s? Literally everybody was moaning about the state of the game and wishing we were back in the late 90s.

That Richmond game, the one where they took a world record amount of marks by playing keepings off reminds me of football in the 2000s.

That's because it was in the 2000s - Rd 6, 2006 to be exact.

On 'Richmond invented basketball crap' - as noted above, it was a trend in the game at the time.

On the EXACT same day - Rd 8, 20th May, 2006 - that Richmond took 181 marks against Adelaide, Collingwood took 177 marks in their game against Geelong - and won by 102 points.

Probably the lowest point was a Port-St Kilda match in Tassie 2006, where the two teams conbined for over 300 marks in the game - of which a total of 11 were contested.

There are odd anomalous games when a team takes a huge number of marks by playing chippy-chippy (Brisbane took 164 against Richmond earlier this year), but the period 2005-2008 was when it hit its height.

 

[Daics35Marvel]

That 1989 was the greatest GF ever.

That the salary cap penalties were the reason the Blues were a basket case for 20 years. Reality is they didn’t know another way to win other than buying flags. In the 80s, this was paying big contracts to stars from SA. In the 90s it was blatant cheating. In the 00s it was again big money to lure players such as Judd and Nick Stevens. Even without the penalties, they took a long time to figure out this approach doesn’t work in a salary cap environment and would have been in the bottom half of the ladder anyway.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

That 1989 was the greatest GF ever.

That the salary cap penalties were the reason the Blues were a basket case for 20 years. Reality is they didn’t know another way to win other than buying flags. In the 80s, this was paying big contracts to stars from SA. In the 90s it was blatant cheating. In the 00s it was again big money to lure players such as Judd and Nick Stevens. Even without the penalties, they took a long time to figure out this approach doesn’t work in a salary cap environment and would have been in the bottom half of the ladder anyway.

There were people claiming as late as 2021 that the salary cap penalties were still hurting Carlton. Ridiculous. Tbf it wasn’t just some Carlton supporters, it’s also often lazy “analysis” and regurgitated rubbish by a bloated media.

Carlton got whacked, then recovered and rebuilt throughout the 2000s and were half a kick from a prelim in 2011. The core of their team was very good and young and lead by a 27yo Judd. Whatever did or didn’t happen from then had nothing at all to do with the salary cap stuff.

 

[kickazz]

The GAS 14 goals “from the wing” is hands down the most exaggerated thing I’ve ever heard. Not only did he not kick ANY from the the wing (or even run in from there) most of them were set shots from 20-30m directly in front. I saw a couple of standard crumbs as well but the furthest shot he had was the last goal (around 50-55m almost directly in front) THAT WAS THE ONLY GOAL OUTSIDE 50.

Now before you say “hey this guy is just a salty Richmond troll I remember the game perfectly and GAS was a freak”. Here are all the goals, test your memory and you’ll see I’m not making it up….

I think by "from the wing" they mean the position he played that day, or at very least, where he was named. (Positions actually mattered back then)

No one is suggesting he kicked the ball 90 metres.

 

[kickazz]

Geelong - five hospitalised players with major injuries requiring surgery after the game:
1 Stephen Hocking played out the game with a ruptured testicle in the second half.
2 David Cameron played with a broken collarbone from the first quarter onwards.
3 Damien Bourke was taken off with a PCL in the first quarter
4 Andrew Bews and 5 Neville Bruns played out the game with a broken thumb and fractured shoulder respectively.

source: Sunday Age, 28 January 1990
View attachment 2008637View attachment 2008636

And hence the myth (and it's a ripper - that video of Derm in slow-mo is epic) was born.

I thought it was common knowledge both sides had about half a dozen hospitalised from this game.

 

[sherb]

Not solely, but it was a decent part of it. It landed them Wade, Rantall and Davis who were all critical in 75.

It was part of an aggressive recruiting effort that won the flag - as well as those three they landed Crosswell, Blight and Cable as well as Barassi as coach.

Correct. They were part of it.

But not the sole reason, which was the revisionist attitude I was correcting.

 

[sherb]

Surely the deliberate conflation of "the AFL" with "the game" has to be the biggest.

That comes from the AFL itself.

 

[kickazz]

The unfortunate thing for diehard Melbourne supporters is that they had to sit on their couch at home to watch the occasion, rather than in person in the MCC Members

I feel for the real diehard Melbourne supporters, for sure.

But the MCC missing out on tickets to see that grand final is surely one of the greatest bits of comeuppance in league history.

 

[Freomaniac]

So North were actually good once upon a time?

Ah, that's back when you could buy a flag if you had enough money. Before the era of cash in bags, secret property deals etc

now the Playing Salary cap has sky rockted since then.

the playing list Salary cap in 2024 is $17 million. The playing list salary cap in 2025 is $17.7 million

 

[adammania9]

'Frampton was great in the GF last year' has been said alot by media this season

Playing a defensive role on a FB and that FB having 16 touches to his 2 is insanity to claim he had even an ok game let alone good. May as well have played with 17

Correct. One of the best examples in our game of how the winners write history, or it's written for them

If the Lions had have climbed over the line by a goal, Collingwood supporters will forever be talking abut the selection of Frampton much the same as they discuss Leon Davis' 0 disposal effort in 2002.

Billy's contribution to our journey to the granny was important, but on the day he was a complete liability.

 

[Freomaniac]

That Mark Bickley was in any way, at all, whatsoever, a Hall of Fame level player.

I don’t hate Bickley, I don’t even really hate the Crows, but that guy was questionably in the best 10 players Adelaide had in the 90s.

Absolutely mind blowing he’s in the HoF.

I always had a Soft spot for Mark Bickley. Played for my Beloved South Adelaide panthers in the SANFL before he was in that 1991 Crows squad.

Was he a solid player back in his day? Yes. The bloke averaged 20 disposals a game in his career. He wasnt the elite but he wasnt a thug either barring that cheek bone punch on one of the wakelin twins in a showdown in 2002.

Funny thing was, I looked at his stat in his 1997 and 1998 grand finals. He only got 8 disposals in 1997 vs the saints. He got a Solid 22 disposals in 1998 vs North.

His debut game was round 4 in 1991 vs essendon at 21 years old and 252 days. He was 34 years old and 39 days in his last game in 2003 vs Brisbane in that semi final at the Gabba.

So he was a late Bloomer. He started late and finished late. He played 13 years in the AFL.

 

[Freomaniac]

Perhaps time does colour the perception. But for mine it had the right mix of skill, higher scoring and physical contests, right up until 2004.

And then Ross Lyon the Great Enemy of Football joined the Swans in 2004 as an assistant coach and football has never been the same.

I agree. Ross Lyon somehow managed to Dodge Centrelink and finds employment. lol

 

[blaisee]

Comparing dusty abd danger as if it is even close

It’s like people forget that dusty pulled dangers pants down every time they played in a final

Didn’t just beat him , but pumped him

Destroyed him and ruined his reputation.

 

[Hawker55]

I may been living in my ABC 774 bubble but remember quite vividly that most were saying Fremantle’s manic pressure was unstoppable and that the Hawks couldn’t win. Also remember being worried about it as a consequence and then pleasantly surprised when all the pressure seemed to come from Hawthorn. So there was a sense in some circles that Freo would win

I remember this too - and we were underdogs in 13, 14, 15 according to the media. 12 was the one where we were favourites.

 

[adammania9]

Hawthorn were favourites per the markets

Hawks $1.60
Fremantle $2.30

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

That comes from the AFL itself.

Oh, it absolutely does - along with just about all the big footy media players.

 

[threesixpio]

Hawthorn were favourites per the markets

Hawks $1.60
Fremantle $2.30

Yep - didn’t feel like that but maybe there was some hype around Freo’s possible first flag

 

[HairyO]

I think by "from the wing" they mean the position he played that day, or at very least, where he was named. (Positions actually mattered back then)

No one is suggesting he kicked the ball 90 metres.

A number of the goals were leading from the goalsquare so its highly likely he wasnt starting each bounce on the wing.

Richo "played on the wing" and kicked a huge number of goals as well. Because he wasnt always on the wing and unlike wingmen, never went back. Only forward.

 

[HotelBastardos]

I don’t think anyone anywhere believed Gary kicked 14 goals from 80 metres out.

I saw him do a few 75 metre goals as a kid, kicked one at princes park on the run from the circle and one torp from the circle against Richmond, landed in the goal square and went through. 75 metres? Both on Youtube if ya wanna see.77 metres? possibly 80. so , you may be wrong, he was a huge kick. Also saw him land it on the roof at the old G punt rd goals from the goal square.

 

[HotelBastardos]

Malcolm Blights goal after the siren was not 70-8o metres out like so many have said. Not even close. It was a killer roost after the siren, but it was on the edge of the square 55- 60 out. it definately was spectacular.