The gap between the top sides and the bottom sides the biggest its ever been and with 9 100+ point wins this season, the most since 1991, is supercoach & dreamteam the only thing saving the AFL? Lets not forget its likely to get even worse next year with the introduction of GWS and possibly worse with Free Agency when the big clubs will just use the 3rd party deals to secure the best players... How many people would be watching the footy if it wasnt for supercoach or dreamteam? I for one would probably only watch the Saints game & possibly the Essendon match with my mates.
Might be a problem next 2 years but I don't think Free Agency will be that bad. The AFL will clamp down big time on these 3rd party deals and won't allow it like they are doing ATM with Judd Yeah the floggings aren't good but the finals series will be great with 6 very good teams and likely Sydney and Essendon making up the numbers
i would prefer a shorter season, perhaps 18 games as the final month or so is always painful to watch for those teams who have had bad luck with injuries throughout the season or who are stumbling from one crisis to the next.
It's frustrating, but I reckon the draft system has a lot to do with it. Teams just "performance manage" which means whacking players in cotton wool rather than putting in best team in best position. You'd prefer teams to have the integrity to play the year out, but the only way that will happen is for a true lottery system at least for the bottom 6 teams. Chances - zero
I think you raise a really good point thunda. I know I watch games at the moment that I would have no interest in were it not for SC. SC is great for giving you a new appreciation for players and teams that you knew nothing about - great way to have an understanding of the entire competition.
I log in to the fantasy leagues from Friday night to Sunday whenever I can. I listen to each game regardless of game value. Without DT or SC, triple M radio would lose a listener and Bigpond would get a smaller download plan customer.I am in contact with other players over weekend who normally I would not. Addiction is a strong word...but....
Thunda, I do agree with the central premise, but not totally. There are more games at the end of year that I treat with even more disdain because I have no members of either footy team in my SC team.
Opens up a very interesting discussion SKT. I have the distinct impression that the AFL treats SC (and to a lesser extent, DT) coaches with the same contempt they treat fans attending the games. To them it is all about how much they can get for TV rights. The way the competitions are structured at the moment, the huge numbers (us) have little say in how the competition is conducted and the AFL base all their rules (time teams are announced, time sub is announced, delayed telecasts, etc.) without any consideration for SC/DT coaches. A voice waiting to be heard. SC/DT is perhaps slowly changing the tribal nature of footy. Coaches probably tend to watch/listen to more games to follow their players and the AFL reaps the rewards (and have the hide to try and make us pay to play). Are coaches taking a broader perspective on the game in total and, perhaps as a result without realising it, a decreasing passion supporting their own team?
<blockquote>Are coaches taking a broader perspective on the game in total and, perhaps as a result without realising it, a decreasing passion supporting their own team? </blockquote> This comment struck a real chord with me. I've been a Hawks member for 16 years. they're "my team" and I'll probably always be a member and go and see them as often as I can. but there is absolutely no doubt my passion as a supporter has diminished over the last five or so years. not for football itself. I love the game. but I seem to watch through far more objective eyes then I used to. Is it because of super coach? I'm not sure. It's certainly possible. I definitely watch more football then I used to, and have a much better appreciation of the stars that play for other teams. I hate collingwood. It stems from my days working as a pie boy at the footy, but I find it fascinating watching them dismantle other teams. Like driving past a car wreck, I couldn't take my eyes off the geelong V melbourne game. Maybe I'm just getting older. Maybe it's just a stage I'm going through, while I sort out my life in the real world. Maybe It's the complete homogenisation of the Afl teams. and the slow gradual reduction of them into heartless corporate franchises. My girlfriend is a heartbroken (still) Fitzroy supporter. Football was so much more then a game to her family. They lost so much more then a football team. They still go and watch the amateurs play. I miss that football used to be like that, even though it was never really like that for me. Maybe It's because I spent 2-3 years being desensitised, hoping my team didn't win enough games to cost themselves a priority pick. Teams tank. They have to. Their members expect it. It sucks. One thing I do know. If my team were to fold or merge. I wouldn't adopt another. I'd keep following and watching football as a neutral supporter. Supercoach probably has a lot to do with that.
Probably the same if Collingwood went out mate. I'd go and watch the local footy. In terms of tanking there's limited reward Everyone talks Thomas and Pendlebury or Franklin and Roughead but there are teams that have tanked and not gone to the heights. Melbourne with Sylvia and McLean for example. Kosi and Riewoldt haven't won a flag so far. Can we talk Richmond? Deledio, Tambling, Martin, Cotchin etc and they still aren't top 8. What matters is more what you do with the midrange players getting them to be stars. Geelong have hardly had any picks in the top ranks...so they have shown it is still doable to create a fearsome great team with the right systems and (dare I say it) structures. SC, well I think it still needs tweaking in terms of the score, but that will come with time and maturity.
true, but through sheer weight of numbers, the more top ten picks you have, the more likely you are to strike gold. for every buddy, roughy or lewis, the hawks took with a top ten pick. there was a muston, dowler and Thorpe. I guess the point is, why win 5 games, when you can win 4 and double dip.
For mine, while I do watch a lot more football then I used to and very much enjoy the game, a great level of dissatisfaction comes from what I think comes across as a dictatorship conserving some of the liberties and mechanisms of equality in the system. On top of this as fans I think we are being treated poorly, for example; The sub rule is not reducing the amount of injuries - We are told it is. The MRP appears very inconsistent and their decision making logic is not transparent - We are told that is not the case. The new advantage rule is no good - We are told it is fine. 14 weeks (6 suspended) for a ten dollar bet seems a bit excessive when a bloke gets 4 for racial vilification and is allowed to play VFL - we are told that is adequate. Teams tank - We are told they don't. The list goes on. As a fan I wonder weather I should bother to have an opinion about the game or not. I think SC brings me back to the game because I now regularly watch games where I am not too interested in who wins, watch for SC factor and enjoy the footy (watched Kangas V Hawks yesterday - what a match)- For me this means I develop a healthy understanding of the game - Don't know if the AFL wants fans to do this though!
As an old Fitzroy supporter I was driven away from the sport for a few year. I still followed Brisbane but its was never the same even throughout the premiership years. I started following a lot of other sports including NRL, ALeague and various US sports. But as Ive gotten addicted to SC Ive started watching a lot more games from all clubs and the last few years Ive been more excited to watch games from Freo, WC (unfortunately Collingwood) and other clubs to see the stars premiums i have or want to have in my team. In conclusion Fantasy AFL has brought me back to the game but has made me even more of a neutral supporter than before
I always thought Fitzroy should have immediately gone down to the VFL the moment the merger happened, so then the fans could have enjoyed their team but still not had them in the "big league". Reckon the Roys would have won hearts and flags during that time to combine with the mighty effort of the Brisbane Lions 3 peat. On the dictatorship, the cone of silence around Bartlett and Anderson is deafening. AA would get more respect for admitting faults, tweaking and moving on. On the whole the tribunal mechanism has the potential to be much better than the old one of "gut feel", but at the moment is too hit and miss. I reckon a few small tweaks and we can hit that vital middle ground. And on tanking, the betting on the Kreuzer cup is the only reason the AFL doesn't admit it happened in those days, because the bill would be multiple millions from betting agencies recouping. I think a first round at the end wouldn't be worth tanking for honestly, and as such is a fair evening tool.
The teams I don't bother to watch because I don't have any players are Adelaide, Port, Brisbane and North. I really think the season should be 18 games as well. Maybe we could then have an extra week in the finals and say give the top team the first week off?
Q.How many people would be watching the footy if it wasnt for supercoach or dreamteam? I for one would probably only watch the Saints game & possibly the Essendon match with my mates. A.supercoach and dreamteam is the only thing keeping me interested in footy. id prob only watch a handful of games a year + finals, if that otherwise. I'm from tassie, so i dont have side to barrack for (and no i dont want to cheer the hawks). Totally honest, i find watching live afl games boring....its all like ping pong now, the only thing that gets me into it is the crowd and maybe beer...and supercoach.