F.Oooty used to be a simple sport. Win the jerk, move the ball forward, hit your direct opponent, kick a goal. Rinse and repeat. These were the days when the players naturally had mustaches and day jobs. You are surrendered for days to play an old way that was destroyed by a game with high ball possession, zone defense and the feared C-word “overload”.
Kevin Sheedy called the modern game “basketball crap”. Now Alastair Clarkson is the latest figure to complain about the state we are in. She says the code was in a “terrible room” after Hawthorn defeated North Melbourne in what he wrote down as “no highlights”.
“I hope I’m not the only one who thought it was a terrible game,” said the Hawthorn coach on Sunday. “I thought it was a terrible spectacle. I’m sorry for shitting our own brand and club. But I was so disappointed with the way we played and I am so disappointed with the way the game is currently played. “
Clarkson’s beef at Marvel Stadium revolved around the referees’ supposed reluctance to hold the ball and the eager desire to protect the ball carrier. “We had 69 tackles. I don’t think we got a free kick from a duel. What happened to our game? You can’t have that many devices and you can’t misuse one of them. I think we can do a hell of a lot better by opening the game up a bit and deciding on some of those who hold the balls. The spectacle of the game, I’m busy with where we’re going with it. “
The truth is that the game has not been easy or easy on the eyes for some time.
Clarkson may have a point in pointing his finger at the way the game is run, but as a coach – and an extremely successful one – in a results-driven industry, he too shaped the sport as it is today. The coach’s job is to win games and not make the product look good. This responsibility rests with the rule-makers, but anyway, the AFL is fighting in a lost fight to keep up. With the evolution, the sophistication has come in the trainer box. Somewhere, however, the aesthetics were lost.
Watching a game these days – on the floor, not on the box, where it is less noticeable – is like a lecture in melittology: players swarm in numbers from part of the floor to another and stagger from stop to stop. It’s a rare day in 2020 when your feet flow freely. The unquantifiable has suffered – as far as the visual attractiveness of the game is concerned – but also the parameters, with the scores reaching new depths. In 2019, the average team rating was 80.4 points – the lowest since 1967. Geelong and Melbourne could be excused by the shorter quarters of the season if they only scored four goals at half-time at MCG on Sunday, but the downward trend of AFL is one thing we cannot blame Covid-19 for.
At that time, the best midfielder would compete against the opposition’s best midfielder. And they would work on it all day. Now even marking is becoming an outdated strategy. Modern footballers defend in numbers and not always the man. Now the players defend space, defend the zones, wait for the mistake or hurry up with kick and counterattack. “It is a game with mistakes. It’s a sales game, ”said Crows coach Matthew Nicks when he took over the reins in Adelaide. In this sense, the modern game is decided.
Clarkson’s concerns are not new. And the state of the game didn’t happen by chance; The events of the past two decades have led to this point inexorably. The concept of flooding – stacking the defensive half and attacking on rebound – was not uncommon until 2005, but when Sydney won a Premier League on the back, the gameplay changed dramatically. Defense was the new attack; it has been since then. AFL’s then managing director, Andrew Demetriou, described the Swans’ footprint as “ugly” earlier this season and casually declined to make a fundamental change to his sport, which in retrospect deserves a well-considered response.
Nearly a decade later, Brad Melbourne, North Melbourne coach, almost apologized after beating the Bulldogs with only four goals scored in the first half. “I don’t think the first half will be a highlight, but we’ve played games in the past few years where we’ve scored over 120 points and looked and lost fantastic. That feeling feels a lot better, I can guarantee that, ”said Scott. It is a feeling that is as current today as it was in 2014 and shows how little ground the AFL has made in its attempts to outsmart the wisdom of ugly winning.
To Clarkson’s sorrow, and he is not a lonely voice, sport remains caught up in a chess game between those who play it and those who play it. Too many interruptions? No problem, we will limit the exchange rotations. The game is too busy? Will the 6-6-6 rule fix that? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Although well-meant, AFL’s efforts to make the game more beautiful have so far been effective as a patch on a gunshot wound.
.
