Clash jumpers should not be all white

[bornadog]

The Age -Adam Cooper July 2, 2012

The standard of some AFL games has never been higher, but some of the teams look like they have been put through the wash. The colour has been drained and white is the new black.
Clash strips are a constant thorn in the AFL's side, but why have so many sides opted for white as their alternate strip? It's the colour of innocence and purity, but is this what we want from our football sides?

Across round 14, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Fremantle and the Western Bulldogs all wore predominantly white strips to avoid potential colour clashes. But a case could be made that all four teams could have worn their colours and no watchers would have been worse off.
Hawthorn's brown and yellow are not colours that naturally fit together, but to see the Hawks wearing white with a tatty design on the front is surely a bigger fashion crime, especially against Carlton's navy blue.

The Bulldogs' predominantly royal blue could hardly be lost among Essendon's red and black on Saturday night, yet they also opted to go with a mostly white jumper. Melbourne is a team desperate to stand for something right now, but wearing white with only a dash of red and blue makes it look more feeble than even its poor results.

There are other offenders. Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney had the chance to make a vibrant entry into the competition in recent years and went for red and orange as their respective home strips, but have still ended up white on the road. Somehow Port Adelaide's striking black turned white against the Bulldogs earlier this season, while West Coast had the chance to wear blue and yellow against Brisbane's maroon, yet also ended up wearing a far paler shade.

Some clash strips are necessary, and in cases white is justifiable. In the group stage of the European Championship, the only options Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic and Greece had were red, white or blue, the colours represented in the four countries' flags.
But in today's final, Spain looked regal in its red and blue with yellow piping, and played accordingly. Italy wore white shorts with their blue tops and socks, but still the Azzurri looked sharp.

Colours reflect the teams that wear them. The All Blacks have always been menacing, Tiger Woods was once famed for his aggressive play when he wore red on the final day of tournaments and Collingwood polarises opinion like its black and white stripes.
England's soccer team once won a World Cup in a striking red and despite that strip being a favourite among success-starved fans, opted for all white in Euro 12. Success eluded the team again, although you can argue that has more to do with a hoodoo in penalty shootouts rather than the colours on the players' backs.

Still, too many teams in the AFL lack imagination. The Lions are to be commended for their vivid guernseys, particularly when visiting Melbourne, when the Fitzroy jumper comes alive, albeit fleetingly. And Essendon has at least opted for a stylised grey in reluctantly finding a clash strip away from its red sash on black.

White belongs in some sports. Test matches and Wimbledon are steeped in tradition and wouldn't look the same in colours.

But where football is concerned, it's time for some teams to be bold. White's not right.

[SonofScray]

Our white strip is easily the best of all clash strips in the league. It is a great jumper for us. I completely disagree with with Adam Cooper's opinion.

[Rocco Jones]

I don't mind the white jumper but I believe we wear it unnecessairly at times.

It's not an away strip, it's a clash strip (like the EPL, not the NBA).

[Ghost Dog]

Not a massive fan of the white. Not sure it looks as bad as Essendon's new grey outfit: horrid
Roll my eyes at the AFL for their namby pamby coddling. Why not make us wear flouro vests so players don't bump into each other?
GWS look like a bunch of council workers.

[AndrewP6]

I like the white, and I think this article is way over the top on the issue. So long as they don't wear pink, I'm happy

[Sedat]

Clash jumpers is one topic that consistently makes my eyelids heavy and induces a coma. I could not care less what colour we are wearing so long as it is in stark contrast to what the opposition have on, not to mention the umpires and trainers. It is one of the many issues tht the AFL have shown timid leadership on and have screwed up time and again.

[Remi Moses]

Clash jumpers is one topic that consistently makes my eyelids heavy and induces a coma. I could not care less what colour we are wearing so long as it is in stark contrast to what the opposition have on, not to mention the umpires and trainers. It is one of the many issues tht the AFL have shown timid leadership on and have screwed up time and again.

Ditto for me. I'm more worried about the actual player in the guernsey.

[Desipura]

How is Essendon's jumper a clash jumper? It pretty much resembles the original with a bit of grey on the side.

[chef]

How is Essendon's jumper a clash jumper? It pretty much resembles the original with a bit of grey on the side.

I agree, it is a pretty lame effort at a clash jumper.

[The Pie Man]

I don't mind the white jumper but I believe we wear it unnecessairly at times.

It's not an away strip, it's a clash strip (like the EPL, not the NBA).

Agree - no need to wear it last Saturday for example.

Wonder what it would look like with blue shorts....

[LostDoggy]

I don't mind the white jumper but I believe we wear it unnecessairly at times.

It's not an away strip, it's a clash strip (like the EPL, not the NBA).

Agree. It's a clash jumper, not an away jumper. How royal blue clashes with black is beyond me.

[Cyberdoggie]

I hate the white, it looks like my grandpa's underwear.

What bugs me even more is when we wear it for home games, or for when there is absolutely no clash at all. It's purely marketing now and i think the frequency in which we wear it only damages the WB brand and pride in our real jumper.

The big clubs don't bend over or jump up and down to wear a different jumper, you have to twist their arms to do it, because they love their jumper and their attitude is how they show it. This flows down to everyone involved in the club and the supporters as well. If Eddie talks about his love for the jumper and that the afl would have to force him to change it, then 70,000 members start talking the same way.

While we may not have that power, we need to stop acting like we are the last kid picked on the school ground and will do anything to satisfy the big boys just so we can be in the game.


If you think it's a clash guernsey then your a fool because there is no way that WB royal blue clashes with Essendon's Black and Red anymore than the White does.
The only time this white peril should even be considered to be worn is when we play
Fremantle, WCE away and possibly Melbourne and Carlton away only.

That's 4 games max a year, no more.
Not Essendon, not Adelaide, not GWS, not the GC at a home game!,

[bornadog]

I hate the white, it looks like my grandpa's underwear.

What bugs me even more is when we wear it for home games, or for when there is absolutely no clash at all. It's purely marketing now and i think the frequency in which we wear it only damages the WB brand and pride in our real jumper.

The big clubs don't bend over or jump up and down to wear a different jumper, you have to twist their arms to do it, because they love their jumper and their attitude is how they show it. This flows down to everyone involved in the club and the supporters as well. If Eddie talks about his love for the jumper and that the afl would have to force him to change it, then 70,000 members start talking the same way.

While we may not have that power, we need to stop acting like we are the last kid picked on the school ground and will do anything to satisfy the big boys just so we can be in the game.


If you think it's a clash guernsey then your a fool because there is no way that WB royal blue clashes with Essendon's Black and Red anymore than the White does.
The only time this white peril should even be considered to be worn is when we play
Fremantle, WCE away and possibly Melbourne and Carlton away only.

That's 4 games max a year, no more.
Not Essendon, not Adelaide, not GWS, not the GC at a home game!,

This

I really can't stand these unimaginitive jumpers being worn by clubs. Too much white in ours with the shorts and the stripes should be wider

[GVGjr]

How is Essendon's jumper a clash jumper? It pretty much resembles the original with a bit of grey on the side.

We did the same a year or two back with a game against Richmond. There is no policy on clash jumpers for us. The AFL makes up their mind early in the week and the club follows the instruction but then never advises the fans which weeks we will be wearing the clash jumper.

I'm not against wearing a clash jumper but there is no reason why this can't be communicated to the fans

[LostDoggy]

From my limited understanding, the AFL considers certain colours as “dark” colours and certain colours as “light” and you can't have too many of the same. I am guessing they consider royal blue (and red) as dark colours, and hence the need for a clash jumper when pitched against red and black.

The grey clash jumper Essendon has produced is just a product of an awkward compromise. Their fan base is totally against any change whatsoever, they're even against just widening the strip. Design by committee always produces terrible results.