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  1. #1
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    Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

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    Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has suggested the AFL should trial a drastic change like moving to 16 players per team on the field in order to open the game up and increase scoring.

    The four-time premiership coach, who admits he was part of the initial group of coaches that moved the game in a more defensive direction, says that it’s on AFL HQ, not necessarily coaches, to make the game more attacking.

    “I was part of a wave of coaches, probably myself and Ross (Lyon) and a couple of others, who pushed the defensive mechanisms of the game and how important it was to prevent opposition from scoring and defence wins premierships and all this type of stuff,” Clarkson told SEN Breakfast.

    “AFL footy and a lot of clubs, no one plays one-on-one defence anymore, it’s all zones and that type of zoning and the connection between one another to defend has become very sophisticated to defend.

    “The upshot of that is no bugger can score anymore.

    “We need to pull some levers on the game.

    “Some time ago there was a charter produced about the game, some things that we wanted to make sure stayed in our game and one of them was high marking and another was good field kicking and the skills of the game, the physicality around our tackling and obviously be aware of the danger of the bump, but I think we have done that pretty well as a competition.

    “We probably have to consider pulling some levers, now one of the charters of the game is we said we wanted to retain 18 versus 18.

    “If defences have become so sophisticated to defend. I wonder if they could defend as well with 16. Probably not.

    “I’m an advocate for pulling a lever on the game that trials how we can score because one of the things we wanted to retain in our game was high scoring.

    “In terms of the charter of the game, we don’t want to be like soccer. We want to be able to score.”

    The AFLW competition has already moved to 16 players on field in order to ease congestion, and scoring has increased since the move was made.

    However, it’s unclear whether that change has necessarily been the cause of that.

    Clarkson believes that if the AFL doesn’t make a change of that nature, then the other option is to look at umpiring.

    “I can remember the old VFA when they did have 16-per-team and looking up the paper and on Sunday the VFA would play and I’d always look up the results because there was full forwards kicking 15 or 18 goals a game,” he said.

    “It’s not about trying to get it back to that, but is it we go 16-a-side, do we employ zones, if we don’t do either of those two things, then we probably need to look at how the game is officiated.

    “And say to ourselves how can we reduce congestion? Do we reward holding the ball more regularly so we don’t have three, four or five stoppages in a row where we don’t have 20 or 25 players get to that area of the ground and congest it.

    “The excitement in the game now is who can break out of the bubble like a Brisbane and have it spit into space so Charlie Cameron can sprint in front of everyone else and get the footy and kick a scintillating goal. That’s about the only genuine excitement that we’re seeing at the game at the moment, which is unfortunate.

    “We love the contest and we love that these games are close because defences are so strong and teams can’t score high scores in quick periods of time, but it’s going to be really interesting to see how the game evolves, but it’s probably going to need a correction from city hall either in pulling a lever in the number of players on the field or zones or it’s going to take something like an adjudication type of thing to allow players to play.”

    When asked whether coaches could take it upon themselves to increase scoring and change the way they play, Clarkson said it was their job to win games of footy.

    “Everyone’s trying to do that (play faster and more attacking) obviously we don’t want to open ourselves up that much and we’ll probably give it a go for two or three weeks and then if it’s going badly and our jobs are in a bit of jeopardy, we’ll retreat quickly and return to the old,” he said.

    “This is part of the problem. Quite often we’ll go to some of these meetings and they’ll say ‘the coaches are buggering up the game’. We’re competitive beasts and we’re in the game to win on behalf of our clubs and our members, but there’s a lever that we need to pull in that sense, but there’s also a very strong commitment from the 18 coaches around the health of the game.

    “It’s not going to take one coach … there’s no one that’s going to be a maverick like that and retain their status in the game as a coach if they just consistently lose.

    “It needs to be something the competition mandates in my view.”
    FFC: Established 1883

    Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.

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    Re: Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

    I don’t find it a bad idea VFA was always 16 as far as I remember , no wings.
    Bring back the biff

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    Re: Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

    The holding the ball rule definitely needs a tweak to open the play up.
    Western Bulldogs: 2016 Premiers

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    Re: Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

    Quote Originally Posted by Mofra View Post
    The holding the ball rule definitely needs a tweak to open the play up.
    The change in the game and congestion stems back to 1996 when prior opportunity was tweaked. This has created the situation where players who know they are about to be tackled will still grab the ball and then just hold it in to create a stoppage, which in turn creates congestion.

    The rules use to be governed by the Australian Football Council and not many rules were changed. Once the AFL took over, there have been huge changes that have contributed to what we have today.

    No new rule changes will make the game look like what we want it to look like.
    FFC: Established 1883

    Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.

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    Re: Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

    Quote Originally Posted by ledge View Post
    I don’t find it a bad idea VFA was always 16 as far as I remember , no wings.
    First thing I thought of. I've seen high,level footy played with 16 a side and it's good to watch. In the end the coaches play with three across the centre like they always do and play one less defender and one less forward but the option for coaches to make mismatches is always there.

    I'm fully in favor of this.
    Have you been reading those Roddy Doyle books again, Dougal!?


    I have, yeah Ted, you big gobshite

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    Re: Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

    Quote Originally Posted by Twodogs View Post
    First thing I thought of. I've seen high,level footy played with 16 a side and it's good to watch. In the end the coaches play with three across the centre like they always do and play one less defender and one less forward but the option for coaches to make mismatches is always there.

    I'm fully in favor of this.
    It won't stop congestion, just like the rubbish idea of 6.6.6
    FFC: Established 1883

    Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.

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    Re: Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

    Quote Originally Posted by bornadog View Post
    It won't stop congestion, just like the rubbish idea of 6.6.6
    It opens up the tactical side of the game and clever coaches can create mismatches or move players around to shore up defence or exploit attacking periods. There will be higher scoring because of it. Good full forwards will come back in to the game because they will have space to run into. Our three tall forwards would thrive. We might even see century goalkickers come back and how good are century goalkickers everyone?

    Bevo would love it because it makes those midsized versatile swingmen he loves invaluable because they can do a job forward or back.
    Have you been reading those Roddy Doyle books again, Dougal!?


    I have, yeah Ted, you big gobshite

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    Re: Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

    I don't see how scoring against sixteen is easier with only sixteen, because you have to run each way to score. If the attacking team still had eighteen then sure, it would be easier.

    I'll say it until I'm blue in the face, find a way to incentivise coaches to score more and the coaches will do it. Coaches are inherently defencive, change it to sixteen a side and they'll just find a way to clog space up with sixteen players. Fatigue players, the coaches will just make sure players use their energy defending. Over time players who can cover space repeatedly will be prioritised more so at the draft than those who are natural footballers.

    I agree holding the ball should be called more quickly, boundary and field umpires should also get the ball in the air and into play more quickly. But none of these will materially impact games enough to increase scoring.
    Nobody's looking for a puppeteer in today's wintry economic climate.

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    Re: Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

    The thing we need most is less stoppages.

    This can easily be achieved by eliminating the prior opportunity interpretation.

    If you have the ball it is your responsibility to dispose of it. Get rid of the ridiculous holding in waiting for a ball up. It should be no different to the lying on the ball that results in a free.
    Life is to be Enjoyed not Endured

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    Re: Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

    Quote Originally Posted by Bulldog Joe View Post
    The thing we need most is less stoppages.

    This can easily be achieved by eliminating the prior opportunity interpretation.

    If you have the ball it is your responsibility to dispose of it. Get rid of the ridiculous holding in waiting for a ball up. It should be no different to the lying on the ball that results in a free.
    Problem is the guy on top of the ball isn’t the one holding it in most of the time, if you look at most players on the ground it’s the opposition on top holding it under him. They actually push it back under him and then jump on him and he can’t get it out.
    Bring back the biff

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    Re: Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

    Quote Originally Posted by ledge View Post
    Problem is the guy on top of the ball isn’t the one holding it in most of the time, if you look at most players on the ground it’s the opposition on top holding it under him. They actually push it back under him and then jump on him and he can’t get it out.
    Exactly.
    Have you been reading those Roddy Doyle books again, Dougal!?


    I have, yeah Ted, you big gobshite

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    Re: Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

    Quote Originally Posted by jeemak View Post
    I don't see how scoring against sixteen is easier with only sixteen, because you have to run each way to score. If the attacking team still had eighteen then sure, it would be easier.

    I'll say it until I'm blue in the face, find a way to incentivise coaches to score more and the coaches will do it. Coaches are inherently defencive, change it to sixteen a side and they'll just find a way to clog space up with sixteen players. Fatigue players, the coaches will just make sure players use their energy defending. Over time players who can cover space repeatedly will be prioritised more so at the draft than those who are natural footballers.

    I agree holding the ball should be called more quickly, boundary and field umpires should also get the ball in the air and into play more quickly. But none of these will materially impact games enough to increase scoring.


    There is more room for the forwards to work in. It makes it harder for the opposition to clog up space.


    And don't forget that I have actually seen 16 v 16 played so I'm not just guessing. Have a look at the VFA scoring patterns and the goalkicking totals for individual players from VFA footy in the '70s and '80s..
    Have you been reading those Roddy Doyle books again, Dougal!?


    I have, yeah Ted, you big gobshite

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    Re: Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

    Quote Originally Posted by Twodogs View Post
    There is more room for the forwards to work in. It makes it harder for the opposition to clog up space.


    And don't forget that I have actually seen 16 v 16 played so I'm not just guessing. Have a look at the VFA scoring patterns and the goalkicking totals for individual players from VFA footy in the '70s and '80s..
    TD, coaches will just prioritise clogging the usable space on the ground with players to defend rather than trying to score. Both the defender and the attacker have to run the same distance to either reach the space in the open or shut it down. It's not the answer, but you can refer to an era when the sport was a completely different one (as it was 40-50 years ago) as much as you like and I'm not going to listen to you.

    Nobody's looking for a puppeteer in today's wintry economic climate.

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    Thumbs up Re: Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

    Quote Originally Posted by jeemak View Post
    TD, coaches will just prioritise clogging the usable space on the ground with players to defend rather than trying to score. Both the defender and the attacker have to run the same distance to either reach the space in the open or shut it down. It's not the answer, but you can refer to an era when the sport was a completely different one (as it was 40-50 years ago) as much as you like and I'm not going to listen to you.

    Well then I'm not listening to you either then!

    In fact I am going to hold my breathe until my face turns blue just to teach you a lesson...
    Have you been reading those Roddy Doyle books again, Dougal!?


    I have, yeah Ted, you big gobshite

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    Re: Alastair clarkson pitches huge rule change to make the game better

    Quote Originally Posted by Twodogs View Post
    Well then I'm not listening to you either then!

    In fact I am going to hold my breathe until my face turns blue just to teach you a lesson...
    Well I've been saying what I've been saying until I'm blue in the face so it serves you right.
    Nobody's looking for a puppeteer in today's wintry economic climate.

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