Hird Gone!

[Twodogs]

Re: Hird Gone!

KB and his donghead mate Smith (the bloke who thinks its OK to punch people on the cricket pitch if you cant get them out) were waffling on the other day on SEN about head high contact and soccer mums were ringing in to say that little Johnny wouldnt be playing AFL due to the risk of head injuries/dementia further down thew track, they would play soccer instead to avoid head injuries.

That's soccer-the game where you deliberately head butt a ball that might be flying through the air at 100 MPH. The game that has far more ex players with head/neck/dementia problems than even NFL. I can understand uninformed soccer mums ringing in with uninformed opinions, but KB and Patrick Smith ought to be much more clued in than that. They want to set themselves up as experts then they ought to get a clue.

[Greystache]

Re: Hird Gone!

Oh I agree with your assertion that FIFA/soccer are not beacons of virtue to aspire to, and I also agree with the bolded part about hysteria and extreme views being used as the default modus operandi by shrill commentators to garner extreme responses. But I don't think the author is being hysterical or shrill at all, nor do I think she is slandering the direction of the game because it is de rigueur to do so. I share her views that the AFL hierarchy (and the AFL industry in general) has completely lost its way for a number of years now, and that the Hird/EFC situation perfectly encapsulates everything wrong with the game right now - it is a boys club, there is no responsibility taken by people in positions of power and influence, there has been a propensity to protect the brand/image of the sport at the expense of its very credibility (PED's, illicit drugs code, tanking, salary cap cheating), there is a fanboi narrative and culture that has insidiously pervaded the media (primarily because far too many hack ex. footballers now clog up the airwaves and column inches), and there have been inconsistent and mixed message sent to the community by the custodians of the game when decisive leadership was required.

Taking the throwaway "I want my kids to play soccer instead" line out of the equation, I think the article hits the mark in a measured and articulate way.

Every sport looks after their own, the AFL is no different. Cycling and soccer are far worse, MLB is no better. The NFL seems to be one of the few sports that tries to take responsibility seriously and they're not even very good at it. The problem is the AFL seems to think all of their supporters are ignorant fools, which means they cater everything around that demographic.

If I could change one thing about the AFL it would be to get rid of the sycophantic and largely irrelevant ex-player network both in the coverage and in the media. Almost none of them have anything insightful to say (people like David King is an exception) most of them just tow the popular view at the time, and all of them are clearly in it for the easy cash with no expectation to add any value. How people like Garry Lyon, Tim Watson, or Matthew Lloyd can continue to be a considered a source of credibility for analysing the game is just laughable.

The sport could flourish by actually having some insightful analysis and commentary available to the general public rather than the clowns we get shoved down our throat every year. Being a well known player doesn't make them suitable for the media, Jonathon Brown trying to analyse a game is exhibit A. The only saving grace is the AFL looks like the bastion of professionalism compared to their compatriots in the NRL.

[Ozza]

Re: Hird Gone!

Every sport looks after their own, the AFL is no different. Cycling and soccer are far worse, MLB is no better. The NFL seems to be one of the few sports that tries to take responsibility seriously and they're not even very good at it. The problem is the AFL seems to think all of their supporters are ignorant fools, which means they cater everything around that demographic.

If I could change one thing about the AFL it would be to get rid of the sycophantic and largely irrelevant ex-player network both in the coverage and in the media. Almost none of them have anything insightful to say (people like David King is an exception) most of them just tow the popular view at the time, and all of them are clearly in it for the easy cash with no expectation to add any value. How people like Garry Lyon, Tim Watson, or Matthew Lloyd can continue to be a considered a source of credibility for analysing the game is just laughable.

The sport could flourish by actually having some insightful analysis and commentary available to the general public rather than the clowns we get shoved down our throat every year. Being a well known player doesn't make them suitable for the media, Jonathon Brown trying to analyse a game is exhibit A. The only saving grace is the AFL looks like the bastion of professionalism compared to their compatriots in the NRL.

Agree that not many of the current commentators add a great deal of insight into what is happening out there. There is a whole other level of strategy, and even terminology, happening at clubs that the general public don't see, hear or understand. Its disappointing when players come out of the modern game, like Cameron Ling, and just state the obvious and add nothing to the coverage - or don't seem to challenge the old attitudes of what is happening in the game.

I am looking forward to Leigh Montagna retiring and joining the broadcast teams. If anyone has ever heard him on radio, or occasionally on a Friday night game - I think he is already very very good at explaining to the audience some of the more complex aspects of the game.

[Ghost Dog]

Re: Hird Gone!

Agree that not many of the current commentators add a great deal of insight into what is happening out there. There is a whole other level of strategy, and even terminology, happening at clubs that the general public don't see, hear or understand. Its disappointing when players come out of the modern game, like Cameron Ling, and just state the obvious and add nothing to the coverage - or don't seem to challenge the old attitudes of what is happening in the game.

I am looking forward to Leigh Montagna retiring and joining the broadcast teams. If anyone has ever heard him on radio, or occasionally on a Friday night game - I think he is already very very good at explaining to the audience some of the more complex aspects of the game.

Maybe there's been a directive from senior broadcast executives to 'talk it up' as much as possible, or it seems that way. It's 'narrative' over analysis and what annoys me is when I'm listening to it on the radio and just want the bloody score.
It's silly to just narrate what viewers can see for themselves in a hyperbolic way when there is so much going on around the field. Stats about who has won the last 6 times at Etihad are pretty irrelevant after you mention them once, and who cares what Lin Jong's heritage is for the fourth or fifth time?

[KT31]

Re: Hird Gone!

As the say, 'Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story', unfortunately since this whole Essendon saga started a vast majority of the stories written have missed the mark whether pro or against.

[Twodogs]

Re: Hird Gone!

Having Lin Jong's ancestry explained every time he gets the ball is getting tiresome.

[Murphy'sLore]

Re: Hird Gone!

Especially when they get it wrong...

[Sedat]

Re: Hird Gone!

Having Lin Jong's ancestry explained every time he gets the ball is getting tiresome.

Not sure if you were aware but did you know that Mike Pyke is Canadian and used to play rugby? Apparently he even scored a try in the Rugby World Cup!

[Greystache]

Re: Hird Gone!

Not sure if you were aware but did you know that Mike Pyke is Canadian and used to play rugby? Apparently he even scored a try in the Rugby World Cup!

Or that Jake Melksham had a couple of amateur junior boxing fights? Apparently he went ok too!

Never mind that he's a shithouse footballer which is his ACTUAL occupation and the reason we're watching him.

[1eyedog]

Re: Hird Gone!

Add to that I think we're all brutually aware that Pendlebury was an ok junior baskatballer and had to make an important decision whether it was going to be football or Basketball. I can just hear Bruce saying 'I think he made the right call don't you Duck'?

[Twodogs]

Re: Hird Gone!

Not sure if you were aware but did you know that Mike Pyke is Canadian and used to play rugby? Apparently he even scored a try in the Rugby World Cup!

I learnt on 774 last week that Holmes guy from St Kilda is only the third American born AFL footballer after Sanford Wheeler and Mike Pyke. I reckon that has started life as a practical joke and somehow went to air.

[SonofScray]

Re: Hird Gone!

Every sport looks after their own, the AFL is no different. Cycling and soccer are far worse, MLB is no better. The NFL seems to be one of the few sports that tries to take responsibility seriously and they're not even very good at it. The problem is the AFL seems to think all of their supporters are ignorant fools, which means they cater everything around that demographic.

If I could change one thing about the AFL it would be to get rid of the sycophantic and largely irrelevant ex-player network both in the coverage and in the media. Almost none of them have anything insightful to say (people like David King is an exception) most of them just tow the popular view at the time, and all of them are clearly in it for the easy cash with no expectation to add any value. How people like Garry Lyon, Tim Watson, or Matthew Lloyd can continue to be a considered a source of credibility for analysing the game is just laughable.

The sport could flourish by actually having some insightful analysis and commentary available to the general public rather than the clowns we get shoved down our throat every year. Being a well known player doesn't make them suitable for the media, Jonathon Brown trying to analyse a game is exhibit A. The only saving grace is the AFL looks like the bastion of professionalism compared to their compatriots in the NRL.

Great post, agree 100%. Exacerbates the loss of a guy like Clinton Gyrbas, the media needs more actual journalists and analysts, less ex-players.

[Throughandthrough]

Re: Hird Gone!

Not sure if you were aware but did you know that Mike Pyke is Canadian and used to play rugby? Apparently he even scored a try in the Rugby World Cup!

Only recently I found out that Johns last name wasn't Plattenwithcourage

[Webby]

Re: Hird Gone!

Great post, agree 100%. Exacerbates the loss of a guy like Clinton Gyrbas, the media needs more actual journalists and analysts, less ex-players.

Amen. And less sycophants like Robbo.

[Remi Moses]

Re: Hird Gone!

Every sport looks after their own, the AFL is no different. Cycling and soccer are far worse, MLB is no better. The NFL seems to be one of the few sports that tries to take responsibility seriously and they're not even very good at it. The problem is the AFL seems to think all of their supporters are ignorant fools, which means they cater everything around that demographic.

If I could change one thing about the AFL it would be to get rid of the sycophantic and largely irrelevant ex-player network both in the coverage and in the media. Almost none of them have anything insightful to say (people like David King is an exception) most of them just tow the popular view at the time, and all of them are clearly in it for the easy cash with no expectation to add any value. How people like Garry Lyon, Tim Watson, or Matthew Lloyd can continue to be a considered a source of credibility for analysing the game is just laughable.

The sport could flourish by actually having some insightful analysis and commentary available to the general public rather than the clowns we get shoved down our throat every year. Being a well known player doesn't make them suitable for the media, Jonathon Brown trying to analyse a game is exhibit A. The only saving grace is the AFL looks like the bastion of professionalism compared to their compatriots in the NRL.

Very good post.I always think of what Ed Wyatt said a while ago ( ex pat American sportscaster) couldn't get over the fact we have pictures of our media plastered all over walls at Etihad, making them out to be bigger than the actual game.
The Footy and the cricket are worse than other sports in this country for their sycophantic, blokey, gushing style .
Just look at the blokey love for top bloke "Hodgey" and Mark Robinson's unabashed love in with James Hird .