2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

[divvydan]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

Saw a bit of the Melbourne/Port game on replay. Thought Melbourne looked good, they may be finally getting their act together.

Hope they put a good team out against us next week, they will be good competition. With a lot of kids playing, it will tell us something about our depth. It will be great to see the likes of Williams, Lynch and Adcock for the first time as well as Libba, Boyd and others we are so keen to get a look at for 2016.

They should. Melbourne stated prior to the NAB Cup starting that they were going to put out a strong team each week. I imagine within that, fringe players will all get some sort of chance as well but the solid core of best 22 who are fit should be playing all 3 games.

[GVGjr]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

I'm really starting to despise a number of coaches and the administrators of the game.

I can't believe the AFL haven't come down on Hardwick for effectively chucking in the towel against Port.
Between that and the round 23 fiasco of teams with their finals position assured fielding substandard sides I'm wondering if clubs are also playing dead in other games like trips interstate. It's a nonsense.

Coaches should select good teams largely based on form and send them out with the view of winning every game they play.

The AFL place sanctions on players and anyone involved at the clubs for betting on games, taking illicit drugs, PED's or saying anything socially insensitive but just shrug their shoulders and endorse this sort of shenanigans around clubs putting teams on the ground with a view of intentionally providing a substandard or a contrived performance. The AFL has also had a couple of half hearted efforts with seeing to be tough on teams or coaches tanking games.

I know many fans find this as acceptable because of the perceived bigger picture considerations but I'm confident over time it will really erode the competition and the fans care factor. I can cop a loss in a game as part of the being a member of our club but I'm not sure I can easily accept us not trying to win games.

Interested in your thoughts?

[Hotdog60]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

Agreed,
I can understand if say round 23 and someone is carrying a niggle that a week of will fix it. But the mind set should be to play the best available and try and win the game.

[Bulldog Joe]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

Not sure it is really an issue in the NAB challenge. The teams are after all preparing for round 1 and everything is geared to that and trialling strategies.

More an issue in the season proper, but i do believe there are games were teams simply look to get through the game without much concern for the result.

[ratsmac]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

http://m.afl.com.au/news/2016-03-14/scans-reveal-fractured-cheekbone-for-young-lion

I hope they throw the book at Jeremy Cameron. I'm still upset that he got away with smashing JJ's shoulder to bits. I hate when players are rubbed out for the old hip and shoulder but it's for the protection of the head obviously. The rules about these types of bumps have been around for a number of years now so there is no excuse. The young Brisbane player now has a fractured cheekbone because of his negligence. He can be a very dirty player and he needs to pay this time.

6 weeks I say.

[Bornadog]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

http://m.afl.com.au/news/2016-03-14/...for-young-lion

I hope they throw the book at Jeremy Cameron. I'm still upset that he got away with smashing JJ's shoulder to bits. I hate when players are rubbed out for the old hip and shoulder but it's for the protection of the head obviously. The rules about these types of bumps have been around for a number of years now so there is no excuse. The young Brisbane player now has a fractured cheekbone because of his negligence. He can be a very dirty player and he needs to pay this time.

6 weeks I say.

If the AFL are serious about wiping out head high contact he should get no less than 4 weeks for that.

What I didn't like about the JJ one was he ran full pelt at him and it was an unnecessary bump as he got the ball away. There is a hip and shoulder but yet again, there is also rough play.

[Bornadog]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

MRP

Nakia Cockatoo (2 games)
Dale Thomas (1 game)
Dayne Zorko (1 game)


And Jeremy Cameron sent straight to the tribunal.

[Go_Dogs]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

If we reach a point where clubs stop flying a decent side over the Perth to play in round 6 because the result is essentially predetermined, then that becomes a bit of a problem, however any side that want to be competitive needs wins and percentage so I struggle to see sides who are around the mark deliberately picking a side which isn't going to be competitive when there is something on the line.

Say for example we reach the final round and can't finish anywhere but 4th and West Coast are on top and that can't change, we have a number of players who would benefit with a week off before flying to Perth - I'd be disappointed if we took over blokes like Boyd and Murph and had them break down with a soft tissue injury and potentially miss out on the entire finals series.

I get it potentially ruins that final H&A game we play, but I'd much rather see us field our best possible side, in its best possible condition for September.

[F'scary]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

I'm really starting to despise a number of coaches and the administrators of the game.

I can't believe the AFL haven't come down on Hardwick for effectively chucking in the towel against Port.
Between that and the round 23 fiasco of teams with their finals position assured fielding substandard sides I'm wondering if clubs are also playing dead in other games like trips interstate. It's a nonsense.

Coaches should select good teams largely based on form and send them out with the view of winning every game they play.

The AFL place sanctions on players and anyone involved at the clubs for betting on games, taking illicit drugs, PED's or saying anything socially insensitive but just shrug their shoulders and endorse this sort of shenanigans around clubs putting teams on the ground with a view of intentionally providing a substandard or a contrived performance. The AFL has also had a couple of half hearted efforts with seeing to be tough on teams or coaches tanking games.

I know many fans find this as acceptable because of the perceived bigger picture considerations but I'm confident over time it will really erode the competition and the fans care factor. I can cop a loss in a game as part of the being a member of our club but I'm not sure I can easily accept us not trying to win games.

Interested in your thoughts?

Agree 100%. The AFL have been hopeless, absolutely hopeless with rules and regulations. It seems they are congenitally incapable of setting the rules without creating perverse incentives. Here are some ideas that have been put forward in recent years that I think would reinvigorate the competition.

• Tanking: simple fix, adopt the NFL lottery method.
• Interstate towel throw-ins: look at fixturing in conferences (not regionally based); progression to the next level (finals) only to the best performed.
• Award a trophy and a decent $$$ prize for the minor premiers.
• An alterative to the simple NFL lottery has been put forward that also solves the 18 teams 22 rounds problem. The solution is each team plays each other once (17 games home-and-away season). The ladder is then split 3 ways (1-6, 7-12, 13-18) and each group has a 5 game post season with different rewards. 13-18 play for the top 6 draft picks, 7-12 play for the last 2 final positions and then draft picks, 1-6 play for ladder position in the final (1-4 as we know have big advantages).

The last 2 dot points in particular I find very enticing.

[Happy Days]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

Agree 100%. The AFL have been hopeless, absolutely hopeless with rules and regulations. It seems they are congenitally incapable of setting the rules without creating perverse incentives. Here are some ideas that have been put forward in recent years that I think would reinvigorate the competition.

• Tanking: simple fix, adopt the NFL lottery method.
• Interstate towel throw-ins: look at fixturing in conferences (not regionally based); progression to the next level (finals) only to the best performed.
• Award a trophy and a decent $$$ prize for the minor premiers.
• An alterative to the simple NFL lottery has been put forward that also solves the 18 teams 22 rounds problem. The solution is each team plays each other once (17 games home-and-away season). The ladder is then split 3 ways (1-6, 7-12, 13-18) and each group has a 5 game post season with different rewards. 13-18 play for the top 6 draft picks, 7-12 play for the last 2 final positions and then draft picks, 1-6 play for ladder position in the final (1-4 as we know have big advantages).

The last 2 dot points in particular I find very enticing.

The NFL doesn't have a lottery, the NBA does. The NBA has a worse tanking problem than we could ever dream of.

[F'scary]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

The NFL doesn't have a lottery, the NBA does. The NBA has a worse tanking problem than we could ever dream of.

I stand corrected on the comp but, logically, how could a lottery, in itself, promote tanking unless there were some other rules in play as well?

[F'scary]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

I stand corrected on the comp but, logically, how could a lottery, in itself, promote tanking unless there were some other rules in play as well?

Checked for myself, it is a heavily weighted lottery, which would promote tanking. I'm more for no weighting but partitioning of the table per outline in the last dot point I made above.

[Happy Days]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

I stand corrected on the comp but, logically, how could a lottery, in itself, promote tanking unless there were some other rules in play as well?

Because it's still weighted to the worst sides; the worse your record, the more balls you get in the lottery. Having the worst record pretty much guarantees a top-3 selection in the draft, usually better than that.

The Philadelphia 76ers, a godless affront to world sport, are a perfect example of tanking's existence in a lottery system.

[KT31]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

If the bottom eight all went into a lottery it would seem unnecessary to tank, it may also alleviate an issue with the teams who end up stagnant mid-table and are unable to get a crack at the top picks without selling the farm.

[soupman]

Re: 2016 NAB Challenge Discussion

Could it go the other way though? By reducing the odds of the worst club getting the best pick from a guarantee to anything else you make the odds of the second worst club getting the best pick go from no chance to a chance, and this continues up the ladder.

So theoretically a team in 12th could decide finishing 13th or 14th would give them a much better chance of getting the best or second best pick while under the current system they'll only be one or two spots higher.

As long as there is a real benefit to finishing lower tanking is a possibility, especially when there is no reward for finishing higher.