Comments on: AFL, its time for a Marquee Game

By: aussierulesblog

aussierulesblog — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:28:33 +0000

My personal email signature: “Computers have many weighs two help us wright, butt spell cheque Cannes only dew sew much — it does knot replace human proof reeding.”
.-= aussierulesblog´s last blog ..Please explain! =-.

By: Jermayn

Jermayn — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:45:26 +0000

Yeah have to agree with Aussie & Michael S that the Grand Final will always be the marguee game and I echo that last years flop will see that the SoO games will remain dead.

and sorry about the homophones, that is most likely mainly my fault. Hopefully one day we could have a spell checker but at the moment its just me Please try and bear with us AussieRulesBlog…

By: aussierulesblog

aussierulesblog — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:05:32 +0000

Very easy in NRL — only two states. Very easy in NFL — two conferences make up two teams for the Pro Bowl. It’s a lot tougher for AFL with unequal numbers of States, unequal State populations and therefore confected “allies” teams to battle the Vics. The national competition has removed the “theft” of the best SANFL and WAFL players to play in the VFL, so there’s not much reason, or passion, for SoO. The last effort was a giant yawn — I was there and you could’ve heard a pin drop. Michael S has hit the nail on the head: The Grand Final is our marquee game.

While I’m here, can we do something about the general misuse of homophones on the site? (homophones = words that sound alike, but are spelled differently)

here – where we are now.
hear – what you do with your ears.

where – in general, a place; Where are we?
were – (sounds like ‘whir’), past tense of are; We were winning.
were – (sounds like ‘where’), part animal; He’s a werewolf.
wear – (also sounds like ‘where’), what you do with clothes.
we’re – (also sounds like ‘where’), short for ‘we are’; We’re blogging about aussie rules.

there – about place; He’s over there.
their – about possession; It’s their ball.
they’re – short for ‘they are’; They’re a skillful side.

lose – relinquish possession; He’ll lose that ball.
loose – not tight.

your – about possession; It’s your ball.
you’re – short for ‘you are’; You’re the man.

could’ve, should’ve, would’ve – short for ‘could/should/would have’; I could’ve kicked that goal. Definitely NOT ‘could of’.

Sorry to be a pedantic pain in the arse, but good language helps avoid misunderstanding.
.-= aussierulesblog´s last blog ..Please explain! =-.

By: deano

deano — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:57:59 +0000

i said this last time this debate came up and i will say it again. i would love to see an all star game where the fans get to vote for the matchups they would like to see. imagine Judd V Ablett, Scarlett V Franklin, Cox V McIntosh etc, coaches to be instructed that there is no tagging, no flooding just a fast flowing and skillful game. This is the only way we would see the very best game possible of AFL football. Players would not play for a jumper but for their reputations.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:24:02 +0000

SunCity_Royal has officially changed his name to Mike…lol

By: SunCity_Royal

SunCity_Royal — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:59:09 +0000

i know there are definately arguments and flaws with a state of origin type game, and they are all very good points.
and unless the passion is there it will be no more than a pathetic excuse for a game, just like the all star game was.
does anyone remember the good old days when the international rules got fiery and there were fights everywhere? thats the kind of passion that these players would need to have to make it interesting. but the afl is too worried about losing players to the games and possibly lose interest by the fans to the regular season.
but note this. the average attendance to a regular season game in the nrl is around 12000 a week depending on the clashes. when state of origin comes around the average attendance for the three games is massive in comparison. because supporters from rival clubs unite in hatred of their rival state. so the interest increases tenfold.
if they made a game (with a notable reward for winning) and drum into the players the importance of being proud of your origins then we could see players like fevola, minson, brown, judd, kerr in all their fiery glory.

i would go see any of these matches if that passion was there. justy the thought of seeing the games best at each others throats excites me to a point of unbelief.

but is it too late too revive this series? should the afl just focus on making regular season games more anticipated.
or should we bring it back, and cheer on our state and sneer at the opposition? i say yes. it would bring a flair and a fire back to our game, and make it more attractive to the rival codes fans

By: Jermayn

Jermayn — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:43:33 +0000

If you hold a game at the end of the year, you have the whole “Surgery for next season” argument, which is what the International Rules game suffered from.

By: Geaghs

Geaghs — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:39:18 +0000

Thanks for the support on the “proposal” guys. It is good to hear some positive feedback other then the drunken criticism I received when I first brought it up with my mates.

The only reason the passion is lacking is because the AFL (or the state federations, on that note, who was in charge back in the 70′s & 80′s before the AFL became what it is now??) let it turn into a farce previously. In Rugby League the players have to be available to play rep footy unless the have reached a certain age (i.e. they have retired from rep footy) or they get special permission from the NRL. Therefore the best players have always played and the interest has never waned. The AFL should have enforced the same policy back in the day and people would still be keen for it now.

Honestly I think it is probably to late to bring it back now with the attitudes of the clubs about their “investments” but you may able to hold an All-Star game or something similar at then end of the season but all this would be is a spectacle for the fans and not much more.

By: Michael S.

Michael S. — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:19:52 +0000

State of Origin had become a farce by the time they wound it up – and I can’t see how it would not go the same way if it were revived.

The Marquee AFL game is the Grand Final. It’s a game that every year brings four of the state capitals to a halt, drawing in many people who don’t watch the game otherwise.

By: Jermayn

Jermayn — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:13:35 +0000

Geaghs idea had merrits but like what SunCity says, you have to get the players excited.

State of Origin was exciting for the players in the 70s and 80s (see history for more info and results) but the players that where in premiership seeking teams started to use the time as a holiday. Then when Malthouse became coach of the WA side, it went down hill with him not playing several key Eagles players in fear of injury.

I remember an interview from Dermie and he echoed the thoughts that he and several other Hawks/ Ess/ Carlton players all pulled out of State in the 80s while other players who played for ‘lower’ clubs (St Kilda, Geelong etc) played instead. Why? Because the premiership was the highest honour!!

Change what the highest honour is and then you ‘may’ get a good game of the best playing the best. This needs to happen to the fans as well…. As personally I would rather the West Coast Eagles win a premiership than WA win State of Origin.