I remember this time last year there was all this talk about the stoppages and "rolling maul". Pretty ugly look that really ruins the the game.
[snipped a bit of it]
The idea being players rotate less fatigue more and are unable to spread as readily from stoppages as they do now.
The debate flew under the radar untill recently with record number of stoppages in the Freo GWS game.
I was just wondering what others though they would like to see happen to the game, if anything at all?
I think change is inevidible and I think a combination of reducing players to say 16 and capping rotations should at least be trialled in the NAB cup.
Thoughts...
I would not muck around with reducing player numbers on field. Rather than change the game further of what we once enjoyed of more positional play I would be very happy to see a past change that brought so much of this rotation crap into the game just be ditched for good of the game. That is big change to game when we went from 2 on interchange bench to 3 and then to 4.
If it was brought back to two interchange players it would be so much better as a spectacle. If we only kept it at 2 on bench coaches cannot rotate so many players to continue the up and down the field running packs and tackling which in turn has lead to so much stoppages. They would have a tendency to not have everyone run up and down the field like they do now so some forwards would actually stay in their forward line. So often now, all your forwards have run down the field and if there is a turnover it is a race back to other end to get one of your players ahead of the play so there is someone to kick to. It is very frustrating to watch at times when at games live where you look up your forward line and no one there to kick to if you actually get it. But players run up and down the field because coaches can rotate players off when need a breather. They train to be run up and down field now.
I do not really care if it is a straight two players on bench or one of them is a sub but it would seriously make me happy to see the interchange bench no longer just a rotation system for 21 players against 21 players.
The sooner we get it back to a more genuine 18 on field v 18 it will improve as a spectacle to watch.
There is still good footy now but geez it is less of a spectacle for sure with so much rotations and stoppages in recent decade and a half.
My concern though is clowns like Malthouse kept asking for more on interchange. arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
Thank god he is no longer coaching so his say will have less influence on the future of our game.
