TEN THINGS I LEARNT DURING THE 2018 AFL SEASON…
1. Player contracts mean as much as the East-West Link contract.
The illustrious Victorian Premier, Dan Andrews would be proud of the way players from all clubs are essentially tearing up their contracts and requesting trades prematurely. Where are all the lawyers who could make a killing in litigation fees for breach of contract? Huge opportunity missed…
2. I’m waiting for players in Melbourne to request a trade because they don’t like the suburb they’re in.
The “go home” factor is getting ridiculous. Why anyone would recruit an interstate kid is beyond me now. Time to re-introduce zones methinks.
3. They can change as many rules as they like and make the goal square 100m long, but there will still be some shit games.
The AFL are so concerned about the bad look of games and the congestion issue that they’re now looking at introducing some radical rule changes. We know perfectly well that there’ll still be some horribly unwatchable games because some sides are simply no good. If the AFL were that concerned about the image of the game, scheduling Carlton seven times on showcase nights was clearly not the ideal option.
4. Finishing 13th on the ladder is a good thing.
The last two years has seen the team finishing 13th the previous season play off in the Grand Final the next year in Richmond and Collingwood. Could the Western Bulldogs be back there next year? Highly unlikely I know, but if they did you’ll be hearing Twilight Zone music…
5. Finishing 1st on the ladder is a bad thing.
Since 2008 only two sides who’ve finished on top have become premiers in Collingwood (2010) and Hawthorn (2013). It almost seems to have become the poisoned chalice.
6. The Gold Coast Suns was a mistake.
Another season down and several more major departures. I think it’s time the AFL offered a financial incentive for players to stay on. Instead of COLA, we can call it COPFADET – Cost of playing for a dead end team.
7. The score review system has not helped the game.
It’s not working. They get it wrong too often, and it’s obvious that the guy doing the reviews should’ve gone to Specsavers!
8. The term “rebuild” is overused and totally over-rated.
Is this just a polite way of saying we’re a crap team as a result of poor recruiting and poor management decisions so we’ll just tell our supporters that we’re going to fix it when we really have no idea if we can?
9. Grand Final entertainment still sucks.
Has Meatloaf actually done a gig since his GF debacle? And after what we saw this year, The Black-Eyed Peas might be in trouble too. I’d be very worried if I was a major band who was approached about doing this gig. Say no to GF gigs.
10. Trade period needs to be no more than 2 days long.
Two things on this point. Are we supposed to believe that the parties haven’t been talking for months before trade week? And they posture for 8 days then run around like crazed idiots in the last hour to get the deals done? Seems like BS to me. It’s time to cut the crap and get it all done in a day or two.
I’m already having withdrawals….
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