This is a genuine question: Does anyone here support AFL or follow it?
I'd love to get your opinion on the contrast between the coverage of both codes.
I'll admit I know nothing about AFL.
I'm an NRL man, born and bred, and I also no longer give a **** about who wins or loses Origin these days. IMO, it's a pantomime and a blight on the competition. While I'm glad whenever a Broncos player makes either side I hope they don't get injured and derail our chances for the season... and make no mistake the Broncos are in with a real shot at winning the competition this year.
Tuning into Nine's coverage of the Eels-Warriors game the other night and I was immediately annoyed. They're still talking about the Origin game. Despite the fact we had a post-game wrap-up on Wednesday night, we also had The Footy Show and whatever god awful show is on the League Pay TV channel.
Forgive me for wanting to hear about the NRL before an actual NRL match...not fucking Origin.
I'm channeling Doctor Ian Malcolm..."Yes you do plan to have dinosaurs on your dinosaur tour..hello..is this thing on?"
How the NRL can say with a straight face this is a legitimate competition and that "the integrity of the game has never been stronger" is an out and out joke. I guess that statement only applies to match fixing allegations and drug scandals.
Anyone interested solely in the NRL is shit outta luck for the next few weeks.
Anyways, bringing it back to AFL, I was instantly bored with Joey Johns and Gould wanking themselves over NSW and flicked it over to the Adelaide-Geelong game.
Utterly amazing. So much positivity. They interview coaches on the field against a backdrop of a healthy crowd building up, the game is well underway compared to when I cut back to Nine and I see empty seats and the Warriors still in the sheds warming up...also in the southern code I hope some of you will be happy to know ...no checking in with Joel Caine from fucking Sportsbet!!!
Are there any AFL fans here that are more knowledgeable than me? What's your take on the current state of the two codes? Purely on the surface it seems one game is growing every week and the other one is wilting.
I know Rugby League is quite content to whore itself out for the highest price but it was so rare to see the difference in a game I love and a game I'm supposed to hate.
I played first grade AFL for the mighty Kedron Redleggers back in the 80s. was an awesome game to play and suited my skill set. I ,like most Queenslanders came from a League/Union background. to be honest after I retired I lost touch with the AFL and started to follow the league more, as I had moved to Sydney and wanted a link back home I guess,which was The Broncos.
Just this year I have been reintroduced to the AFL Via my daughter, and have ended up for one reason or another being the coach of the under 12 youth girls team. One thing I will say after spending some time with players who are absolutely new to the game, is that you can be a successful player at a relatively low skill level,as such, AFL is very accessible.
the other thing that is obvious is that the AFL is run very Professionally in regard to coach and player and Umpire development.
Everything is recorded measured, discussed and acted upon.
Example. I've had to attend 3 coaching seminars, plus extensive online testing just to be accredited, as opposed to soccer, which I coached last year, which was turn up, wear this lanyard, thats it.
In short ,the AFL seems to be run by an army of middle managers who all want to develop systems to improve the game.
they are passionate about the expansion and development of the game, and its hard not to be caught up in their enthusiasm.