The characters and skills are fading from the AFL as more fans become disengaged

The AFL’s handling of fan behaviour and its double standards on the Jaidyn Stephenson betting issue are just two examples in the past week of how the league is failing, says Chris McDermott.

The game of Australian football that we’ve all loved is not the sport it once was — especially where the AFL is concerned. It never will be.

The question is, can we live with it, accept it and love it just the same?

Many do, but an increasing number can’t.

The 2019 season has been a classic example of how different the game is now, on and off the field.

In the first three rounds of the AFL’s 1991 season there were 17 scores over 100 points in 18 games.

In the first 18 games of this season, there were just eight.

Players may be bigger, better, faster and stronger but they have forgotten how to score.

Norwood’s Garry McIntosh grabs possession in front of teammate Lachlan Bowman and Central District opponent Scott Lee in a 1996 SANFL clash.

The old saying, “they can kick 20 goals but we’ll kick 21 ‘” has been replaced by “we’ll hold you to 10 goals and we’ll kick 11”.

Attack-first has become defence-first, and it’s not pretty.

THEN, handballing was an art form. Garry McIntosh and Greg Williams were masters of the craft, with their 30m, accurate bullets.

NOW a handball rarely travels further than 5m and is seldom creative. The art has almost become irrelevant.

THEN, not so long ago, there was more than just one type of kick.

Sav Rocca dropped an occasional barrel. So did Michael Taylor before him. Keith Kuhlmann before him and, of course, Malcolm Blight.

Former Glenelg and Hawthorn star Tony Symonds used a drop kick in the 1985 SANFL grand final. Hawks goalkicking great Peter Hudson favoured a flat punt.

NOW it’s different, though the kicks aren’t. Sure, the dribble has become more popular but it’s nothing overly new.

Warwick Capper’s election campaign launch at Boonah in Queensland in 2009.

THEN there were the characters.

Personalities like BT (Brian Taylor), Micky McGuane, Doug Hawkins, Paul Roos and, yes, Warwick (Capper) and Jacko (Mark Jackson), just to name a few.

NOW there is no room for them.

THEN players from both sides would go to “war” for 120 minutes.

It was no-holds-barred and no- quarter-given but hands were shaken after the game- just once — then it was off to the after-match for a beer and a laugh.

NOW there’s no beer and the laugh is on the ground for all to see.

THEN you could have a conversation with an umpire. Sometimes it would be a colourful one — but with no grudges held.

NOW, players can only do that in their dreams.

THEN you could go out on a Saturday night after the game and pull up a little rusty on Sunday morning for training.

NOW it’s rehydrate, rub-downs, recovery and rehab.

There are some things to which the game will never return.

THEN the crowd barracked long and hard but trouble was rare. The game was too exciting to look away.

NOW times have changed. Crowds are bored in ever-increasing numbers. Community standards have changed — and for the better — but it is easy to overreact, as we have seen this week.

It was only a few years ago that fan engagement was the buzz word. Now patrons can pay a heavy price for barracking.

Those once engaged have been disengaged. Some for life. They want to cheer and support their team as passionately as they can. A few may overstep the mark but that happens in every part of life. No-one is perfect. Deal with those who do the wrong thing and move on.

Football is the people’s game. That must never change.

It cannot become a game for the corporates, the top end of town.

Hypocrisy is everywhere.

Jaidyn Stephenson of the Magpies after being banned for 10 matches for betting on Collingwood games. Picture: AAP Image/Julian Smith

Gambling is frowned upon — as Collingwood’s Jaidyn Stephenson has just discovered — yet BetEasy is an official partner of the AFL.

The playing field is different for substance abuse — the AFL wraps its arms around a player and protects them with all its might. We get it, but one act is legal, one is not!

Representative football has been killed off. The AFL has sacrificed State of Origin for AFLX, AFL9s or AFL10s or whatever version of the game they can fit on a small ground in another part of the world.

I am biased but also disappointed — for the players, primarily.

Many say the players don’t support Origin. The truth is they weren’t allowed to.

Bravo, the NRL. Its game has its problems at club level but come this time of the year, when State of Origin takes over, there is nothing better. For 38 years, I have adored this time of the year and been glued to the TV to watch King Wally, Alfy, Sterlo, Brad and Billy put it all on the line like no man should.

Is there a better series in any sport in the world?

Why couldn’t the AFL follow the NRL’s lead?

If you can’t learn from the best, how do you get better?

Arrogance is not the answer. Never has been. Never will be.

The clock is ticking for the game to get it right.

The players are well looked after — arguably too well, given the state of the game (which is the real issue).

The AFL cannot continue to hide behind the numbers. The attendances. The reach. The profile. The salaries. What about the scoreboard?

It tells a far different story. Can it be fixed?