Mark Bickley: Lets stop worrying about the state of the game and accept that it is constantly changing

CONSTANT talk about the “state of the game” and making rule changes ignore the fact that Australian football is evolving and new tactics in the AFL will see the cycle continue.

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FOR every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

I was never big on physics at school, but I do remember Newton’s third law.

This is the first thing I thought of after another AFL think tank last week announced that the laws of the game will be changing at the end of this season.

There has been endless discussion in recent months about the look of the game. Congestion, Lack of scoring, no high marks, poor goal kicking, umpiring.

You name it and it’s been dissected.

For every problem there has been rule changes floated. Zones on the ground, last touch out of bounds, players starting in fixed positions, more free kicks, less free kicks.

The only thing that can be agreed upon is that there is not a simple quick fix.

Carlton’s Craig Bradley during the 1988 VFL season.

Getting back to Newton’s third law, the thing that scares me most, is when you change a rule it may help fix one problem, but inadvertently creates a new one.

Let’s look at two recent examples, the first is forceful contact below the knee. The rule was predominantly brought in after Gary Rohan suffered an horrific break to his leg from a sliding opponent.

It didn’t seem to be a huge issue in the game at the time, but the rule was changed nonetheless.

For the first time in our game the player making the ball his sole objective could be penalised for doing so. As witnessed on the Queen’s Birthday weekend blockbuster, when Taylor Adams was penalised for his desperate effort to win the ball for his team, one that had little chance of injuring his opponent.

The second is, the no third-man-up in the ruck rule. Forgetting whether it’s a good rule change or not, my point is more about the unintended consequences.

A player from each team now having to nominate who is the ruckman. This has seen some teams choose to not even contest in the ruck.

So a rule to protect ruckmen is now changing the look of the whole ruck contest.

While I know the AFL are doing their best to try and understand if there will be any adverse effects from any rule changes.

It is only after the rules are changed and the numerous coaches at each club have poured over them, devising plans to manipulate them to gain a competitive advantage, that they will be able to judge.

So, the big question for me is, does the game need our help?

Are we so sure that AFL football which has been around for 120 years needs us to change the rules to keep it relevant and entertaining?

Hawthorn’s John Platten and Essendon’s Gary O'Donnell in 1988.

My experience of over 40 years, watching and playing, is that our great game is always evolving.

We’ve seen the free-flowing Port and Brisbane teams at the turn of the century.

Then defence strengthened and we had two grand finals between Sydney and West Coast where 10 goals won you the flag. Along came Geelong with their corridor focus and handball style that saw them score freely and win premierships for a number of years, before Mick Malthouse and Collingwood developed the forward press.

This stopped the free-flowing sides and carried the Pies to a flag. But that inspired Alastair Clarkson to develop a new style that was able to kick its way through the press.

The elite kicking skills and game plan of the Hawks saw it win three in a row before the irrepressible Dogs of 2016 and the Tigers manic pressure of 2017 has set the agenda to where we find ourselves today.

The introduction of full time players and coaches around 20 years ago has seen an increase in tactics and complexity year upon year.

With the focus swinging between defence and attack, depending on which team is having success.

Have faith in the teams like Melbourne and West Coast who are presently averaging over 100 points per game, or that whatever teams have success they play a style worth imitating.

And for the nostalgists out there who pine for yesteryear when the game was at its best let’s go back 30 years to when Jason Dunstall and Dermott Brereton were stars along with Platten, Kernahan and Bradley just to name a few. What did round 12 1988 look like?

What were the talking points? Scoring, goal kicking, umpiring?

Nine of the 14 teams didn’t kick 10 goals, not one team kicked more goals than points and in the Essendon v Fitzroy match, the free kick count was 40 — 43. That’s 83 for the match!

Just in case you were wondering the tackle count in that match was 15 — 25, sounds like bruise-free footy.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

Leave it alone. The game will sort itself out.

30 YEARS AGO …

ROUND 12 1988

Richmond 1.4 4.10 9.18 15.20 (110)

Carlton 5.6 7.12 9.16 12.21 (93)

Richmond won by 17 pts

Hawthorn 2.4 5.10 7.16 10.20 (80)

Brisbane Bears 0.1 2.2 2.3 2.5 (17)

Hawthorn won by 63 pts

St Kilda 2.2 2.4 2.7 3.12 (30)

Collingwood 2.4 2.5 7.8 7.9 (51)

Collingwood won by 21 pts

Fitzroy 0.3 5.5 6.7 7.9 (51)

Essendon 4.6 4.7 4.9 4.9 (33)

Fitzroy won by 18 pts

Footscray 2.2 4.6 5.8 7.14 (56)

Geelong 1.6 1.9 2.12 3.12 (30)

Footscray won by 26 pts

North Melbourne 1.1 6.3 7.9 10.14 (74)

Melbourne 3.5 3.11 4.14 7.19 (61)

North Melbourne won by 13 pts

Sydney 1.3 6.6 10.13 14.20 (104)

West Coast 1.5 3.7 5.9 8.13 (61)

Sydney won by 43 pts

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