The Bulldogs will consider the way they move the ball as fears grow Queensland will deliver a damp and dull finals series
There are serious fears growing that Queensland will deliver a damp and dull finals series, a clubs train with soap and the Bulldogs’ brilliant brigade of handballers told to tweak their game.
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Fears that the Queensland-based finals series – and Grand Final at the Gabba – will deliver damp and dull matches due to the state’s dewy evenings are growing.
West Coast coach Adam Simpson put it bluntly after his club’s seventh game under lights in the Sunshine State this season.
“You’re not going to see pretty footy – it doesn’t matter who you are,” he said.
“The game is different (at night in Queensland).”
Six of the eight finalists are likely to play their home finals in Queensland and eight of the nine finals are likely to be played under lights with yellow Sherrins, which Max Gawn said are harder to mark.
The AFL has encouraged coaches to orchestrate slick, fast and free-flowing games in recent seasons to deliver sexy spectacles.
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But Queensland’s slippery conditions could dry up the goals when it matters most.
Western Bulldogs’ brilliant brigade of handballers have been told to ease up on their artistry to help combat the greasy conditions.
The Bulldogs will dunk their Sherrins in soapy water at Saturday’s captain’s run in Cairns as they prepare for Sunday night’s must-win battle against Fremantle.
West Coast has taken eskies of soapy water to every training session in its hub while Collingwood lubricated its footballs with a mixture of baby oil and water on Friday to help players adapt to Queensland’s evening dew.
Similarly, Australia’s ODI team trained under lights using wet cricket balls in Mumbai this year.
Dogs coach Luke Beveridge said sweat and sunscreen dripping on to the Sherrin also made games greasy.
“Ball handling will be an important part of the game,” he said.
“It’s not necessarily a tweak to your gameplan, it’s just an instinct and an understanding that when you’re out you should kick it.
“It’s just whether your players can process it. Whether or not they give that extra handball, which will probably still happen here and there.
“But ultimately when you’re out and you can see forwards, or you need to take some territory, then by and large the best recipe is probably to get it on and either win the next contest and play the turnover-turnover game, or pay the consequences of getting shutdown right where you are.
“It won’t be a gameplan leap it’ll just be an instinctive discussion.”
Led by Tom Liberatore, Jack Macrae, Josh Dunkley and Lachie Hunter the Bulldogs are arguably the AFL’s best team at flicking the ball around until they break into space, which was the secret ingredient in their 2016 premiership.
Liberatore is the AFL’s handball magician and is averaging a career-best 11.9 groundball gets and six score involvements this year when his numbers are extrapolated to normal game time.
The Bulldogs have the AFL’s lowest kick-to-handball ratio, meaning they use the ball by hand a lot, and play a low-mark gamestyle where they look to zip the ball around at breakneck speed.
The Eagles are 3-4 under lights in Queensland this year and Simpson admitted his team had struggled to adapt.
“Everyone who wants to try and control the ball in wet conditions it just takes half a second longer to adapt and to take the ball clean,” Simpson said.
“But you can still do it – it depends how much pressure the team puts on as well.
“We’re not dismissing the way we play, we just need to adjust a couple of things as we go.”
The Grand Final will be staged under lights at the Gabba on October 24 and Simpson warned: “You’re not going to see pretty footy – it doesn’t matter who you are”.
Kangaroos players told coach Rhyce Shaw that Metricon Stadium was soaked by the final quarter of Thursday night’s game even though there was barely a cloud in the Gold Coast sky.
“We started the game thinking we’d have a go at using the whole ground and trying to play our way, but learnt real quick,” Simpson said.
“We thought we overused the ball a little bit. But that’s just the way night games here are going to be.
“People say, ‘Well, if you haven’t learnt by now’ – but sometimes it’s dry at night.”
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick was mocked when he lashed out at the MCG’s “dew formula” after the 5.6 (36) apiece draw against Collingwood in Round 2, and yet four months on the topic hasn’t washed away.
AFL football operations boss Steve Hocking was unfazed by Brisbane rolling Collingwood 42-34 this month, despite kicking one goal in three quarters.
The Friday night clash at the Gabba was loaded with dropped marks because the Sherrins quickly became soaked.
But Hocking dismissed concerns by pointing to the TV ratings – it was the highest-rating match in Brisbane for the year, and the Lions’ largest home-and-away audience since 2011.
AFL boss Gillon McLachlan asked his resident Queensland experts about the dew before locking in the Gabba to host the Grand Final, which will start 40 minutes earlier than the Eagles-North game.
McLachlan was pragmatically hopeful the dew would dry up long before October 24.
“I’ve rung a couple of people and they reckon it’ll be fine,” he said.
“You can’t plan everything … and if there’s dew there’ll be some dew.”
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AFL GRAND FINAL TICKETS: MASSIVE WIN FOR QLD FANS
- Lauren Wood
It looms as the people’s Grand Final.
More than 50 per cent of total tickets to this year’s Queensland decider on October 24 will be allocated to members from competing teams in a month of finals football that league boss Gillon McLachlan said will be a “series like no other”.
Ticket prices to all finals have also been frozen at 2019 prices.
While the capacity to the Gabba Grand Final will be restricted due to COVID-19 crowd rules, 54 per cent of available tickets will be on offer to competing club members, a total of 16,200 of the 30,000 available – split evenly between both teams – with those unsold from club member allocations then on sale to the general public.
In comparison, a traditional MCG Grand Final typically affords some 34 per cent of tickets to competing club members.
“The Queensland community has wholeheartedly welcomed the AFL family over the last few months,” McLachlan said.
“We look forward to getting as many Queenslanders to the biggest and best event on the Australian sporting calendar.”
AFL members and finals series ticket holders will be allocated 15 per cent of tickets to the first-ever night decider, with 16 per cent to premium hospitality packages and 15 per cent to AFL stakeholders, corporate and broadcast partners.
In line with COVID-19 restrictions, corporate and hospitality events will be restricted in capacity and social distancing must be observed.
Of the current top eight teams, official AFL member numbers indicate that more than 36,000 members of top eight clubs are based in Queensland.
All except for Brisbane – which has 24,672 members in the sunshine state – would fall well within the more than 8,000 tickets that would be available to competing club members, meaning access to club members could be better than ever before.
South Australian members could also travel freely to Queensland for the finals, while Western Australian members could enter Queensland without quarantine but would have to complete a 14-day quarantine upon their return to WA.
Ticket numbers could yet be adjusted should Queensland health authorities elect to alter the crowd allowance.
Optus Stadium could host a match in the opening weekend of the finals series should West Coast qualify for a home final, while Adelaide Oval also looms as a venue in the opening weeks with Port Adelaide currently sitting atop the AFL ladder.
Entry level tickets to weeks one and two of the finals series will remain at $35, while the cheapest reserved seat ticket to the Grand Final stays at $185.
McLachlan said prices remaining firm was a move to honour the commitment by fans in a trying year.
“It has been a challenging year for everyone, so now, more than ever, our commitment remains to keep finals footy prices as an affordable option and thanking the members and fans who have stuck by their club’s this season,” he said.
“It will be a final series like no other, but our venues in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia are ready to host the biggest games of the season, and most importantly in a COVID-safe environment for all.
“Regardless of how many fans can attend matches in each state I know the atmosphere will be electric and the roar of the crowd will be as loud as ever.”
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Originally published as The Bulldogs will consider the way they move the ball as fears grow Queensland will deliver a damp and dull finals series