AFL's annual free kick to the NRL

[Rik E Boy]

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the must **** week of the whole season, the 'no football' weekend that precedes the opening round of the competition. It never used to be like this my friends, the Fosters/Ansett whatever cup used to be played with the same rules as the real stuff and the comp would kick off at the conclusion of the pre-season series. Now we have a week off at a time when the NRL is moving into the second round of its premiership.

In the Northern states this is a disaster for football as any fans who might be wavering get to watch not one but two full rounds of the dominant code before AFL Football belatedly steps into the spotlight...er...that's if you have FOX btw. A gloriously inept move by the current Victoriancentric administration of our 'national' (ho ho) code..if anything we should be kicking off first and trying to win over a few converts with real football and not whatever it was that we have been half-heartedly been watching on occasion in recent weeks. Who would be won over by that???

In the meantime, in the football world just how have we been spending this 'valuable' week of glorious **** all?

BRISBANE's Daniel Bradshaw is the latest casualty to be cut down before the battle begins. He'll miss the season in a frankly spooky repetition of the struggling club loses key forward routine as pioneered by the Roos.

CARLTON have snaffled the Collingwood CEO but this news was reported on Seven so Eddie didn't hear about out until he knocked on the CEO's door and found an empty office with boxes of carp everywhere. Too many hats Mr McGuire??

Meanwhile in THE WEST the premier team in the land has been pooing on the brand name from a great height due to their illicit drug taking activities..the West Coast Eagles..they're flying high....

So while the NRL have their season up and running the AFL are presenting a united face of farce, with season ending injuries to key northern outpost teams (What next, Bazza to go down???), The usual Melbournian corporate chicanery and the mysterious disappearance of all of the boundary lines at Subiaco Oval because the Eagles players have snorted them all at training.

Could we please pi55 off the NAB and play a 30 round comp FFS??? We play praccies and inters anyway.

regards,

REB

[Mr66]

Nup, watching a weekend of Rugby League only whettens my appetite for footy.
Can't see a 30 round comp. either.
TOO much footy can be a bad thing, it will shorten players careers considerably
and if I finished on top after 30 rounds I would want to be crowned Premiers and not have
to play finals.
White lines, Subiaco, GOLD though

[Rik E Boy]

Yeah that's OK for SA fans (that's if I've got the right Albert Park here) but what about those who could be won over in NSW in Qld? This is where the battle must be fought and won. I agree with you about the NRL, it's like drinking weak cordial..something's missing but up North NRL is the dominant code and the AFL is sitting on it's hands at this time of year.

As for 30 games shortening careers I'm not so sure about that. Most clubs will play two internal trials and four pre-season games so it would be two extra games..big deal. It would be two less weeks busting their chops during pre-season training.

regards,

REB

[Strawb]

REB this season of AFL has made me lose alot of interest in the game. I still love my aussie rules but i would rather watch the NRL over the AFL. Nothing beats a good old tackle some big hard hits stuff that you will very rarely see in the AFL nowdays.

[Rik E Boy]

REB this season of AFL has made me lose alot of interest in the game. I still love my aussie rules but i would rather watch the NRL over the AFL. Nothing beats a good old tackle some big hard hits stuff that you will very rarely see in the AFL nowdays.

Strawb's response is exactly what I was talking about Dickedy Dix BTW, 'this season' of AFL hasn't started and therin lies the problem. The NAB game isn't football and as such does not retain existing or 'true' football supporters and is not televised up North so why bother with the shit?? Show the game in it's purest form and the fans will come. Seven have gone all chicken5hit just as Nine has done before them. Grow some balls and take on league with your superior product, after all, if the salesman doesn't believe it, neither will the customers.

Thank you linesmen, thank you ballboys.

regards,

REB

[Strawb]

REB this season of AFL has made me lose alot of interest in the game. I still love my aussie rules but i would rather watch the NRL over the AFL. Nothing beats a good old tackle some big hard hits stuff that you will very rarely see in the AFL nowdays.

Strawb's response is exactly what I was talking about Dickedy Dix BTW, 'this season' of AFL hasn't started and therin lies the problem. The NAB game isn't football and as such does not retain existing or 'true' football supporters and is not televised up North so why bother with the shit?? Show the game in it's purest form and the fans will come. Seven have gone all chicken5hit just as Nine has done before them. Grow some balls and take on league with your superior product, after all, if the salesman doesn't believe it, neither will the customers.

Thank you linesmen, thank you ballboys.

regards,

REB

REB i went and saw the storm play the tigers last weekend and it was an alright game of league. The problem down here is that good old channel Eddie decided to show a movie last night instead of live rugby league down here which annoyed me as a league fan. I did tape the two matches and intend on watching them on Sunday. Also channel Eddie isn't televising Sunday's game live into Melbourne either. What i want to see is 7 showing AFL Live on Friday night and 9 Showing league live on Friday night. It's time for Friday night football on both channel and lets see what we would all watch.

[Rik E Boy]

What i want to see is 7 showing AFL Live on Friday night and 9 Showing league live on Friday night. It's time for Friday night football on both channel and lets see what we would all watch.

Amen brother. Show your movie on the Sunday night and let us decide what games we wish to watch. Market research in action. I don't like this kind of decision made for me beforehand when you consider that us 'Mexicans' are starting to outnumber native Queenslanders up here LOL.

regards,

REB

[Strawb]

its like the Maltese and Poms in Malta More Poms in Malta than Maltese

[Snaggletooth Tiger]

I gotta admit, even though I do love my League... GO EELS!!!
The AFL in their defence tackle issues like drug abuse etc. more fervently & justifiably so!
So the 'Dickhead Element' gets nipped in the bud quick smart!
Eh Willy Mason?
Wendell Sailor?...
(I know he's now Rugby but guaranteed he started his evil ways whilst playing for the Brisbane Broncos!)

[Squawk]

I'm with you REB.

We have a home and away season that doen't even have an equal number of home and away games (ie every team playing each other twice, home and away). The only reason they have it is for the sponsorship $$$ but surely they would make this up in extra tv rights for premiership points matches? Now they've gone and re-named the NAB rising star award the Ron Evans Medal so they are obviously not considering canning the NAB cup - hell, there's more important things to think about like a reserves comp for the eastern states.

[Leaping Lindner]

Well said REB. Also Good Friday football is another free kick the AFL give the NRL every year.

[Dutchy]

I think the 30 game season would be great however wouldnt teams still want to play trials before Rnd 1? also the only wa the AFLPA would agree to it would be more $$$ and reduction of time in games (i.e. 15 min 1/4's)...a 30 game season on current times would kill to many careers if you are over 30