Sub rule revolt

[Twodogs]

The Herald Sun is reporting that Jobe Watson wanted to protest the new sub rule with an impromtu sit down protest as the ball was being bounced on sunday




ESSENDON captain Jobe Watson pushed for an on-field player protest at Etihad Stadium on Sunday to publicly record his frustration about the AFL's contentious substitute rule.

Watson canvassed a player sit-down at the first bounce of the match against the Western Bulldogs.

He put the proposition to Bulldogs skipper Matthew Boyd, who declined to get involved. The match started without incident.

From;

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/essendon-captain-jobe-watson-pushed-for-revolt-on-subs/story-e6frf9jf-1226030375063


Personallly I'm happy that Matty said no. There's a forum for players to make their point and they have an association that acts for them.

One other thing-shouldnt the captain of an AFL club be giving the game that is about to start his full attention and not worrying about something completely irrelevent to the days events? It's not as the AFL were going to abandon the rule there and then.

[bornadog]

The sub rule is another knee jerk reaction by the AFL and I can understand the players being annoyed at not being consulted. I guess Watson felt that no one was listening so thought of strike action.

By the end of the year this change will have a significant effect on the game we love and the AFL will change again, but I fear for the worse.

[DOG GOD]

What fear is that Bornadog?

[Cyberdoggie]

One other thing-shouldnt the captain of an AFL club be giving the game that is about to start his full attention and not worrying about something completely irrelevent to the days events?.

True but it didn't seem to deter him from his performance on the day though.
Maybe it was designed to throw Boyd off, and make him lose his focus?

[jazzadogs]

What fear is that Bornadog?
Probably the extremely rational fear that all the best endurance athletes in our game are going to suffer serious soft-tissue injuries as this season progresses.

Players like Dane Swan, who can run and run and run due to his aerobic capacity, will be pushing this aerobic capacity even further (6% increase in game time on the weekend, might not sound like much but it is), and will try to push through pain. His muscles won't be able to keep up, then snap, there goes his hamstring.

[bornadog]

What fear is that Bornadog?

Fear of another change, two subs and two on bench or three subs or any **** ing thing the AFL want to do to change this game

[Sockeye Salmon]

Probably the extremely rational fear that all the best endurance athletes in our game are going to suffer serious soft-tissue injuries as this season progresses.

Players like Dane Swan, who can run and run and run due to his aerobic capacity, will be pushing this aerobic capacity even further (6% increase in game time on the weekend, might not sound like much but it is), and will try to push through pain. His muscles won't be able to keep up, then snap, there goes his hamstring.

Then the coach should reduce his on-field role to prevent that happening. Say, rest him in the forward pocket and tell him not to flood back into D50 every time the other mob get the ball.

[Mantis]

Then the coach should reduce his on-field role to prevent that happening. Say, rest him in the forward pocket and tell him not to flood back into D50 every time the other mob get the ball.

He did on the weekend and was successful in this FP role.

Even though Swan's TOG increased I would doubt that his time in the midfield would have too.

[jazzadogs]

He did on the weekend and was successful in this FP role.

Even though Swan's TOG increased I would doubt that his time in the midfield would have too.
Swan might not have been the best example, but I still believe that there will be an inevitable rise in soft-tissue injuries this year. They might move players to the FP or similar, but if they are cramping/fatigued/tight by this stage (which is far more likely given the substitute rule), any sprint or burst is more likely to cause an injury.

Any increase in playing time, no matter the position on the ground, will lead to increased fatigue as opposed to sitting on the bench. The media analysis of every move players make means that players feel more pressure to go 100% at all times, so even a rest in the forward line could lead to injury.

I do understand the point that you and SS are trying to make, and I don't think every player will be injured, but I think there will be a rise due to attempts to push through their muscle pain because they think they're aerobically up to it.

[Remi Moses]

What annoys the bejesus out of me is that if you make a sub and get an injury you're disadvantaged.Let's be honest the breakneck speed and physical clashes make it highly probable you'll get injuries.Has the sub stopped the interchange frenzy? No

[Flamethrower]

This rule will only work if multiple substitutes are available, so that no matter how many injuries a team gets (eg Brisbane had 4 serious injuries last week) they can all be replaced so that the status quo of 3 on the bench is maintained.

When the number of fit players on a limited bench is reduced even further, the advantage to the other team increases exponentially. Malthouse made this point on "On The Couch" Monday night, and it flew straight over the head of Gerard Healy.

My solution is that all 25 players in the squad are available each week. 18 on the ground, 3 interchange, 1 unrestricted sub, and 3 restricted subs who can only replace injured players once the unrestricted sub has been used - the injured player must miss the following game to prevent manipulation of the rule.

[Dazza]

The sub rule might make playing the zone unsustainable for 22 rounds + finals which is a good thing IMO. Don't mind the sub rule to be honest. If the players can't handle the workload it's time for a new gameplan. I just hope it doesn't involve extreme flooding.

[LostDoggy]

True but it didn't seem to deter him from his performance on the day though.
Maybe it was designed to throw Boyd off, and make him lose his focus?

Apparently it worked :rolleyes: :)

.

[soupman]

My solution is that all 25 players in the squad are available each week. 18 on the ground, 3 interchange, 1 unrestricted sub, and 3 restricted subs who can only replace injured players once the unrestricted sub has been used - the injured player must miss the following game to prevent manipulation of the rule.

Too open to manipulation, and what happens when instances like Selwood happen, where the player clearly isn't fit to play out the game but plays the following week?

Also, under that scenario that is too restrictive on those players game time. Instead of having one player who is likely to lose match fitness, you can have 4, with possibly 3 of them not playing a game at all (keep in mind some VFL games are played before the aligned clubs game, therefore meaning that if you save a player for the injury substitute role, and he doesn't play, he misses out altogether).

My suggestion would be to have 3 on the bench and 2 subs. This means the only time a side is severely disadvntaged through injury is when they have 3 injuries, it slows the game down but not as much as it does currently, and it doesn't kill off players like Minson. You could potentially carry that extra tall if you had an extra sub. It also means sides don't have to live in fear of subbing someone on at half time to change up the match, only to have an injury strike minutes later.

This way we could have tried to get Sherman in the game earlier for example, and then the second sub could be made later with say a Wallis coming on. The biggest issue with this is the necessary restructuring of the salary cap due to MPP, but that shouldn't be too hard.

[strebla]

I don't agree with the sub rule and what I can't get my head around is the new concussion rule (I do like it in theory) .My problem is if you have used your sub for tactical reasons and then you lose a player due to concussion the player subed off should surely be allowed to be re-activated so as not to deter clubs from trying to play concussed players.It would be hard to police but it is in the best interest of the game, players and the AFL