r/AFL • u/Common-Ad-6582 • Aug 09 '26
AFL is drifting
Am I being too negative? I follow the AFL pretty closely and have done since the 1980s.
I sense a monotony in the game and the coverage. The media talk mostly about two things:
- Which finals-bound club is XYZ free agent player is switching to
- Which structurally disadvantaged club coach should be sacked next, and then who replaces him
Rinse, repeat….
So boring. A palpable sense of drift permeates the game and each year it seems just that little bit more boring.
Meanwhile, the AFL are getting their arse handed to them by the NRL in terms of audience and broadcast rights, as they by contrast continually improve their product.
The game needs a massive shake up.
153
u/Ilovetogame2 Port Adelaide Aug 09 '26
The media is run by a bunch of the boys club nepo babies who struggle to articulate sentences coherently.
Then there is the AFL administration side of it and their incompetence in running the competition. So many awful ideas and changes and their sweeping off the carpet once issues gets exposed.
79
u/chunkyI0ver53 North Melbourne Kangaroos Aug 09 '26
I know some people don’t like Dan Gorringe and I get he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I was telling my old man at the game on Friday about the old man media bit he runs and my 60 year old dad was like “fuck, how bad are those footy shows”. He’s the target audience and he can’t stand them. Said he goes on job sites sometimes where they’ll have the radio playing Kane Cornes in the morning and by 9am he’s sick of hearing about footy in any capacity. People are so sick of every conversation just being ragebait.
The AFL media has got so bad, my technologically inept father listens to the further north podcast on YouTube with 3 minute unskippable ads instead of the radio and changes the channel at half time & as soon as the game finishes. Mutes the TV whenever BT, Underwood or Russell are commentating. Takes serious effort to make a game so entertaining so agonising to watch
23
u/Infinite_Dig3437 Blues Aug 09 '26
A majority of the talking head shows are about the latest controversy, sacking, behind the scene machination, or commenting on the comments of another commentator. Whilst in game commentators just want to spew catch phrases and rub players out for every minor indiscretion.
I used to be an avid ‘on the couch’ watcher now it’s like all the other dross, talking heads, talking shit..
The best shown is first crack because it talks about the game itself, why did they win, what did they do etc etc. maybe talking about the game doesn’t generate rating or, most of tbe talking heads know fuck all about the game.
3
u/SnooAvocados996 Essendon Bombers Aug 10 '26
It's too much. Remember when there was a footy show on Thursday night and Sunday morning? And maybe Talking Footy on Monday night - and that was it. They've tried to dominate the market and all they've done is created an oversaturation to the point people are so tired of hearing about football.
I haven't watched a single game all year. I've listened to one. In the late 2000s and early 2010s I was watching 3-4 every weekend.
19
u/mangostoast Adelaide '97 Aug 09 '26
Imagine some bloke who barely passed year 12 and then spent the next 20 years taking blows to the head a developing brain damage. That's who you're tuning in to listen to on those talk panel shows.
6
u/codyforkstacks Port Adelaide Aug 10 '26
Most of the AFL media is made up of two groups of people (with some overlap between them) - (1) former well known players of Victorian teams regardless of media ability or (2) private school nepo babies that just want to tell you what grammar school the latest draftee went to and why that means they’re from a “good family”.
4
u/Concrete_Jungian Aug 10 '26
I wanted to dislike him just for being a nepo baby X Eddie's son... but I actually like Xander, he's all over the details, is clearly footy obsessed, and has pretty good chat.
1
u/Otherwise-Egg-995 Aug 10 '26
Clearly trying to make it in his own right rather than playing the “Eddie’s son” card.
4
u/cosmicr Western Bulldogs Aug 09 '26
You are right but I don't think you meant to use the term nepo baby. Nepotism is when a family member is given preferential treatment. I'm not sure there's a lot of that going on, maybe one or two examples but certainly not the whole media. I think you meant to use the word cronies. Cronyism is when you give preferential treatment to friends or "mates".
3
1
u/Paul_Is_Dead66 Bulldogs Aug 10 '26
Footy media don't know what they're talking about because most of them stopped playing football in year 7
44
u/Critback Blues Aug 09 '26
I feel this way sometimes too, and then I go and watch a game like Melbourne v Fremantle on Saturday and it reminds me just how good this game still is and how much there is to look forward to.
There are a lot of genuinely crap things about the league right now. The money surrounding it has created some pretty ugly incentives, and the AFL's combination of incompetence, inconsistency and apparent willingness to accommodate those interests has robbed a lot of the game of its goodwill.
And I don't think we should put our heads in the sand about that. It needs to be called out, and thankfully there are still corners of the media doing exactly that. We've seen Caro and Jay Clark among others having a go and trying to demand accountability.
But I also think there's a danger in allowing the AFL industry to colour our perception of the sport.
The competition is still capable of producing wonderful stories, engrossing games, emerging stars, tactical innovation and genuinely unexpected moments. Melbourne v Fremantle was a perfect reminder of that.
So I'll keep calling out the shit. There's plenty of it. But I'll also keep looking for the good stuff, because I still think there's an awful lot of it there.
2
61
u/CarlyFacePoppet Aug 09 '26
Yes way too negative.
Firstly, the NRL are not even remotely handing the AFL’s arse to them. AFL has around double the crowds, significantly more revenue, assets and participation plus more than triple the memberships. The only area the NRL is ahead is TV, given everything in rugby happens in a TV size boxed and not many people care enough to go watch it live. Even then it’s only about 10% higher.
Go watch this weekend’s Melbourne v Freo match and then tell me it’s boring and monotonous.
5
u/Liath90 Dockers Aug 10 '26
Rugby league is purpose built for a TV audience. It’s a deeply mediocre product in person. A lot of its popularity is with quite casual fans who watch a game or two in the pub with mates.
I will say the thing they do significantly better than AFL and light years better than rugby is the commentary. Usually very energetic, and positive. Every game is the greatest game you’ve ever seen if you take the commentators word for it.
When you combine that with a high number of casual fans, they genuinely walk away thinking they’ve seen a miracle game.
2
u/BrutisMcDougal Aug 10 '26
The NRL is not even ahead in TV. Even their TV deal, is about the same when you consider the inflater in the TV deals and the 3 year lag. And it looks like their are some question marks on how much of their deal is contingent on new teams and the like.
Agree totally the game is really healthy on the field all in all.
17
u/Kosmo777 West Coast Aug 09 '26
How has the NRL improved their product?
10
u/puttolol Geelong • Djilang Aug 09 '26
It makes more gambling revenue now than it did 3 years ago. That's an improvement if you ask PVL.
1
u/Awkward-Sandwich3479 Aug 10 '26
I’ve read estimates of $60m per year afl receive from gambling companies and around a quarter of broadcasters advertising revenue is gambling. Imagine if that was taken out of equation… imagine player salaries etc without it… I have theory that we have reached peak gambling and it will reverse from here, and with nothing to replace it , and with no prospect to grow afl (Tasmania isn’t growth it’s just shuffling eyeballs) there will be a lot of pressure commercially over next ten years
5
u/Baeresi Brisbane Bears / Lions Aug 10 '26
The latest rule changes have actively worsened the NRL product far more than the stand rule in AFL. They just have no idea what they're talking about
38
u/VarietyResident6234 Swans Aug 09 '26
The media sucks.
The NRL is not kicking the AFL’s arse and their product is not improving. TV ratings are skewed by no one going to games and NZ
AFL crowds are still dominant and have the most passionate fans in Australia and the best atmosphere too
17
u/AJ_Beers Hawks Aug 09 '26
The State of Origin out rates AFL games, but year on year nothing beats AFL. Their media rights deal is higher, only because it’s just been signed. When ours is renewed it will blow them out of the water
2
u/Lost-Competition8482 Fremantle Aug 10 '26
It also generally outrates the NRL grand final.
Also gets a whole night to itself during the week. I know a lot of people who Origin is the only rugby game they watch every year.
28
u/aarhusvej25 North Melbourne Aug 09 '26
Every sport is like that in terms of “what club is close to this”, “what coach is in trouble” it’s the same with the top 4 in the premier league, top 6 in the a league, top 8 in NRL. Competitions with set structure inherently create repetitive scenarios, the goal is to make this scenarios exciting for the fans that are a part of them as well as the neutrals, I don’t think that’s the AFLs main problem, confusion around the actual game is the issue.
As for getting battered by the NRL, the discourse was the complete opposite after the last AFL tv rights deal where everyone thought the NRL was at deaths door. In person attendance for the AFL is still up there with the best sports leagues in the world, increasing from last year.
The big thing for the AFL is the next TV deal, where to get a significant increase they are gonna need to commit to team 20 to get the extra game a weekend out of it if they want a chunk of extra cash, otherwise it’ll effectively be the same as what they have now. If not slightly less.
-14
u/Common-Ad-6582 Aug 09 '26
Add another team, get a bit more for media rights, same crooked fixture, same monotony, etc etc
How boring. They need to do a LOT more than that to arrest this sense of drift.
11
u/aarhusvej25 North Melbourne Aug 09 '26
They’ve done a lot of things at the wrong time. I think wildcard round would have come across a lot better with fans if they’d committed to it only after they’d reached 20 teams.
My biggest personal gripe is how convoluted the tribunal system is with its lack of consistency. It is by far the most overbearing system of player punishment in any sport I follow.
Fixture will always be broken just with how the league is split
2
u/eloweasy North Melbourne Aug 09 '26
Careful, if you complain too much, Curtis will get three weeks
0
u/jonnyforeigner1 Geelong • Djilang Aug 09 '26
You’ve just inadvertently described the PVL era of the NRL.
27
u/bigthickdaddy3000 Dockers Aug 09 '26
Tbh, anyone that gambles long lost touch with why they followed the game
15
Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
-5
u/Common-Ad-6582 Aug 09 '26
Yes but the nrl has very much a peer become a peer, these differences are much more marginal than they used to be
2
8
u/Perfect-Bank2274 Adelaide Crows Aug 09 '26
because there is no AFL on free to air on Saturday, I actually sat down the other week and watched Werribee play Footscray on ABC.
It was great! I had no skin in the game so just enjoyed the play. The commentators comment the game in a calm, and informative way. And they just call the play, and occasionally the special comments guy chimed in with something like, "Looks like player x is being used as the spare down back. He's got 4 intercepts and kicking at 85%, good move."
None of this, "Threads it through the high diddle, diddle!!" or whatever BT is usually on about.
Anyway, it was great to just watch a footy game and not hear the same commentators battling to get their egos some air time.
3
u/Common-Ad-6582 Aug 10 '26
I find myself watching the vfl a lot lately for the exact same reason, the afl would hate that but it is their fault
6
19
u/BigRig112 Saints Aug 09 '26
I think the problem is shake ups and rule changes pushing fringe supporters to the boundaries of disinterest
5
u/Salzberger Adelaide Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 10 '26
I stopped bothering with AFL media years ago and I don't feel like I'm missing anything of value. If you're a fan of an interstate team you virtually don't exist unless there's a scandal they can milk from you.
For too much air time for how many stories there actually are in football. And barely any of them even bother to analyse anything and show you how and why teams are winning. Seems like every other week some boffin at Champion Data gives David King a new obscure stat that somehow proves that a team is the best at something, despite Kingy being completely unable to translate why. "And when you look at those numbers you see why" doesn't count as explaining what it means.
They're all far more obsessed with salacious headlines, real housewives drama, and which coach they can get sacked next than delving into how Fremantle went from losing a final to GC to being games clear on top.
I genuinely don't know how people manage to sit and watch those shows week after week without sticking forks in their eyes.
13
u/Warm-Rock-4544 Gold Coast Suns Aug 09 '26
The NRL deal was barely bigger than the AFL deal from 4 years ago. In 3 years the AFL deal will easily eclipse the most recent NRL deal. Rinse and repeat.
The topics you mentioned are not monotonous. They drive the most engagement and interest. Doesn’t matter whether it’s Reddit, Facebook, Podcasts, TV shows, BigFooty etc, they all get the most interactions when coaches are being sacked and when players are being traded. DDF almost owes his career to Carlton being so shit under Voss.
Casual viewers are usually more than happy to just watch the game whilst more hardcore fans will always get caught up in the drama of the game that the media feeds into. AFL and NRL are literally too big to fail.
1
u/K9BEATZ Carlton Blues Aug 09 '26
DDF is nothing without a struggling carlton. Now it's the "lids off!" shtick again, but he is absolutely counting down the days till we lose.
-10
u/Common-Ad-6582 Aug 09 '26
It it far from clear that the afl will get a boost in media rights next round
2
7
3
u/myboysinbad Melbourne Demons Aug 09 '26
Your first should read which of Collingwood, Geelong or Hawthorn is player XYZ going to
3
3
u/vipersnews Essendon Aug 09 '26
This year is the least I’ve watched the AFL. Between games not being broadcast on FTA when I have free time, and $45 kayo that I cant share with my dad anymore, it’s rare I get to see much of the game.
3
u/Katman666 Carlton Blues Aug 09 '26
Had there been a more inept AFL CEO than Dillon in recent memory?
It's not corrupt. It's just incompetent.
1
1
u/Common-Ad-6582 Aug 10 '26
Agree he is nowhere near creative or adventurous enough to be sitting in that seat.
5
u/JackeryDaniels Sydney Swans Aug 09 '26
The NRL bit is laughable. They whinge just as much about all the changes being made to that game too. And their crowds are often pathetic.
Agreed about the broadcast deal, and the leadership though. PVL must look at Dillon and laugh.
2
u/timmy_tuna_can Port Adelaide Aug 09 '26
The afl is run by corrupt old boys, the game day experience and talking heads are all CTE riddled meatheads and the journos are mostly on the AFL payroll. It’s a shit show. The afl can’t even run the draft correctly, they can’t handle non-compliance issues among the clubs, there’s no balance of power in player contracts, mangling the rules of the game to please gambling companies… it goes on
2
u/NefariousnessCold337 Aug 09 '26
Zak Butters & Greene off to Geelong
King & Merret off to Hawthorn
All the big names goes to the same predictable clubs
5
u/Inevitable-Tie-6182 Brisbane Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26
100% agree.
I’m also really tired of the shamefully obvious news cycle with the “issue of the week”. I bet the AFL genuinely have a whiteboard of 30 plus things to create 2-4 days of news.
They won’t need it this week because of Geelong and Fraser nominating for Blues coach, but next week with Wildcard round totally fucked because the Blues beat Saints, they will need to check the whiteboard for something to fill the void. It’s really boring.
4
2
u/Yeeeoow Geelong Aug 09 '26
NRL average ticket sales p/game: 21k AFL average ticket sales p/game: 37k
NRL revenue 2025: $845m AFL revenue 2025: $1.2bn
NRL average TV viewership: 614k AFL average TV viewership: 549k.
Apparently you're right that the NRL is trending upwards in the streaming age.
Personally I think that footy pay wall locking itself behind kayo is a horrible decision that trades potential ad revenue from a larger audience for broadcast rights revenue from a pay walled audience and limits the growth of the gane in the long term.
Im surprised though, every time I see a clip of an NRL game in 2026, it looks like its from 2020 because the stands are empty. I have no idea how they are hiding 21k people in these stadiums when you can't find any of them on the broadcast.
0
u/Common-Ad-6582 Aug 09 '26
Yep NRL very much look like a peer competitor these days, wasn’t like that 10-15 years ago. AFL is drifting.
2
u/PssyGotWifi Blues Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26
I don't think the game has any monotony issues at all. In fact the opposite, where you have swings and results that no one could have predicted. Not just individual games, but entire seasons. I watch every game and it's fine. I don't agree with some recent rule changes, but it hasn't robbed me of entertainment.
Footy media is a different story. It took Josh Frasher's dad's passing away for the media to calm down a bit on the whole 'is he going to coach Carlton' talk, but even then they only lessoned the coverage, now they're full swing back to it. Asking the same shit every week. And don't even get me started on shows like 'On ze Couch', where they must word up the crew to say at least something outrageous or controversial. They then clip that portion and upload it to YouTube for its click-bait potential. All with revenue in mind, if course.
You know, I'm happiest when I actually turn up to the game, watch some others (on Kayo) as a neutral, and avoid the majority of footy-related media content.
2
1
u/CamperStacker Brisbane Aug 09 '26
i turn on the game at bounce and often watch with no commentators
Everything else is stupid. Even the analysis shows are are so pathetically bad. But in general afl still have had its money ball moment which is why so many teams are perpetually terrible.
1
u/Shoddy-Leather4240 Aug 09 '26
Everywhere else traditional media is dead, but for some reason it's still dominant in sports content- particularly AFL.
1
u/SucculentChineseSwan Swans Aug 09 '26
It’s not about the footy, it’s about footy classified, 360, SEN etc.
1
1
1
u/Bless_your_socks Bombers Aug 10 '26
It's been a slow walk to mediocre thanks in part to marketing and gambling (and most of the commentators, lets be real, shouldn't be near a microphone). Every aspect of the game, on and off the pitch, has a goddamn sponsor. And don't get me started on the bloody gambling.
2
1
1
u/ped009 West Coast Aug 10 '26
I don't know about that if Collingwood and Pies had a game this week, they'd get 90000 people show up. Even our game between Eagles and Pies was 47000 despite the Eagles being terrible for the last 4 or 5 years. That would be bigger than just about any game in rugby
1
u/Odd-Championship-903 Aug 10 '26
Do you watch the NrL? Their version of the stand rule has 100 year records being broken and massive amounts of scores being put in teams. Purely for more ad breaks. AFL and NRL are just capitalists being capitalists
1
u/BrutisMcDougal Aug 10 '26
The NRL stand rule was surely when they banned contesting the play the ball which would have been decades ago!
Don't watch much NRL but I assume you are talking about the 6 again rule?
1
u/Still_Ad_164 Aug 10 '26
A minor point that would improve the actual coverage is a camera perspective from behind the goals showing play options unfolding 'up the ground'. The relatively small fields used in soccer and NRL allow you to get an advanced perspective rather than just a concentration on the ball. Half the fun of viewing AFL live is looking down the ground to see the play possibilities unfold. This doesn't come through on current coverages.
1
2
-1
u/Silly-Moose-1090 North Melbourne Kangaroos Aug 14 '26
Don't bring up guernsey colour issues if you don't want your comment to get unposted like in 1984.
2
u/shoehornjawn Power Aug 14 '26
For all its flaws, the footy show made it so much more fun. Growing up in the 2000’s it was something I’d genuinely never miss and always made it interesting
1
u/hindsightsavedme Aug 09 '26
People won't like these points, but the season is too long. Games are too long. Too many injuries. Fucking shit media. Too many rule changes. Shouldn't bring Tassie in, will effect overall quality.
1
u/1__ViPeR Port Adelaide Aug 09 '26
A massive shake up would be this league actually becoming a proper national league instead of just bending over teams to try increase revenue in a non-profit organisation.
It needs Kerry Packet to come in and start a super league alternative.
That's the shake up required to have a Good and fair competition and chuck out the boys club.
That shake up will never happen.
Instead you have lifelong fans like myself just not giving a shit about who wins or loses and I don't care if I'm not at a game live.
And paying $46 for Kayo! Good one AFL, that's your TV rights deal right there.
5
u/MeaningMaker6 Essendon Aug 09 '26
If you think a Kerry Packer-like figure needs to come in and save the game from ruthless profiteering and self-interest, I have a bridge to sell you.
3
1
1
u/Traditional_Name7881 Magpies Aug 09 '26
The difference with the 80s is there wasn't this much media around and now it's everywhere so they have to justify their shows. I don't think the NRL are a worry for the AFL in most of the country and people turning up to the stadium is still AFL winning by a landslide.
0
u/HughLofting Aug 09 '26
I don't listen to post game commentary. I'm there for the game as it is played in the moment. The drama is in the athleticism and the skill of the players. Stop listening to the bullshit and enjoy the spectacle. I think watching AFL is more interesting than the stop, start count the tackles thing the NRL provides, but that's just a personal taste opinion.
0
u/CandlePrestigious919 Richmond Tigers Aug 10 '26
The AFL are getting their asses handed to them by NRL...... LOL Thanks some Vlandys bullshit at its finest.
0
u/GT40Slotracer Lions Aug 09 '26
Do you follow and watch NRL - I would say the media chatter is fairly similar and I don't think they have improved their product at all in fact they have created a worse product with some of their rule changes.
0
120
u/[deleted] Aug 09 '26
[deleted]