You're a Bunch of Factors

I thought i would post this in a new thread since i think it is very interesting.

we have been having a discussion about the speed of afl and how it compares with the game in previous years.
the discussion is here mixed in with discussion about the brownlow.

worked out that i can attach pdf files here now, never thought i could before. so i have attached the pdf here, and will provide a summary.

Overall summary: the game is harder and faster and free flowing than it ever has been, but the time between these periods of play has increased, making the game more stop-start in nature

Cliff Notes:

The speed of the game, measured by average ball velocity, is up to twice as fast in 1997 as it was in 1961
Players are taller and heavier now than in the past, but have a better aerobic capacity
Players play on quicker from a free kick or a mark, but take longer for set shots for goal.
there are less free kicks paid now than in the past
there are more stops in play now than in the past
the periods of play are conducted at a much higher intensity

now for some excerpts from the article. the full text pdf can be found at the bottom. (please dont share widely, i am probably breaking the university copyright by posting here anyway)

Australian football has undergone considerable change over the past century. This
evolution seems to have accelerated more recently since the introduction and major
influence of the media, increased professionalism and the start of a national competition.

The results indicate the 'speed' of the game has approximately doubled in
the period 1961 - 1997. The propoIC_ion of the total game which involves 'play' time has
been reduced significantly while breaks in play are more frequent and longer. Despite
this pattern, however, the average game tempo has increased along with player height
and mass and we present a case which suggests these are likely determinants of the
increased incidence of player injuries and lost match time.

it is now faster than in the past. The exact
meaning of 'faster' is usually not explicitly stated although it probably reflects a
general perception that all aspects of the game are conducted at a faster speed.

On the other hand the players themselves appear bigger, stronger, faster and
more skillful.

• there has been an evolution in the game towards less frees and less time spent
taking frees (both individual and total time)
• there has been a decline in the number of Out of bounds situations in the game
with no change in the total Kme spent throwing the ball back into play. This is
due to a significant increase in the average time taken by the boundary umpires
to start the play after the ball has crossed the line
• over the past four decades there has been an increasing number of marks, total
scoring shots, bounce-ups and set shots for goal during the game
• there has been a marked reduction in the time spent in play time, a
corresponding increase in the time spent in taking set shots for goal, in time
taken to restart the game after a goal and bounce-up, and in total non-play
time. There has been no systematic change in the total game time (summation
of the time for the four quarters, not including breaks between quarters).

this is co-authored by a current AFL coach by the way. no prizes for guessing who that is

Do engineers actually do any work?

Scott wrote:Do engineers actually do any work?

lunchbreak (and maybe a little bit of time before )

What time period does the report cover? ->1997? Hardly "current", particularly around the free kick info.

Will download and read for myself after work - some public servants have work to do

In all seriousness I don't see this argument/discussion going anywhere, the folks on the other side of the fence won't put the effort into the argument like you have sir

AceLosesKing wrote:In all seriousness I don't see this argument/discussion going anywhere, the folks on the other side of the fence won't put the effort into the argument like you have sir

i would be happy to call this a tie if anyone else can come up with even a single piece of evidence to the contrary,(i am looking at you harps, stubbyholder, jmack and gundog) rather than relying on their own anecdotal opinions, which always will favour the past over the present (we all do this)

what i think can be debated still is whether the game is more free flowing, as harps pointed out.

i think he is partly correct.

in the past, the ratio of playing to non-playing time was certainly higher, which would suggest a more free flowing game.

but a closer look at the stats shows that most of the non playing time was taken up by 3 things. first is umpires waiting to bounce the ball after a goal, second is the boundary umpires taking longer to throw the ball in, and third is people taking longer for a set shot for goal.

these three factors suggest that the game is not as free flowing.

the complicating factor is that whilst all of the above is true, there are also less free kicks, and people take less time to move the ball on from a mark or a free kick than they did before. so i guess it depends on the definition of "free flowing". i think whilst the ball is in play the game is more free flowing with LESS free kicks, but these periods of play are fewer and further in between.

G'day benny the cunt ,

my last words , in the 70's 1 field umpire 80's 2 , both periods 2 boundary ump's. The 90's 3 field umpires 4 boundary ump's .

666HARPS666 wrote:G'day benny the cunt ,

my last words , in the 70's 1 field umpire 80's 2 , both periods 2 boundary ump's. The 90's 3 field umpires 4 boundary ump's .

yep.

this actually supports the idea of the game being faster.

the amount of free kicks being lower these days actually surprised me a lot. i would have thought it was higher.

bennymacca wrote:the amount of free kicks being lower these days actually surprised me a lot. i would have thought it was higher.

Now that does surprise me