The constantly changing AFL landscape means we need to celebrate all the greats
Who is the greatest player of all time (GOAT)?
It’s a question that’s divides opinion, no matter the sport.
In Australian football, names such as Leigh Matthews and Wayne Carey are regularly debated, while in the NBA, the GOAT discussion focuses on two players, “His Airness” Michael Jordan and “The King” LeBron James — but who is the best of all.
Career statistics quickly follow to back up their cases. For Jordan, it’s six championships and five Most Valuable Players (MVPs), against Lebron’s three titles and four MVPs.
The same argument is also happening right now in soccer — Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi? Both continue to dominate, having won five Ballon d’Or awards each as World Player of the Year. They have combined for nine Champions League titles, with five for Ronaldo and four for Messi.
But shouldn’t we be celebrating all the wonderful athletes around the world instead of arguing who’s the best. Close to home, the AFL has taken another almighty shift in the off-season with new rules and interpretations, making the discussion of who is the GOAT even more irrelevant at the moment.
Unlike basketball and soccer, which have seen only slight tinkering to their rules, AFL fans are having to deal with changes to the game they love each year. We’ve had a pre-season taste test but I suspect for the first time in a long time, coaches are still working out how they’ll manipulate the new rules to suit their teams.
I hate constant changes in football but I must say one amendment that has me excited is the 6-6-6 starting positions at centre bounces.
For the first time in a while, defenders will have to win one-on-one contests and not rely on team-mates for help.
Go back 30 years and football was one-on-one all over the ground. And team defence only kicked in when you were close enough to lay a tackle.
Key forwards were in vogue and superstars Tony Lockett and Jason Dunstall regularly dined out on opposition full backs, booting bags of goals.
And as the end of each season neared, they’d often be in a race with each other as to who would first crack the magical 100-goal milestone.
Funnily enough, the last player to crack the ton was Lance “Buddy” Franklin in 2008. He booted 113 goals, won Hawthorn’s best and fairest and claimed the premiership.
Football is an evolving beast. When Port Adelaide premiership coach Mark Williams and assistant Phil Walsh put their heads together at the end of the 2006 season, they embarked on a new way to defend — and like sheep, everyone followed.
Instead of one-on-one match-ups or the use of a stationary zone, “the press” was implemented. Teams used all 18 players on the field in a defensive set-up to press up the ground and turn up the heat on the kicker. The plan was to cause a turnover and win the ball back. One-on-one defenders were quickly replaced by elite kicking players who won plenty of possession, rather than players who defended first and attacked second
From that moment, defensive turnover football has taken precedence. Teams played extra players behind the ball the clog up their defence, to kill the opposition’s scoring. It’s no coincidence since that time that forwards had to deal with not only their opponent but also extra players dropping off, denying them space, making one-on-one contests nearly extinct.
Fast-forward to 2019 and after installing the 6-6-6 starting positions, defenders are once again being asked to defend first and win the ball second. The game has changed so much over the years, it’s impossible to compare players from different eras. And instead of looking for a reason why one player is better than the other, it’s important we celebrate all the wonderful careers of our great game.
Comparing football royalty Barrie Robran and Russell Ebert with Gavin Wanganeen and Andrew McLeod, or modern-day heroes Rory Sloane and Robbie Gray, is ridiculous.
Football as we know it has changed once again in 2019.
But one thing is certain — the cream will always rise to the top and deliver on the big stage by finding a way to win.
So let’s celebrate the transformation of the game — and as for who’s the best, who really cares?