There are growing concerns surrounding the current spectacle of an AFL game from senior coaches.
Stoppages and defensive set-ups have become the vogue in the league, with games continuously consisting of low scoring arm wrestles.
Many people have complained about the look of the game and how hard it has been to watch. Hawthorn's Alistair Clarkson and Geelong's Chris Scott have joined the chorus of people asking for change.
Both Geelong and Hawthorn won their games on Sunday in games that weren't easy on the eye, with Clarkson labelling his teams game as a "terrible spectacle" and putting the onus on the AFL to change something to revive the game.
โI hope Iโm not the only one that thought it was a dreadful game,โ he said after the game.
โI thought it was a terrible spectacle. I am sorry for sh-t-canning our own brand and our own club and our own team in this space.
โWe had 69 tackles, and I donโt think we had a free kick from a tackle. 69 tackles, and not one of them can be adjudicated holding the ball?
โItโs just, whatโs happened to our game? You canโt have that many tackles and not one of them be incorrect disposal.
โYou wonder why the game is an arm-wrestle, and you canโt get any open footy? Tonightโs game was just - if thatโs the spectacle that weโre trying to search for in our game, the game's in a dreadful space.
โBut we're better than that, and I think we can do a hell of a lot better by opening the game up a bit and adjudicating some of those holding the balls - for both sides, itโs not just that we had 69 tackles, there were times we got nailed in a tackle and it should have been holding the ball too.
โPlease, umps, just pay them. Itโll open the game up.โ
Clarkson went on to voice his concerns with scoring, as Round 4 saw 10 teams score below 60 points, while another five didn't reach 70 points.
โThe scores - the AFL canโt be happy,โ he said.
โIt was two goals each at the MCG (at halftime), was it? Beautiful day. Beautiful winterโs day. No rain? Two goals each.
โGeelong and Melbourne, who I both rate as sides, both sides I think can play finals this year. And itโs two goals each at halftime. Like, fair dinkum.
โItโs just arm-wrestles, and itโs great in a sense that no-one really knows whoโs going to win, but in terms of the spectacle of the game, Iโm concerned right now for where weโre going with it."
Scott also put the focus squarely on the AFL saying it wasn't the coaches' job to make the game look nice.
โThe short answer is yeah, I do think we have a bit of a responsibility. But I think the responsibility is more with the rule makers and with the AFL," Scott said.
โI think Iโm on record as saying my view is they ask the coaches too much.โ
Scott wondered whether reducing the players on field may help open the game more.
โIโm not pushing this agenda, let me be really clear,โ he said.
โIn a way, Iโd rather invest less time thinking about how we can make the game better so I can just do my job ... if we want to make the game less congested, last week we played Carlton in some match practice 16 v 16 in Geelong and it was exhilarating.
โ14 v 14 versus Melbourne at Port Melbourne, once one team got the ball and moved it fast you couldn't stop them.
โI hear the traditionalists say โstop mucking around with the gameโ, itโs never going back to what it was and in my opinion thank God, but even you want it to go back to the way it was thatโs not going to happen.
โEither you want to change the game and open it up, so empower the people who are decision makers to do whatโs required, or leave it the way itโs always been and weโll get what we get.โ
