Unless people are living under a rock, there is a fair amount of controversy brewing over Fremantle and North resting up to half their respective line-ups this week in preparation for the finals and the AFL giving them the ok to do so. Pressure is also being applied to Richmond and Sydney to do the same.
To me this idea has whiskers on it.
The risks of doing this to me outweigh the risks of playing your best 22 players available. You can risk beign thrashed, getting even more injuries, and lose confidence.
Freo did it in 2013 and won their first 2 finals; they didn’t do it last year and went out in straight sets. Not surprising other clubs are following.
Where’s the controversy??
Their club, their players, their match committee = their call. As long as it’s being done honestly (ie not naming them in the 22 and pulling them out at the last minute), there’s no issue.
If you are in the position to be resting players at this time of the year i saw go for it. Fremantle for example are on top of the ladder- their position wont change. They have earned the right to do whatever the hell they want to.
If we were in their position i would want us to do whatever would help us in our quest to win the GF.
Didn’t we do it in 2000?
That game against Collingwood was the worst game we could possibly play going into finals. We rested a few players but also played a lot of players out of position and just did enough to win.
Come the following week, we smashed North by a record margin.
We also did it against Richmond in the final round one year (think it was 2001 or 2002).
We lost to Richmond on purpose and in the event Carlton fell outside the top four (meaning they missed out on the double chance) and we player Richmond the first week of finals and completely smashed them.
In the end, having your best players on the pitch for the finals is more important than anything else.
Has any team every ‘tanked’ it in the final round and gone on to be kicked out of finals the next week (two weeks for teams with a double chance)?
You still have to be careful because you can rest players but if you win week 1 then come preliminary your players have only played once in 4 weeks. It hurt us know 1999 with mercy (1/4 of footy in 3 weeks) and joey (1 game in 5 weeks). It’s why we kept the intensity going in 2000 QF.
But as HAP said, look at freo last 2 years. No exact science to it, just got to be mindful
I don’t like it. It shows disrespect to the opposition team.
Another implication: what if 3-5 ‘replacements’ have a great game? How would you tell him he’s still dropped nonetheless for a regular?
You still have to be careful because you can rest players but if you win week 1 then come preliminary your players have only played once in 4 weeks. It hurt us know 1999 with mercy (1/4 of footy in 3 weeks) and joey (1 game in 5 weeks). It's why we kept the intensity going in 2000 QF.
But as HAP said, look at freo last 2 years. No exact science to it, just got to be mindful
If you can’t get up mentally for a Prelim there’s something wrong
IMO the biggest risk is someone getting hurt stepping on a basketball goofing around or something like that
Freo did it in 2013 and won their first 2 finals; they didn't do it last year and went out in straight sets. Not surprising other clubs are following.
Where’s the controversy??
Their club, their players, their match committee = their call. As long as it’s being done honestly (ie not naming them in the 22 and pulling them out at the last minute), there’s no issue.
What’s wrong with that?
Unrelated to above: This is a ridiculous argument and another example of why as a league we are so far behind all other pro leagues in the world. The whole Lyon “asking for permission” is such a joke. Imagine explaining to Chelsea or Arsenal that we had to do apply to be able to manage our list. They would crack up laughing.
No problem with it at all, in fact I’d be annoyed if we didn’t do it to be honest.
Everything, absolutely everything should be looked at by a team to help give them the chance to win the big dance.
When did the right of the club to pick a team that best meets its circumstances suddenly become the business of non-club interests? The day clubs are given parameters as to who they will pick is the day they have truly lost their independence. “Here’s our proposed team for Saturday AFL. OK by you? Cheers”
North aren’t anywhere near good enough to risk losing momentum heading into the finals. Richmond could very well annihilate them this week, and good luck carrying that over to the finals you mediocre, boring, insignificant pissants.
North aren’t anywhere near good enough to risk losing momentum heading into the finals. Richmond could very well annihilate them this week, and good luck carrying that over to the finals you mediocre, boring, insignificant pissants.