AFL/League/Union pros/cons

[Toby]

Hey Aussies,

Help a fellow forum member out with pros and cons related to these three sports.

AFL (http://www.afl.com.au): Australian Rules Football is a fast, running game. Midfielders run almost a 1/2 marathon per 2hr game. Forwards are either (a) big, strong and immoveable or (b) super fast and agile. Backs are generally medium - fast and with good tagging skills. The ball moves from one end of the ground to the other via kicking or handballing (hold the ball in one hand and "punch" it underhand (like a hammer curl) with the other - no throwing). If you can mark (catch) a kick, you get a free kick, so you get some good aerial work as players try to mark high balls. Unfortunately the AFL website offers a fair bit of video but you have to pay for it by the looks of it.

NRL (http://www.nrl.com.au/): Rugby league is the dumb man's sport. No offence league fans, but I'm yet to see an intelligent league player. I really used to dig league in the late 80's/early 90's, but only the Origin series because that's all they showed in West Oz. King Wally Lewis and Mal Meninga ruled. These days I'll tune in occasionally. If you like men running short sprints and other men running straight towards them and driving them backwards this is your game. Maybe a bit like gridiron but with 10m between teams at play breakdowns do you can build up some speed before the tackle. Definitely a hard, hard game. Players tend to be very strong and heavy with legs as thick as my torso and no necks. There are some vids and pics on the NRL website via the multimedia link.

Union (http://www.rugby.com.au): Rugby union is the intelligent man's game. Its amateur status until recently meant that a lot of players were tertiary educated professionals. I like this because I played at school. Lots of hits but not as hard as league. Room for all types of players here, from tiny little guys (halfbacks) to monster tall guys (2nd row) to short fat guys (front row) to exceptionally fast strong guys (wings). Vid and pics? There is a TV commercial via the "Toohey's New Super 12" -> "Razzle Dazzle TV commercial" links. I especially like the tries in union where they dive really high. Tries are like touchdowns but you have to physically touch the ball down across the line.

:p Lots of stereotypes in those three ;).

My pick? Union, because I played it at school. But I follow AFL because it's more Australia-wide. All three are good but if I could be bothered getting off my arse and playing myself, it would be union because I've got a team based 10min walk from my house where some of my friends play. That's where I used to do my HIIT sprints.

More pros/cons:

Breakdown of play (most to least): league, AFL, union. I hate breakdown of play like in American sports. Australian sports don't have timeouts which I especially hate. Players generally switch on the fly unless one is sent off due to a misdemeanour or blood rule.
Scariness of players (most to least): league, union, AFL. There are exceptions.
Speed of game (most to least): AFL, union?, league?. Weather plays a big part in this one. AFL on a good clear day can be very fast with all the kicking.
Injuries: AFL seems to do a lot of knees. Some think this is due to the jumping and change of direction involved. Others think it's due to muscle development over skill development in the modern game. The other two are more ground based so injuries are due to contact.
Tackling (most to least): league, union, AFL. One of my pet hates is the weak tackling in AFL. Not that it's not allowed, just that most players tend to avoid tackles. League has the highest frequency and hardest tackles. Union is a close second.
Internationality (most to least): union, league, AFL. Union would be the strongest worldwide. Especially in Australasia and UK/Europe. You'd get better competition in those areas than for the other two sports.

Phew! That's a start, anyway.

[Ka]

LOL Great Thread Toby,but I don't think the USA lads will have any idea what your talking about.:D
Well since I am from the public school system and petty dumb I will have say League, is the best for MA training,actually I think most league first graders would wipe the floor with most of the Sydney MA scene.
AFL : is the Wushu scene,tight pants, pointless running about and lots of jumping/humping.;)
Union: is for all the NRL boys who want to meet private school women.;)

[Serpent]

:D

Union all the way, baby. Then again, I grew up in England where it's the only code of any consequence and it's what I played for years. And I went to public school.

NRL is a good game, but too much changing hands - what good is a rugby match without good rucks and mauls?

AFL? That's the for pu$$ies that can't handle a real man's game. ;)

[Toby]

Lol! Ka, a USA guy asked me, so that's why I started it. Thumbs down for AFL, eh? I don't mind it, but I think the emphasis is more on ball skills than for the other 2. I think there's definitely a place for hard tacklers in AFL but no-one seems to. Lol @ the private school girls comment. I was a private school boy and married a private school girl. And I played rugby. Coincidence? I think not :D.

NRL is good, but I agree with Serp. I don't like the stop-start of the 5 tackle system. I prefer the continual slog of union.

So if union it is, then potential players need to choose their preferable position. At a high level, forwards are heavy. Forward packs of 8 players can weigh over a tonne. Front rowers are squat and strong. Lacks of necks is an advantage as are thick legs. Second row are tall guys who bind the forward pack together and catch the ball in lineouts. Flankers and No. 8 are the most mobile of the forwards. They bind loosely to the outside of the pack and have to be ready to break away to either take the ball or intercept opposition ball carriers.

Halfback is a small fast guy who can scramble around the forwards and acts as a link between the forwards and the backs. He's like the general of the forwards - the eyes and ears. Then it goes 5/8, inside centre, outside centre. These guys get a lot of the ball and have to make the quick decisions - pass it down the line or try to break through or kick it over the opponents and follow up. Then there are the two wings at either side of the ground. They do a lot of nothing, but when the ball gets out that far they have to be fast sprinters. They're also crucial in defense because often if they miss a tackle the opponent will have a free run to the try line. Last is the full back. They sit right back and intercept kicks and either run it back up the ground or kick it back over the opponents. They need confident ball skills. They're also the last line of defense.

So that's a rundown of positions. I'm not even going to start to explain rules.

[Serpent]

Good summary. As a winger, I would like to add that a winger will often run inside when the ball is played down the line towards the centre, then loop back to the wing when the direction changes for extra back up. This makes the winger the guy that probably covers the most km's per game! Also, sprint speed is essential. I was a winger because I'm not too heavy (only around 80kg/175lbs now), but I can go from 0 - 60 like a Ferrari. Plus, wingers tend to get tackled most often at high speed!

Also, the half back needs to be fast and small, but he also needs to be tough because he's most likely to be hammered by a front rower! ;)

[Ford Prefect]

So the Australian version is all about handling balls?

[Toby]

We always walk around with our balls in our hands ;).

AFL has a greater emphasis on ball skills because you have to catch kicks and handballs. Also you're frequently picking up a loose ball and the shape of the ball (more round than gridiron, less round than the rugbies) makes it difficult. Lastly, if you're running with the ball you have to bounce it off the ground every 10m (sorta like basketball dribbling) and again the shape can make it difficult if it doesn't hit the ground right. Players in other codes (league, union, gridiron) have to catch the ball too, but not as much as AFL players. E.g. rugby fullbacks have to catch kicks, but other players only intermittently. The rugbies have to catch throws, but they're generally easier to catch than kicks. Of course, the kicker must have accuracy as well to hit their target, so kicking skills are also a must.

[rubthebuddha]

i'd say aussie players are more well-rounded. american footballers are extremely position-specific. running backs would make ****ty kickers, quarterbacks are usually worthless at blocking*, wide receivers don't even block at all, linemen are lousy at catching the ball, and kickers couldn't throw a spiral more than three yards.

*the exception to the rule is defined by truly stellar football players -- those who excel at their own position but don't suck it up in others. compare someone like randy moss to torry holt. randy moss may be a better receiver, but he's a bigger ***** than any kicker in the game -- at least kickers will throw a block. torry holt, however, will throw a block, and throw a hard one. moss = great receiver, big *****. holt = slightly less great receiver, not an ounce of *****. do the math.

now back to the topic -- aussie players have to be able to do it all. american players might do more than one thing. if they want to. if it's not too much trouble.

then again, i'd really love to see an aussie player work against someone like donnie edwards. :) (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=2579)

[Toby]

Originally posted by rubthebuddha
... aussie players have to be able to do it all.[/URL] While I sort of agree, there are specific positions in AFL. The obvious example is ruckmen. Their job is to hit the ball to their team after a bouncedown. My team's ruck (http://fremantlefc.com.au/default.asp?pg=players&spg=playerprofile&personid=14091) for example isn't fast or good at groundwork. But he's good at tapping the ball down to his team.

[rubthebuddha]

tobers -- he may not be fast or good at it, but he'd probably bother to do it when the situation arose. most recreational players are the same.

take it to the elite level -- a pro, kick-ass rucker could probably play every position negligibly well, but he excels at rucking. an elite receiver in the NFL knows his blocking like he knows his algebra. considering he hasn't done either since high school, you get my drift. :D

[vingtsunstudent]

c'mon toby

what ya' talkin' bout'

in union they are continually kickin the ball out. rugby league has a lot less stops than union these days.

havin grown up and played all 3, my personal pick is rugby league. simply because of the shear brutality. there is no other game in the world where you have to take the ball and purposly run at 3 to 4 other guys that weigh in at 100kg+ who are looking to smash you through to the other side of the earth.(rember in rugby you can't use the shoulder to drive into tackle with)

like ka said, they definitely are some well coditioned boys in rugby leaugue, all of whom generally box as a rugular part of their training. many years ago on this forum there was a Q. about how to condition yourself for fighting and way back then i said 'go play league and you'll soon learn to be well conditioned to heavy contact'

don't believe me........... give it a try

vts

[vingtsunstudent]

oh and rub

we have guys playing in the NRL who are the size of donnie edwards and for the most part alot of them will constantly play between 50-60 mins of a game(usually 2 stints of 25-30 mins continuous play)

vts

[Ford Prefect]

Alright. My two choices appear to be Aussie Football and Rugby Union. Which would you think is better suited to me? I'm 6' 175. I like to run, jump, and just make all around athletic plays because I have great coordination. Throughout my athletic career in school I always played the positions that required a good amount of athleticism, coordination, and court/field presence. I was a 2-guard in basketball, a shortstop/pitcher in baseball, and a safety/reciever in football. I like to be hard nose too though and love carrying the ball and either blowing past people or tackling them hard so they are looking for me next time.

[Serpent]

Ford, you sound like me - a winger! Pretty similar stats too.

[Toby]

Originally posted by vingtsunstudent
in union they are continually kickin the ball out. rugby league has a lot less stops than union these days.Well, I was generalising. E.g. my AFL team played a very fast running game with few breakdowns last weekend. But on a rainy day it'll be messy and stop-start. Same with league - you'll get good days with lots of interesting plays then other days when it's stop-start and you see that when a team makes a run that only 2 or 3 players are running and the rest are just walking around because they expect the tackle. I hate the union games when it's all kicking. But lots of games they still play a flowing ground game, so it's all good.

Ford, if you pick AFL, I'd go midfield like a ruck-rover or wing. That'd be the position for you. Lots of running and you get to cover the whole ground. Your job would be to transition play from one end to the other. You'd need kicking skills and ground ball skills. You can tackle as much as you want, but as I said AFL players tend to avoid tackling, God knows why. Tackles are legal below the shoulders and above the knees.

If you pick union, I'd go inside or outside centre, wing or fullback. Probably the former two. In order of ball time it'd be like I typed it except maybe swap wing & fullback depending on the day and whether your team is mainly attacking or defending that day. There is overlap in club teams. E.g. at school I played 2nd row but occasionally breakaway or no. 8. Our outside centre sometimes played wing and so did our fullback. Inside and outside centre need quick decision making, short kicking and following up and explosive but generally shorter runs. Wing needs explosive running, but generally be able to run the length of the ground faster than any of the opposition defenders (say 12s runs). Fullback needs kicking skills more than any other. Your kicking skills are what saves your team in defensive plays. Whatever position you pick you can also kick for goal after a try or at a penalty if you want (and if your team trusts you!) so it gives you a chance to become a specialty kicker regardless of position.

[Ford Prefect]

Sweet. Thanks again for the info, guys.