Feb 01 2008
Angry Mick Malthouse! Grrrrrrrr!
The NAB Cup has traditionally been the Australian Football League’s testing ground for new rules. They try something a little different, and if it makes the game better, they run with it. This year is no exception, as the AFL has a new plan to limit player interchanges to 16 per quarter.
Meanwhile, Collingwood Magpies head coach Mick Malthouse, shown here rocking out with his cock out, would like you to know that the AFL are full of bloody hypocrites.
“I just find it extraordinary that we get a lot of data that on the left hand says their (the AFL) records, from 1999 to 2007, shows there is a distinct line that is dropping in injuries,” Malthouse said.
“The right hand then gives you another bit of information that shows you interchange numbers are on the increase over the same period.
“You put those two graphs together. There is a crossover point which clearly identifies this: more interchanges, less injuries.
“It clearly shows that. I said to (AFL football operations manager) Adrian Anderson: ‘Would you like to see those figures that they have presented to clubs and sent to Collingwood?’
“His reply to me was: ‘There is no conclusive evidence’. What worries me is there is no conclusive evidence when it doesn’t suit the AFL, or Adrian Anderson.”
Malthouse said more than that, but I think this gets the point across. It’s also the reason that footy fans in Dubai won’t get to see Anthony Rocca kick one of those 70-meter bombs of his — implication being that limited interchanges would limit his effectiveness. Mick also suggested there isn’t a coach out there who disagrees with him.
It’s one thing to put up lackluster play in a competition you don’t really care about. We see that all the time with various domestic cup competitions in soccer. What we might have here with the NAB Cup, though, is a competition which teams are actively trying to lose, so that they don’t put their players at risk for avoidable injuries. The AFL managed turned an empty trinket into a massive pariah. Bravo, AFL. Tom Hicks applauds you for your management skills.
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The AFL have certainly got the Clubs offside again. Clubs were reluctant competitors at the best of times in the NAB Cup and now they are even more against it! What amazes me is that the clubs were told that there would be no changes to the rules during the NAB Cup and then all of a sudden they spring this on the clubs, it was a decision they took on themselves without any consultation with anyone else.
Clubs like Collingwood sill simply not put their best side on the park and will be more than happy to lose.
[...] other day. It is always interesting to see what makes headlines in other parts of the World. Even Mick Malthouse made the news with his outbursts at the AFL over the new interchange [...]