Malcom Blight's Coaching Comments

[Nico]

Actually his rule is that it not unusual for a team to kick three goals in a row, and to do so reasonably quickly, so that until you are substantially outside that margin the losing team is always a chance to come back into it.

Fwiw I like his approach to htb which I think is that merely by diving on the ball or dragging it in you are not htb you are actually getting it. However the rest of the footy world seems to take the view that the rule reduces stoppages and is therefore a good rule.mi hate the way it penalizes the guy first to the ball and rewards the player second to it. But what would I know.

I watched a final in the Yarra Valley Mountain District league last week. When a player went to ground and a pack formed, in most cases they blew the whistle quickly, moved in quickly and threw it up. The game flowed really well and it made the players accountable and on the ball. In the AFL most times the opposition player is holding the ball in or 2 or 3 of them pile on to the bloke who went for the footy. So many times there is contact with the head by knees, arms, elbows, you name it and the poor bugger who made the ball his objective is pinged.

[Primmy]

You reckon the AFL commentators are bad.....I am watching The Storm NRL game. The commentators are more interested in the seagullls than the game.

Says a bit about the game.....

One thing in Blighty's favour. He actually likes the Swans.

[Bloodmaniac]

it's using blighty's rationale that at any time during a match a team can kick 3 quick goals.

so if adding 3 quick goals puts a team back in contention, the match isn't over yet. if adding 3 quick goals will have minimal effect, it's over.

[goswannie14]

it's using blighty's rationale that at any time during a match a team can kick 3 quick goals.

so if adding 3 quick goals puts a team back in contention, the match isn't over yet. if adding 3 quick goals will have minimal effect, it's over.

That is more my understanding of the three goal theory than what others have stated as their understanding.

[Yuri H]

My favourite commentary moment of the weekend was during the Pies/Eagles game, when I swear I heard this exchange:

"The Eagles' forward line is in complete disarray."
"Yeah, not only that, it's not working."

[Red]

Blight's 3-goal rule: if you get three successive goals kicked on you, as a coach you have to make a change ie. move players around, alter the approach. That 3rd goal is your cue.

[Scottee]

What I liked about Blight was his commentary on "that" umpire, who again wanted to be the spectacle, and managed to call a pre-determined holding the ball free against Tadhg, when he could not even see the ball!

Can't recall his exact words, but he gave it to him and basically said he has no understanding of the game, and shouldn't be umpiring, BUT, IMPORTANTLY, he never mentioned his name!

So in that context, he is a mile ahead of the other dopes, like Brian Taylor, who just keep "perpetuating the legend" ... which seems to be the only reason that particular umpire is out there!

Was totally relieved that there is at least one commentator that is prepared to call a spade a spade in relation to umpires and the rules. What posters have to realise with Blight is that he loves the game itself more than ingratiating himself with all the sycophants and toadies that dominate the commentary teams. Nothing subtle about him - thank god! I also like his complaints about the holding the ball rule and interpretations. They do nothing but confuse the game, do not reward merit and serve the opposite purpose to which they supposed to. They reward stoppage play. The only positive thing that has happened with the umpiring /rules has been the apparent decision to give players more time to get rid of the ball when caught, but even then we get the occasional "lightning death" htb decision. Blight is right onto these things and he is rightly frustrated at these large flaws in the game. They are easily fixed by anyone with reasonable intelligence in the positions that matter. But maybe that is the problem, there isn't anybody intelligent in the positions that matter. AFL has the potential to rapidly go international if the rules could be made easier to interpret. Far too much is left to the umpire's discretion. This leaves the game open to manipulation by gambling interests and only confuses first time watchers of the game.

Blight knows this and wants to advocate fixing it up and is prepared to upset people along the way. Good on him! BTW it was interesting that his comments on RRay's decision against Kennelly on the wing were (rather clumsily) sensored in the replay of the game on Fox Sports.