The Middle-Aged Spectator

The Middle Aged Spectator considers the AFL’s proposed rule changes As the Coodabeen Champions ’ character, Digger, was known to say, “I’ve been following football for a very long time.” While never having played the game at anything but a very minor level, I have coached and managed teams, and been a club administrator, over many years. I do know a bit about the game. And I’m going to sound like an old reactionary – but rules shouldn’t be changed without good reason. The AFL’s Competition Committee will present to the Commission a number of suggested rule changes to be implemented in 2019. I fear that each of the rule changes could have serious, unintended consequences, and I am puzzled as to why there seems to be the need to implement them so soon, and without adequate trialling. Quite frankly, the game is in pretty good shape, but certain people in the AFL fold believe the game has become too congested. This leads to lower scoring, and consequently, the fans are ...

  Before I begin, I am not now, and never have been, a member of a political party. The last couple of weeks has been an exciting, and somewhat baffling, time in Australian politics. The governing Liberal Party spent a week in turmoil, cancelled Parliament for an afternoon, and replaced its leader – at the same time changing the Prime Minister of Australia, the nation’s highest political office. As in many western nations, politics here has become increasingly polarised in recent years. In Australia, the far right of the Liberal Party (a centre-right party which governs as the major partner of a coalition with the National Party and the Liberal National Party – yes it’s weird, and not to be confused with the Liberal Democrats) has become increasingly loud. This has happened for a number of reasons, not least of which is the rise of minor rightist parties such as Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, Australian Conservatives and Katter’s Australian Party among others. Over a ...