Does the cap fit? EMMA QUAYLE AND JON PIERIK
August 8, 2010 As interchange numbers rocket to new heights and the AFL considers a cap on rotations, Emma Quayle and Jon Pierik get off the bench to uncover what the players want.
TO CAP or not to cap?
As the debate about a possible limit on interchange rotations continues to rage, with AFL
coaches, officials, commentators and fans offering truckloads of views and advice, AFL Players' Association president Brett Burton boiled the debate back to two main issues - the welfare of the players and the quality
of the product.
Writing in The Age during the week, he said "this is an issue about which some stuff views could be beneficial". The Sunday Age sought these "stuff views", using Burton's suggested questions relating to the physical demands of the game, recovery and longevity. Burton argued that if the answer to all or one of these questions
was yes, "then surely we have to look at capping rotations".
The players take up the story.
Is the game physically more demanding than it was three years ago?Daniel Jackson: It probably is, but I don't necessarily think that's through rule changes. In the past, we trained
to run long distances and to be out on the ground for long periods of time, now we're trained to do faster, harder, more powerful running, for shorter times. So I think the changes have come through the type of pre-season training we're being made to do and through the evolution of sports science, rather than through rotations or the tactical side of things. We play according to how we're trained, so we're harder, faster and
stronger than we were.
Is it getting harder for you to get up for the game each week?Jackson: I think it is. We now train from the middle or the end of November, for six days every week, right through until the start of the season. Then we play our season, including the NAB Cup, and we have only one week's break in the middle of it and are straight back into it again. So at the moment we have huge volumes of work going through our legs for more than 44 weeks. At this time of year, it can be really hard to get up for training sessions, so it definitely does take its toll. I'm an advocate for a second week's break throughout
the season and I've had discussions with our players about the volume of training over the pre-season. We wouldn't necessarily want more time off at the end of the season, because that would be detrimental to how we perform in the season, but I think we could implement that extra week off mid-season or even make sure we get a proper day off each week.
Do you think the longevity of your career will be reduced if the speed of the game continues to increase?Jackson: I do, but I don't think this would change even if the AFL did decide to cap interchanges. We've been trained now to play harder, stronger and faster, and that's not going to change. People are always looking to move forward, they don't turn around and go backwards, go back to what they were. We're still going to be trained to play the game the way we’re playing it now, whether the interchange is restricted or not.
What is your view on a possible cap on interchange numbers?Jackson: I'm reluctant to change any rules or to cap the interchange in any way. If we change it now, we'll be changing it again later on. Look at soccer, they don't change anything. They're stubborn to the point that they don't even bring basic technological changes into the game at the World Cup, and the game is as strong as it ever was. Actions create reactions. Coaches and players react and adapt to whatever changes are made, they find a way to make it work for them, and then all that happens is that more changes need to be made.
Full article and other players views here:http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/does-the-cap-fit-20100807-11pk9.html
