Not sure whether it's the COVID effect but the lack of quality match reporting and general analysis seems to have been magnified this season.
Certainly short turnarounds and unusual round schedules have put paid to the predictable news cycle we normally enjoy.
But the outlets for quality day-to-day reporting on the actual game seem to be diminishing, aside from perhaps The Mongrel Punt and Footyology.
AFL Media is fixated on video snippets, clickbait headlines and puff pieces. The AFL website has plumbed new depths and is a shell of what it could/should be. Everything they do seems to be obsessed with "the optics".
Both the main Melbourne newspapers have some decent content but the lack of money in print media means the resources required for quality analysis are thin on the ground.
Big Footy is good for entertainment but bad for anything remotely insightful. Foxtel does a reasonable job of both covering and analysing footy but it is also falling into the trap of headline-grabbing. The less said about Channel 7's footy coverage, the better. Their halftime stuff and ridiculous fan zone cutaways are deplorable.
The likes of PRE fill a great need but are typically echo chambers (and fair enough too -- they don't purport to be anything else).
The issue has come into focus for me due to the haste with which our Thursday night game was despatched from the overall round 14 conversation.
Last season, the same fixture was lauded as the game of the season and the focus on differing game styles, dry vs wet weather footy and the end-to-end nature of the final quarter was written and talked about for days.
On Thursday night, Richmond put on possibly the finest display of footy by a team this season (honourable mentions: Collingwood in round 1, the Cats over Port a few rounds ago and maybe the Saints over us in round 4).
So much so, the club roared into premiership favouritism.
But just four days later, you wouldn't know it. Instead, peripheral matters dominate. Jane Gale said this. Old man Kennedy said that. Noah Balta should be reported for whatever. Jamie Cripps is going home because his partner is expecting. Luke Shuey nearly fell over trying to kick the ball. Tom Lynch brushed Jeremy McGovern on the goal line and should have got a free.
Blah, blah, blah! Is this really what the game has come to? I hope OTC does a decent segment tonight on our match.
Otherwise we'll simply be rolling into round 15 with just a bunch of clickbait headlines to show for it.
Certainly short turnarounds and unusual round schedules have put paid to the predictable news cycle we normally enjoy.
But the outlets for quality day-to-day reporting on the actual game seem to be diminishing, aside from perhaps The Mongrel Punt and Footyology.
AFL Media is fixated on video snippets, clickbait headlines and puff pieces. The AFL website has plumbed new depths and is a shell of what it could/should be. Everything they do seems to be obsessed with "the optics".
Both the main Melbourne newspapers have some decent content but the lack of money in print media means the resources required for quality analysis are thin on the ground.
Big Footy is good for entertainment but bad for anything remotely insightful. Foxtel does a reasonable job of both covering and analysing footy but it is also falling into the trap of headline-grabbing. The less said about Channel 7's footy coverage, the better. Their halftime stuff and ridiculous fan zone cutaways are deplorable.
The likes of PRE fill a great need but are typically echo chambers (and fair enough too -- they don't purport to be anything else).
The issue has come into focus for me due to the haste with which our Thursday night game was despatched from the overall round 14 conversation.
Last season, the same fixture was lauded as the game of the season and the focus on differing game styles, dry vs wet weather footy and the end-to-end nature of the final quarter was written and talked about for days.
On Thursday night, Richmond put on possibly the finest display of footy by a team this season (honourable mentions: Collingwood in round 1, the Cats over Port a few rounds ago and maybe the Saints over us in round 4).
So much so, the club roared into premiership favouritism.
But just four days later, you wouldn't know it. Instead, peripheral matters dominate. Jane Gale said this. Old man Kennedy said that. Noah Balta should be reported for whatever. Jamie Cripps is going home because his partner is expecting. Luke Shuey nearly fell over trying to kick the ball. Tom Lynch brushed Jeremy McGovern on the goal line and should have got a free.
Blah, blah, blah! Is this really what the game has come to? I hope OTC does a decent segment tonight on our match.
Otherwise we'll simply be rolling into round 15 with just a bunch of clickbait headlines to show for it.
