Whateley in a Snapshot | Tuesday (04.08.26)
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
I'm Gerard Waitley. Here's a snapshot of Tuesday, August 4. Luke Hodge on the rights of teams to rest players leading into the wildcard finals.
What is Luke Hodge's view on teams resting players before wildcard finals?
The first time we came up against it was in 2010. We were playing Fremantle round 21 and we've rocked up there and Fremantle have got a very young team. And I'm sitting out there and there's no Pav, there's no Sanderlands, there's no Mundy, Tarrant, Fyfe, Hill. And we're sitting there going, oh, geez, we're in for a good day. We won by 115, 120 points.
How did past examples (2010–2011) shape attitudes toward mass resting?
They had a six-day break to Carlton and then we played them in the first final over there and they beat us by 30 points. They rested players on a trip that they... It's the exact point that you just said. They did not need to send players down to Tasmania considering they couldn't lose their spot. And this is what a lot of the other teams will understand. So we had a different situation. I think it was... I think it might have been 2011 when we were playing a couple of lesser teams and we may have rested a couple of senior guys so we were fit for finals. And I mentioned that at... I mentioned that at the captain's day. And I think Patrick said, well, it didn't do you any good, did it? Because we choked in the prelim.
I'll tell you what, he got some daggers thrown in that way. And luckily it was only just daggers. But these are the stuff that people want to do. You prepare yourself. And as a player, especially as a senior player, you look back at the back end of the year. And I was talking about Geelong. They've got North Melbourne, Richmond. As a senior player... You're sitting there going, if we do finish 7-10, how can I rest in between one of those games so I've got a full run on? Geelong did it so successfully a few years ago. And that's the mindset between the players and clubs. A little bit different to what the AFL want to hear, but as I said, they brought it on themselves by continually changing from... throwing the buy-in so all teams got a rest and now throwing in this wildcard.
Sam Edmund reminded us of the history of mass resting.
This memo that was sent out to clubs at five o'clock yesterday signed by Greg Swan, just the performing on one's merits. Now for the avoidance of doubt, this is what the league has told the clubs when it comes to selection integrity in the final round of the season. Our clubs must perform honestly and to the best of their ability while legitimate management of player fatigue or injuries is permitted and The AFL will scrutinise club team selection decisions in the lead up to the AFL finals in the context of this rule. Now, I say the avoidance of doubt because reading that memo, it's rather ambiguous, isn't it? And it feels like this is something the AFL has just never been able to nail and that they've been unnecessarily agitated about.
I would contend leagues all around the world do it, Gerard. They just get on with it. Yet the AFL have tied themselves in knots with this down the years.
Lay it out for us. Ross Lyon and Brad Scott.
Okay, Dockers of 2013. Now, we're going to finish third. They made 11 changes for the final round against 16th place St Kilda, famously lost by 71 points, but validated that decision because they won the next two finals, including the famous one down at Kidinia Park against the Cats, to make a grand final before losing to Hawthorne. The Dockers did it again in 2015. They had the minor premiership sewn up. They made another 11 changes for the final home and away game against Port Adelaide. But then Fremantle won a home qualifying final. They did lose a fortnight later in a prelim against Hawthorne, who obviously went on and won it all again that year. Very good team. North Melbourne, the same year, 2015.
Now, this was probably the most contentious because the Kangaroos made nine changes before a last game against Richmond. Now, the Roos had not even earned the double chance. And what stood to happen here was that a loss in this final game where they arrested players meant they were almost certain to play the Tigers again in an elimination final in Melbourne rather than risking a potential trip to Adelaide to play, at that stage, the Red Hot Crows.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:08
2
What is Luke Hodge's view on teams resting players before wildcard finals?
0:08–0:29
3
How did past examples (2010–2011) shape attitudes toward mass resting?
0:29–4:24
4
Why do senior players consider resting strategically at the end of the season?
4:24–7:07
5
What does the AFL memo on selection integrity say and why is it ambiguous?
7:07–8:34
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from Whateley
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