Pre-finals bye a curse for top-four teams

• COMMENT

While the pre-finals bye aimed to stop round 23 games being treated with apathy, we don't won't the first week of the finals to have matches played between the top 4 teams where the victors are left questioning if the extra week off they earn is a reward or a punishment. One way to avoid those questions being asked would be to change the structure of the finals series.

Tackling the hard questions on tackling

Of all the skills that have improved at AFL level over the last decade, tackling is the one that stands out the most.

Ban the draw: Why footy needs overtime and a shootout

• COMMENT

A 1998 study on sports spectators published in the Physiology and Behaviour Journal showed that fans experienced a physiological response dependant on how their team played.

The rest and rotation policy that could give Riewoldt another season

• COMMENT

With a bit of imagination the Saints should be able to squeeze another season out of champion Nick Riewoldt, but only if they feel they're close enough to success.

How the AFL could revive State of Origin

• COMMENT

Watching the NRL State of Origin last week, I couldn't help but feel envious of what they've created.

Chris Judd: Premiership tally nothing less than Hodge deserved

"D​emographics is destiny" is the Arthur Kemp quote which explains how a country's economic fate is decided by the age of its population.

It's time for red cards in the AFL

• COMMENT

Tom Bugg's behind the play hit on Callum Mills has been the major talking point from last weekend's round.

How Joel Selwood can modify his technique to protect his head

I hope when Joel Selwood eventually retires he does so with his best days ahead of him.

After their fairytale, reality bites the Bulldogs

• COMMENT

The Western Bulldogs should be incredibly proud of what they achieved last year, but the reality is that elsewhere in the competition there are people taking sport more seriously than it was ever intended to be taken.