(04-01-2018, 10:44 AM)PaulP link Wrote:I'm sure kids spend less time with the footy than in years gone past. But other factors surely must play a part - rule changes, faster, fitter players, which means the ball carrier executes under greater pressure.........I'm sure there's others.
Fev is adamant it's because too many new footy's are being used. I suppose his career spanned both era's of football. One with a single ball used for a full game and the other with bags of balls at each end of the ground.
After the first couple of years of using bags of balls I believe the AFL required the manufacturer to artificially kick the balls in, they use some sort of giant tumbler to do this. But even so the bags full of balls still means that each ball is shiny new and slippery as all get out when they first enter play, they never really get scuffed up enough to become easily gripped!
I suppose the lack of mud and dirt also impacts this, the games are basically played on carpet with little on no abrasive particles!
"Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck ....... Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck"