#westernsydney — Public Fediverse posts

@nxskok @joannaholman This is true.

And the size of the oval at senior AFL level is not standardised, even today.

So you have something like GMHBA Stadium (aka Kardinia Park) in Geelong (170 m × 115 m), which is 35 metres narrower and 10 metres longer than the MCG (160 m x 140 m).

This has a measurable impact on games.

Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn's coach) has a tactic where he spreads out the other team's defenders by having his players deliberately kick the ball across the width of the ground.

(If you ever watch a Hawthorn game and you see the Hawks kick the ball from side to side, or you hear the commentators say they're "stretching" the ground, that's what they're talking about.)

That works a *lot* better at the MCG than at Geelong.

To make the situation worse, the AFL doesn't just use cricket ovals.

Engie Stadium, the GWS Giants home ground, is the former baseball stadium from the Sydney Olympics.

Which is why it has straight sides that converge in a nearly triangular shape at one end (you can see it in this photo): https://pixelfed.social/p/ajsadauskas/973894393236795877

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