'Absolute joke': Footy great slams state of modern AFL

AFL legend Don Scott has accused the AFL of losing its identity during a stunning attack on the state of the modern game.

Scott spoke on SEN Breakfast on Friday morning where he made his thoughts on modern day AFL abundantly and brutally clear.

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Much of the two-time premiership-winning former Hawk's beef was with the reduced length of quarters - a change implemented this season because of the coronavirus crisis.

The AFL has reduced quarters from 25 minutes to 16 minutes this season, allowing it to potentially squeeze more games into a shorter period of time later in the season.

Some members of the Aussie footy community have called for the change to become a permanent one, with Eddie McGuire one of the most prominent AFL identities to argue the case.

The Collingwood president said last week that shorter matches would make games more accessible for fans.

“I think we've been putting a bandaid on a bandaid. Now we can rip them off and say what is it we want this game to look like in the next 10 years. Shortening the quarters,” McGuire said.

"I don't think you can actually ask people to spend four hours at the football these days, going there in the middle of a Saturday afternoon, on a weekend.”

McGuire's suggestion drew plenty of opposition from the AFL community and a furious Scott says the change would ruin the game.

“Why don’t they just can the bloody game?”, he asked.

“This game is not what it started out to be, it’s an absolute joke and it’s a typical reflection of our society.

“I can’t handle it. We had a unique game once... and it is no longer unique.

“It used to be 25 minutes plus time on when we played... it’s just been reduced down to nothing, it’s not the game that it used to be.

“So many people are getting involved justifying their positions, trying to justify their positions and this is how to do it.

“It’s a reflection of society.

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Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes was another to slam McGuire's suggestion, arguing that the AFL has been built upon a ‘survival of the fittest’ mentality.

“It makes no sense. Why would we shorten the best game in the world by 20 per cent,” Cornes said.

“The likes of Shane Crawford, Robert Harvey, Ben Cousins and Nathan Buckley made a living out of grinding 120 minutes and doing their best work in red time and in time on. I don't get it.

“Some of the best moments we've ever had in Grand Finals, some of the most famous moments in the game have come in red time of Grand Finals.

“These three moments would never have happened in the game if we go with Eddie's theory he wants the game shortened by 20 per cent. It wouldn’t happen. I don't know why we're shortening the game by 20 per cent this year.

McGuire also encouraged the AFL to follow the NRL's lead by staging the grand final during prime time in the evening, rather than its traditional Saturday afternoon slot.

The Collingwood president says the game needs to adapt to compete with the likes of Netflix for the attention of its viewers - a suggestion Cornes vehemently disagrees with.

"Football doesn't have to compete with Netflix. Doesn't have to complete with restaurants. This is live sport," Cornes said.

“NFL in America goes for four hours and it’s the most popular sport in America. I don't get it.

“Drastic rule changes for the sake of it because there's a virus makes absolutely no sense to me. That's a ridiculous suggestion.”