Gloves story in Age

[bergholt]

i don't really see any reason to allow gloves on the field ever. afl footy is already a controlled environment, why allow arbitrary pieces of equipment?

(except of course because the sporting goods manufacturers obviously lobby the afl to allow them, so they can sell more elsewhere.)

[Bernard Shakey]

Wear a glove, okay with me. It shows you have a mental weakness with your game. Make them keep it on at all times, none of this throwing it away while you have a set shot.

yep goodes and cloke were mentally weak in 2011.

Yep!

[Dr Spaceman]

Too bad KD's old man didn't wear a glove

[paddy]

I think that, if it doesn't increase safety, then they shouldn't allow it.

I have no problems with compression etc, even high tech boots can be argued from a safety point of view... but gloves unless guys have broken finger or something... probably should be banned

[Cairnsman]

I seem to remember hearing Dermot Brereton on a radio interview during his playing days explain how the Hawks players had developed a sticky potion they would rub into their hands.

Does anybody know about this?

It was something like beeswax and floor polish and possible other ingredients. I remember him saying it was particularly useful when it was a wet day and the players would apply it at the start of each quarter because the team put a lot of emphasis on trying to score in the first few minutes of the quarter while the ball was new and their hands were still sticky.

[plugger66]

I seem to remember hearing Dermot Brereton on a radio interview during his playing days explain how the Hawks players had developed a sticky potion they would rub into their hands.

Does anybody know about this?

It was something like beeswax and floor polish and possible other ingredients. I remember him saying it was particularly useful when it was a wet day and the players would apply it at the start of each quarter because the team put a lot of emphasis on trying to score in the first few minutes of the quarter while the ball was new and their hands were still sticky.

They have been using stuff on their hands for at least 50 years. Should that now be banned. lets face it the gloves help a couple of players probably mentally but if they were that good the guy in the American footy game yesterday would have caught the friggin ball.

[8856brother]

Michael Jackson wore gloves..did they enhance his performance..

Michael no. Bubbles Yes

[St.Carl]

The AFL have hired Travis Cloke to supply them with a written report on the merits of wearing gloves !!

I can see a problem with that. It could be a short report or as informative as a shopping list.

[vacuous space]

Cloke and Goodes were the only players to finish in the top-10 in contested marks who use a glove regularly. The vast majority of the best marks in the league don't wear any gloves. I think it would be a stretch to say that either of those guys would struggle without or that anybody would be made into a good mark by them. Daniel Pratt wasn't a great contested mark before he started wearing a glove, nor was he a great mark with the glove.

I don't believe gloves have much affect on the player using them. My guess is that most enhancement provided is a figment of players imaginations - like those magnet bracelets that Fevola and Jack Riewoldt were spotted wearing. Any advantage of tack provided by the glove would be balanced out by a loss of feeling. If they were truly tacky enough to hold a mark, then they would likely affect ball drop and handballing. I suspect they do next to nothing and are mostly a fashion accessory. I would not be surprised at all to find that players are paid to wear them. Nike probably aren't complaining about the article though. Half the ammos and juniors who read that article probably placed an order 15 minutes later.

[Con Gorozidis]

dunno.
im uncertain. lets see what happens this season.
maybe the ad was a beat up for nike sales? who knows.
my suspicion is they might be cheating. we all know slippery the ball can get.
a bit of grip is pretty handy. and blokes have been using grip on their hands for ages.

[ace]

Make them all play naked to ensure no advantages. It may even increase the female attendance numbers.

[Dr Spaceman]

Make them all play naked to ensure no advantages. It may even increase the female attendance numbers.

Hopefully that rule won't apply to veterans games