So relentless is the tide of AFL news these days, even during the summer months, that sometimes seemingly important stuff can somehow get a little lost in the whirlpool. Like what? Well, you know, like the actual games.
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Football in 2026 isn't strictly, or often even mainly just about the business of winning an on-field competition anymore. It's about branding, it's about content creation, it's about engagement, the on-field component of which is just another aspect.
Consider the fact that the two longest-running footy stories over the past few months have been about Brisbane star Lachie Neale's marriage break-up, and the ongoing stoush between former Carlton chairman Luke Sayers and his now former wife over some widely publicised "dick pics".
We've had about a year's worth of speculation already about where Port Adelaide star Zak Butters is going to end up when he comes out of contract at the end of this season and become a free agent.
And in recent weeks, we've had a spate of "fly-on-the-wall" documentaries about what happened last year. Plus the now-obligatory catalogue of "top 50 players" lists from various alleged "experts", and those snap polls fed out on various radio and TV networks' social media accounts along the lines of "who would you take? Player A or B?"
Strangely enough (well, it seems strange to me) I feel like far less has been written and spoken about how the actual teams all these "stars" play for might go this season. After all, isn't that the point of it all? And yes, in case you missed it, I did do that in these pages last week.
I know I'm getting older and grumpier. I know I'm a traditionalist. But to that end, I know I sense that the starts to seasons these days somehow don't feel as special and as highly-anticipated as they once were.
I don't think that feeling that the games themselves are becoming less the centrepiece of attention, and somehow less special, is peculiar just to AFL, either.
The TV ratings might have been healthy, but I saw plenty of grumbling from rugby league fans about last weekend's Las Vegas exercise, who it was actually for, and for what purpose.
I've noticed a lot of bleating about the quality of English Premier League soccer lately. And seen cricket pundits complaining about the lack of interest our supposedly cricket-mad public took in the T20 World Cup.
To that end, I think the AFL is again making a mistake with the Opening Round concept, which, now in its third year, has always to me smacked a little of "too clever by half".
Born originally of northern states teams' frustration about having to either play away or share the spotlight with MCG blockbuster games in the start to the new AFL season, who honestly believes the concept hasn't created more problems than the questionable issues it solved?
Of course, last year, we didn't even get the two of four games in NSW and Queensland we were promised, thanks to a cyclone.
And in year one in 2024, we got one vaguely exciting game from four and an army of supporters from 10 clubs not involved who treated the few days a lot less like a bumper opening and more like one more chance to do some gardening or take a final "summer" day trip.
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Then there's the near six weeks it takes for the AFL ladder to achieve parity due to the shuffling of byes among the 18 clubs.
Actually, a super cynic (yep, that's probably me to be honest) might suggest now does that actually matter anyway given, thanks to the new wildcard finals, you only have to limp into a spot among the top 10 of 18 on the ladder to qualify for September action anyway.
But following Victorian complaints about being left on the outer, now the supposed northern markets round this season also has an all-Victorian affair at the MCG between St Kilda and Collingwood.
It's scheduling reminiscent of what the AFL started doing strategically with its off-season news a couple of decades ago; carefully managing a drip feed of "events" and tidbits so the game remained in the consciousness 24/7 for 365 days a year, and deprived rival codes and sports of a clear run at it.
Such thinking also goes to the paranoia about giving rugby league a "free hit", an argument I've never bought, as if one weekend where there's NRL but no AFL is going to cost our game supporters on a permanent basis. Pretty insulting to the intelligence of the public, actually.
But all we've got now as a result is this weird "half-round", which now, strictly speaking, isn't even the same concept we were sold originally.
Will fans of teams not involved still tune in? Maybe. But maybe, such is the saturation coverage of football the industry (as opposed to just the game) now, they'll opt instead to spend a final weekend off.
Whatever, I just can't help feeling that what once was a highly-anticipated return en masse of everyone's favourite game and everyone's own teams, has become something a lot less, a bit of a damp squib, and one totally of the AFL's own making.
