As a player, I’ve often said – and heard others say – that we don’t listen to the media. But let’s be honest: that’s not true.
Narratives created by the media are influencing the outcomes of more AFL games and individual performances than ever before.
Footballers say they don’t listen to the media, but Libby Birch says that’s not true.Credit: Stephen Kiprillis
This year, with a new broadcast deal, competition between Channel Seven and Fox Footy has fuelled a wave of new shows and an overwhelming surge of football opinions. The blanket coverage makes it almost impossible for players to ignore. It’s everywhere you look, and it will always find a way in – through friends, family, or teammates who mention what they’ve seen or heard.
No matter how much we try to focus on preparation and performance, the media’s presence is always felt — not just by players, but by coaches and clubs as well. I’ve experienced this from both sides, as a player and someone who works in the media.
No one enjoys hearing negative feedback, especially when it’s aired publicly. Experienced athletes understand they can’t escape the unwanted noise, so they learn how to filter it. To focus on feedback that deserves attention and can help them get better and ignore criticism that is baseless and uninformed.
Ultimately, players rely on their internal support systems for feedback – coaches, teammates, and club leaders — the voices that truly matter.
Nick Daicos has let his football do the talking since attracting some criticism for his performance in his team’s opening round loss to GWS.Credit: Getty Images
But that doesn’t mean external criticism isn’t used as a motivator.
Just look at Collingwood and Nick Daicos. After their opening round loss, the Pies were labelled “too old and too slow” and their star playmaker’s fitness was questioned. Wins against Port Adelaide and the Bulldogs, complemented by standout performances from Daicos have been the perfect response to the critics.
It’s a story we’ve seen before. In 2022, Geelong faced the same criticisms throughout the home-and-away season. They answered with a premiership, then dined out on the criticism in their Wacky Wednesday celebrations – albeit with a sense of humour.
Responding to scrutiny of his team’s coaching succession plan and poor round-one showing, Port Adelaide captain Connor Rozee was adamant his team was not listening to the media and were focused only on themselves.
Geelong’s veterans dressed up as old codgers for their Wacky Wednesday celebrations after the 2022 premiership.Credit: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images
It was a familiar refrain. But Port’s players would’ve heard the chatter. To their credit, they responded with a better performance against Richmond.
The challenge for players is to find the right balance – how much external noise do you take in, and how much do you block out to stay focused on internal goals?
Sports psychology shows that outside motivation can work, but only in the short term. It’s fuelled by emotion – like the frustration of being called old and slow.
But such motivation is risky. It leads to inconsistency because it’s impossible to sustain high levels of emotion indefinitely. The same goes for believing your own hype. It can be helpful, but it can also be dangerous, making you buy into results that haven’t happened yet.
Take the Carlton v Richmond match in round one. The media widely predicted a dominant Blues victory, conditioning everyone to expect Richmond would be overrun. Adem Yze’s coaching was questioned, and Daniel – sorry, Richmond – Gorringe described the Tigers as team of “14-year-old kids.”
When a narrative is repeated enough, it starts to feel like fact. Once you buy into that, you lose the ability to adapt in the moment. You’ve already decided what’s going to happen, so you don’t prepare for anything else.
By three-quarter time, Carlton players were likely thinking, “Imagine what the media will say if we lose. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go,” or, “I hope I don’t get dropped.”
Expectations were set in the lead-up to the game, and when reality didn’t match those expectations, doubt crept in. Doubt in football is dangerous, affecting confidence, decision-making, and execution under pressure. When the heat is on, doubt triggers thoughts of self-preservation.
Sports psychology calls it a “threat mindset” — your body shifts into fight-or-flight mode. In flight mode, players might step away from the contest, hesitate or avoid involvement so they don’t make a mistake. Ultimately, their impact on the game suffers.
In those moments, the weight of a bad performance can overshadow the drive to win. Instead of trying to take control, players focus on minimising the damage. It’s a primitive thing to do; a mistake I’ve made many times in my career. And it can quickly snowball to derail a team’s season.
The hardest battle for players is often inside their own head. They know they must concentrate on the basics – “watch the ball,” “start in front,” “work hard to the front of the contest”, for example – but it’s easy to focus, instead, on the results they want, and that can become a distraction that prevents them and their team from reaching their full potential.
Sydney’s grand final loss last year was a prime example. Carrying the weight of their hefty 2022 grand final loss, they again looked overwhelmed on the biggest stage.
The Swans come to terms with another demoralising grand final loss after falling to Brisbane Lions last year.Credit: Getty Images
Geelong’s upset loss to St Kilda in round two loss was different. Rather than “panic”, it appeared as though they lacked arousal – the mindset needed to be ready to compete.
Did their dominant round one win over Fremantle, and the attention it attracted, influence how the Cats approached their next game? Don’t expect them to admit so publicly, but it will be interesting to see how they respond in the weeks ahead.
If experienced teams such as the Cats can misjudge this aspect of preparation, we shouldn’t be too hard on Richmond, with so many young players still figuring out how to handle the hype of the AFL.
Think about it – how can 18-year-old Sam Lalor process being compared to Dustin Martin after just one game? And more importantly, how can he live up to those expectations?
Football means too much to most players for the media scrutiny not to affect us. And with the added programming and scrutiny this year, we will see that attention effect teams, both positively and negatively.
This raises important questions: Are there now too many opinions in football media?; and, are we placing excessive pressure on players, coaches, and clubs?
With so many voices analysing every minute detail of the game, it may become more difficult for footballer to separate valuable insights from the noise. The scrutiny has the potential to place unrealistic expectations on them and cause unnecessary stress.
Mental health is a crucial aspect of professional sport, and AFL players must learn to identify what feedback they can trust and what should be ignored. Those who fail to find this delicate balance, risk falling into a relentless cycle of proving their worth to others, which will have a toll on their wellbeing.
The key lies in resilience, self-awareness, and the ability to focus on what truly matters – the process of improving, competing, and playing the game for the right reasons with your teammates for your club. In an era where opinions are louder and more numerous than ever, finding clarity amid the noise is a vital skill for all footballers to develop.
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