All these injuries are troubling. Anecdotally, they seem to be increasing?
Formula 1 impose new safety standards regularly (often designed to slow the cars down). Likewise, the AFL reduced the bench (then reversed it), reduced interchanges etc. to slow down the game. It seems to have worked? We need more.
Head being sacrosanct (Too High etc.) and the mandatory Concussion Protocol (12-day return-to-play) are great.
The great thing of our game is we have airborne-markers and airborne-punchers all in the same small 3D space! Fans enjoy those speccies and fast end-to-end transitions. Can’t touch those. Zoning will destroy the game. Can’t stand helmets and body-armour (yet?). Reducing congestion (6-6-6, Stand / Protected Zone etc.) helps but also speeds-up the game. What else can be done to improve safety?
Soft-thuggery (it used to be hardcore, bordering on criminal, before) is part of our Game and stuff of folklore (e.g. Mark Yeates's hit on Dermott Brereton in the 1989 Grand Final). Needs more moderation? BTW, the AFL should trademark the Jumper-Punch and the Love-Tap (anything but!)
Tamping down on pushing players into traffic (which the AFL has begun) is a good start. Maybe clamp down on falling on players (the Toby Nankervis Gravity rule?). I think it is just a free kick now.
New rules will make the Game more confusing and more difficult to officiate in-game. More umpires would look like a 3rd team out there. Not to mention that new rules can’t be introduced mid-season. It causes more confusion.
Maybe more fines/suspensions for playing dangerously (heck, we have fines/suspension for "Bringing the game to disrepute" like pretending to be a plane. I digress). Maybe even fining the club for kamikaze moves (planned hits)? Difficult to prove? Now that cases are increasing appealed to courts, they’ll need to meet higher Evidentiary/Intent standards.
I don’t have to remind anyone of the career-ending injuries, the disincentive for young kids taking up the game and the lawsuits (they will only increase).
How do we stop the game we love from becoming a danger onto itself? What parts of the game are sacrosanct to you? What would you tamp down? Would we enjoy teams full of Pendles (Pendleses?; read in Gollum's voice) or the occasional kamikaze Max Rooke? Disclaimer: I'm a big Fan of Max Rooke
What would you change? What would you leave unchanged? How would you reduce injuries and make the game safer?
Yellow cards that don't turn the ball over or result in a 50m penalty/free kick. Get 5 yellow cards in a season and you get a one week suspension. Resets in finals.
Use them to stamp out the "anti social behaviour". Put a bit of mayo on the spoil and clip someone over the ears late in the marking contest....yellow card. Take a dive...yellow card, jumper punch....yellow card. Another good example was the Dangerfield knee drop onto Maynard. Maynard was not in the marking contest, yet fell onto Danger and tried to stop him inhibit him, Dangerfield feigned falling and dropped a knee into his ribs. They both knew what they were doing, just give them both yellow cards for dick behaviour and continue on with the game. If that is your brand you'll rack up yellow cards and start missing weeks pretty quick.
