Opinion Non-Crows AFL 4: The Centre Cannot Hold

[TubbsFarquhar]

Weren't we in the top 4 heading into the break despite all the injuries and thought we will make a charge for the top 2 once we got all our injured players back? Whereas Port Power hasn't fired a shot and are 0-5.

Nah, we were off the boil for most of the year. You might be thinking of 2019, we were just outside the top 4 after our mid-season bye. Then, we travelled to Geelong, did well for a half before dropping off, and then our season de-railed after that.

 

[chazwazza]

The ridiculous rule changes from year to year (and the moronic blanketed AFL media) is a big reason why I take more interest and enjoyment from following the SANFL, obviously it’s a generational thing also. Unfortunately the SANFL is having the same stupid AFL rules thrust upon it also.
Remember when an opposition player couldn’t touch a player after they’d marked the ball if they also weren’t in the contest for fear of a 50m penalty……what happened to that stupid rule?
Self interested idiots making shit up to validate their overpaid and overinflated important jobs.
I’m not sure there’s a more fake and contrived competition in the world.

 

[ABAB]

Nah, we were off the boil for most of the year. You might be thinking of 2019, we were just outside the top 4 after our mid-season bye. Then, we travelled to Geelong, did well for a half before dropping off, and then our season de-railed after that.

You are correct, it was 2019 I was thinking about and we were just outside the 8. We were 6-3 heading into that infamous Melbourne game in 2018 and then the season turned into sh*t.

 

[Gtowncrow]

Just not in September......

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Might make a good Port player then

 

[GameofSloanes]

They’ll start paying behind-the-play free kicks for that too, so be careful what you wish for.

The next one will be 50 metre penalties for dirty looks, or just generally hurting the umpires feelings.

Look, the idea that a grown man on a football field can’t wave his arms after some weasel umpire makes a deluded decision, is obviously bullshit. And if you’re not saying this is bullshit, you are unhinged.

The good news is there’s probably a job for you at the AFLPA. Because those softcocks won’t say a thing about this either.

What is even the point of the AFLPA? What do they actually do, other than agree with the AFL about everything?

Grind out excessive pay rises, causing the cost of footy to increase to a point where people can't keep going?

 

[GameofSloanes]

Weren't we in the top 4 heading into the break despite all the injuries and thought we will make a charge for the top 2 once we got all our injured players back? Whereas Port Power hasn't fired a shot and are 0-5.

Second half of 2018 then. Got near it the year before. Think we have the best list. Only injuries have stopped us
The good news is its going to get worse for them until they realise

 

[BunjiMC]

Not push Hawkins away from contesting the mark with another player when you have no intention of going for the ball yourself?

The only probably legal thing you can do is to stand in front of them and pretend that you're also jumping for the ball.

It's a free kick and so it should be.

I actually think to remove the interpretation you should be able to block in a marking contest. If it's a 2 v 1 why can't you take advantage of that? Would stop people getting kneed in the back of the head as much also.

 

[BunjiMC]

They’ll start paying behind-the-play free kicks for that too, so be careful what you wish for.

The next one will be 50 metre penalties for dirty looks, or just generally hurting the umpires feelings.

Look, the idea that a grown man on a football field can’t wave his arms after some weasel umpire makes a deluded decision, is obviously bullshit. And if you’re not saying this is bullshit, you are unhinged.

The good news is there’s probably a job for you at the AFLPA. Because those softcocks won’t say a thing about this either.

What is even the point of the AFLPA? What do they actually do, other than agree with the AFL about everything?

I'm all for looking after the umpires to an extent but AFL is an intense game. Just stop umpire abuse; Swearing etc. You should be able to be frustrated. And you should be able to put your bloody arms out.

 

[BunjiMC]

‘Just put 18 robots out there’: AFL 360 hosts debate umpire dissent interpretation

‘Put robots out there’: TV hosts’ robust clash amid fears footy has been ‘stripped of personality’

www.foxsports.com.au

Really worth a watch.

 

[Eagleboy2011]

Just watching Footy Classified. A couple of things.
Has Caro got a wig on? It appears sitting on off center. . Makeup needs to come on and correct alignment.
Manure has cut that stupid mullet off but still has too much grease in his hair.

 

[Sanders]

Weren't we in the top 4 heading into the break despite all the injuries and thought we will make a charge for the top 2 once we got all our injured players back?

No, we were not

 

[WetCrow1991]

You are correct, it was 2019 I was thinking about and we were just outside the 8. We were 6-3 heading into that infamous Melbourne game in 2018 and then the season turned into sh*t.
View attachment 1377630

Nah the season was already shit, both seasons were. We won some home games and beat up on crap sides. At best inconsistent.

 

[I_Was_There]

I'm all for looking after the umpires to an extent but AFL is an intense game. Just stop umpire abuse; Swearing etc. You should be able to be frustrated. And you should be able to put your bloody arms out.

Poor Bassett! Those mouth guard chucking dummy spits when he lost a contest were so fun to watch back in the day. If he played in 2022 he would have given away 50 after 50.

 

[StonesThrow]

I actually think to remove the interpretation you should be able to block in a marking contest. If it's a 2 v 1 why can't you take advantage of that? Would stop people getting kneed in the back of the head as much also.

If you love the afl as a purely defensive game then sure. I like seeing goals kicked.

 

[Geoffa32]

What's the alternate here though? What should frost do?

Frost is looking at the ball, and yes has his hands on Hawkins. But not pushing him. Just getting position.


Hawkins could have easily contested the mark, but chose to flop.

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[Bay62]

Frost is looking at the ball, and yes has his hands on Hawkins. But not pushing him. Just getting position.


Hawkins could have easily contested the mark, but chose to flop.

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Exactly. How many times a game does a forward take a mark and a commentator says his opponent “lost touch” with him

Defending 101, stand right next to your bloke and put your arm on him.

 

[baldandbroke]

I reckon there are nine target areas for addressing the rules:

1) Remove or change the ruling around the ball being knocked out in tackles, and players needing to "attempt" disposals. Either you do or don't dispose it properly. Clean up "prior" as well

2) Increase strictness of holding the man. Any holding off the ball, even a slight touch, should be a free against. Would open up the game and make it less like a lotto when a hold is paid

3) Introduce last touch out of bounds to remove the umpires needing to determine whether a player meant to keep the ball in or not

4) Remove bouncing the ball so umpires don't need to learn this skill and can focus on positioning and getting decisions correct

5) Revert the push in the back rule to a more simple hands in the back which is easier to adjudicate

6) Remove the ruck nomination rule and just throw the ball up as quickly as possible to reduce congestion. Would make the game freer and easier to adjudicate due to fewer packs

7) Have a dedicated media spokesperson from the umpiring department who can be contacted during the game to explain decisions and educate the public on the rules. Sometimes even the commentators don't actually know the rules

8) Pay high frees for ducks because it's easier to adjudicate (any high free is paid) but then suspend players that duck via the match review panel. I don't mean fine, I mean minimum one week suspension. Staging should also be heavily punished. Fooling the umpires is not on.

9) Once the rule review is complete, lock the rules for 5 years.

Sorry Scorpus hit on a couple of my bug-bears in there.

(a) "Any holding off the ball, even a slight touch, should be a free against" - that is the rule now ... and it's a dog's breakfast.

(b) Any kick / handball that goes oob between the 50m arcs. (ie AFLW lasso rule)

(c) Hands in the back rule was a disaster.

(d) If you cannot have 3rd man up, you have to nominate the rucks.

(e) As far as the ducking goes - do you mean pay a free for ducking, or pay a high free to the ducker? Coz if you mean the second option, I'm on the other side of that one too!!

(f) NEVER lock in any rules, because they can all go bad.

AND how is the stand rule not in there????? Needs to be burnt at the stake.

I'd also get rid of the deliberate rushed behind rule, and just say you cannot rush a behind directly from a kick-in.

 

[Grooster24]

‘Just put 18 robots out there’: AFL 360 hosts debate umpire dissent interpretation

‘Put robots out there’: TV hosts’ robust clash amid fears footy has been ‘stripped of personality’

www.foxsports.com.au

Really worth a watch.

Whateley is an idiot and a reflection of everything wrong with the rules of the game.

 

[marvin]

I reckon there are nine target areas for addressing the rules:

1) Remove or change the ruling around the ball being knocked out in tackles, and players needing to "attempt" disposals. Either you do or don't dispose it properly. Clean up "prior" as well

2) Increase strictness of holding the man. Any holding off the ball, even a slight touch, should be a free against. Would open up the game and make it less like a lotto when a hold is paid

3) Introduce last touch out of bounds to remove the umpires needing to determine whether a player meant to keep the ball in or not

4) Remove bouncing the ball so umpires don't need to learn this skill and can focus on positioning and getting decisions correct

5) Revert the push in the back rule to a more simple hands in the back which is easier to adjudicate

6) Remove the ruck nomination rule and just throw the ball up as quickly as possible to reduce congestion. Would make the game freer and easier to adjudicate due to fewer packs

7) Have a dedicated media spokesperson from the umpiring department who can be contacted during the game to explain decisions and educate the public on the rules. Sometimes even the commentators don't actually know the rules

8) Pay high frees for ducks because it's easier to adjudicate (any high free is paid) but then suspend players that duck via the match review panel. I don't mean fine, I mean minimum one week suspension. Staging should also be heavily punished. Fooling the umpires is not on.

9) Once the rule review is complete, lock the rules for 5 years.

Interesting thoughts.

I'd swap 1) and 2) in order of introduction. One of the reasons that so many players drop the ball in a tackle is that they are getting held on to before they even get the ball. Penalising holding more strictly would aid the player genuinely going for the ball.

I'm not sure about 3), the fact that people shepherd the ball over the line to get a free kick doesn't quite sit right. For 4), the other benefit of removing bouncing is the number of umpires who report injuries from bouncing should be a concern if we are trying to attract and keep talented umpires.

I'd also seriously look at the ability of a defender to spoil a contest 20 rows over the fence. It's a free in the ruck contest if the ball is punched over the line without bouncing, and I'd like to see that in a marking contest. At the moment, one of the biggest advantages Melbourne's got is that they can punch the ball out of bounds deliberately from any marking contest, and then deploy the most dominant ruckman in the league to win the next clearance. Paying a massive spoil as deliberate would keep the ball in play longer, allow more crumbing opportunities and reduce stoppages.

 

[Maddogmetro]

On a different note to the current conversation about umpiring...

How absolutely classic that Robbie Gray

9

Robbie Gray

Age

37

Ht

183cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.9

5star

K

9.8

4star

HB

10.1

5star

M

3.5

4star

T

3.2

5star

G

1.4

5star

D

13.3

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

7.3

4star

M

2.4

3star

T

2.6

4star

G

0.6

4star

D

10.4

3star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.8

3star

M

3.6

4star

T

1.4

4star

G

1.4

5star

's first goal after coming back from injury was a patented duck? He hasn't lost his touch at all has old Robbie.

 

[maxlilly]

I’m not sure how you say he’s got no intention, his eyes are on the ball. He’s pushing back legally on Hawkins pushing him in the face.
The only frees I can see there are high on frost and (staging if there was a free for that)
Happy to agree to disagree on this one.

It's pretty obvious, surely everyone can see that.
I know we have gone soft but you are still allowed body contact at the moment

 

[Scorpus]

Sorry Scorpus hit on a couple of my bug-bears in there.

(a) "Any holding off the ball, even a slight touch, should be a free against" - that is the rule now ... and it's a dog's breakfast.

(b) Any kick / handball that goes oob between the 50m arcs. (ie AFLW lasso rule)

(c) Hands in the back rule was a disaster.

(d) If you cannot have 3rd man up, you have to nominate the rucks.

(e) As far as the ducking goes - do you mean pay a free for ducking, or pay a high free to the ducker? Coz if you mean the second option, I'm on the other side of that one too!!

(f) NEVER lock in any rules, because they can all go bad.

AND how is the stand rule not in there????? Needs to be burnt at the stake.

I'd also get rid of the deliberate rushed behind rule, and just say you cannot rush a behind directly from a kick-in.

a) I don't think it's paid that way. The umpires occasionally pick out random frees. They should be paying every hold, anywhere on the field. Don't care if there's 50 frees a game

b) Yes the lasso rule would be fine

c) I disagree, hands in the back was a clear cut rule that's easy to adjudicate. There's no interpretation. The push rule requires the umpires to decide if the contact was enough to constitute a "push". They get this wrong a lot. It also encourages dives.

d) I would allow 3rd man up, the ruck nomination rule creates congestion. One of the stupidest rules ever introduced if the AFL wanted to increase scoring

e) I mean you pay any high contact to the player that gets hit high, even if it's a duck, but then you suspend the ducker after the match. It would remove the interpretation element from the umpires (don't need to figure out whether a player has ducked or was just low to the ground) but heavily penalizes the ducker.

The stand rule is the least of the AFL's concerns, it's actually very easy to adjudicate. The bigger issues are any grey areas and "interpretations"

 

[MatthewB]

Interesting thoughts.



I'd also seriously look at the ability of a defender to spoil a contest 20 rows over the fence. It's a free in the ruck contest if the ball is punched over the line without bouncing, and I'd like to see that in a marking contest. At the moment, one of the biggest advantages Melbourne's got is that they can punch the ball out of bounds deliberately from any marking contest, and then deploy the most dominant ruckman in the league to win the next clearance. Paying a massive spoil as deliberate would keep the ball in play longer, allow more crumbing opportunities and reduce stoppages.

what happens when the marking contest is on the boundary line and the ball falls over the line without bouncing over the line, or the ball is spoiled back to where it came from but goes over the boundary line

 

[maxlilly]

The ridiculous rule changes from year to year (and the moronic blanketed AFL media) is a big reason why I take more interest and enjoyment from following the SANFL, obviously it’s a generational thing also. Unfortunately the SANFL is having the same stupid AFL rules thrust upon it also.
Remember when an opposition player couldn’t touch a player after they’d marked the ball if they also weren’t in the contest for fear of a 50m penalty……what happened to that stupid rule?
Self interested idiots making shit up to validate their overpaid and overinflated important jobs.
I’m not sure there’s a more fake and contrived competition in the world.

Spot on, I see exactly the same way.
Much prefer the sanfl but disappointed they brought in the man on the mark cant move rule
It's totally against the spirit of the game

 

[Grooster24]

So who here is Richard from Hahndorf writing into the Tiser...?