Noob AFL questions

[matty lloyd the champ]

Why are players allowed to shepherd but not allowed to block people from marking contests? Both involve preventing opposition from making a contest, so what is the difference?

 

[bunsen burner]

Why are players allowed to shepherd but not allowed to block people from marking contests? Both involve preventing opposition from making a contest, so what is the difference?

Possession.

 

[vealesy]

Interesting thread.

Ive watched/played/umpired this game my whole life and I still dont understand the rules. They are different each season/week/contest.

 

[bunsen burner]

The rules evolve. On one hand it's easy to follow, on the other the inconsistencies get annoying.

The "play on when you've beeen done holding the ball/incorrect disposal" interp need to be thought out. I can see why they're doing it (to maintain continuity) but it's making a mockery of one of the core rules. Closing down and tackling has become so intense, to reward a free kick every time means either a) slow up play, or more likely, b) no one grabs the contested ball.

I assume the game will revolve soon enough and this problem will phase out.

 

[WeNeverTanked!]

I hear a different version every week. Are you allowed to run 15 meters or 15 steps without bouncing the ball?

 

[vealesy]

I hear a different version every week. Are you allowed to run 15 meters or 15 steps without bouncing the ball?

Its 15m, but its easier to just count steps as opposed to pulling out a tape measure.

 

[radiojake]

1. Why is there no capacity to send someone off? Someone could go out there and just start decking blokes left right and center and they cant get sent off??

I don't know if this exists in AFL, but I remember Garry McIntosh getting reported twice for Norwood in the one SANFL game back in the 90s - He got sent off - One of the reports was for tripping

 

[Happy_Neale]

Its largely non-possession things; spoils, sheperds, etc; that either help a team mate win the ball or help give them time to use it properly.
I don't know what the formal definition is, it seems to have one now as stats are kept for it, but I used to take it as originally meaning all the little things the little things that back then didn't get counted as a statistic.

It's because those things were seen to make up 1% of a game in days gone by. I.e. they generally went unnoticed but were important. Now there is a heavier focus on them than in the past.

 

[soupaman]

There is no need for the rule at all, if a player just wants to sit back and rush behinds to waste time ala Joel Bowden then they can just wait until the player rushes up and puts pressure on them before rushing a behind!

No they can't.

I believe the rule works more like holding the ball:

If the player is deemed to have had a period of time where they weren't under direct pressure and thus had an opportunity to dispose of the ball unimpended (much like a kick out) then they cannot rush it without being pinged.

If a player is under immediate pressure once they gain possesion then they can rush it.

I hated the rule when it was first brought in as I believed it was unnecessary, but having seen the way it's been implemented its only negative effect has been bogans standing up and screaming when the opposition rush a behind and don't get pinged because they were clearly under immense pressure.

 

[Groupie_]

Ok so ive lived in Melbourne for about 5 years now, spent the first two thinking what a stupid sport AFL is and then I got hooked. Now I cant get enough but theres a few questions I have about the sport that I still dont quite get.

1. Why is there no capacity to send someone off? Someone could go out there and just start decking blokes left right and center and they cant get sent off??

2. Why is a mark not paid when there is the slightest touch on a ball as it leaves the boot or in flight but 5 people can get their hands on it in a marking contest and the bloke who comes down with it gets paid a mark. Seems like a massive double standard.

3. The 'in the back' rule. I can see how pushing someone in the back in a marking contest or similar is bad but why does it extend to tackles? It is one of the highlights of the game sometimes when someone like Cyril runs down a bloke dallying on the ball but then if he falls on him then its a free kick to the numpty who got caught! Just seems a bit strange to me.

4. Kinda related to 3 but you cant push someone in the back but you can knee and or kick them in the back (or back of the head even) all you want?? Im not a doctor but that seems a lot more dangerous to me.

Anywho, this thread might be good for others too who are new to the game so post away and if I think of any more I will come back and post em.

Any help appreciated.

Why did you choose Hawthorn?? Was it coz they won the flag in 08 or their fine colours?

 

[Big Jono]

Why did you choose Hawthorn?? Was it coz they won the flag in 08 or their fine colours?

A process of elimination. Wanted a team that wasnt too shit, but didnt want to pick one of the top teams either. Hawthorn had finished about middle the year before (think it was 2009 or so). Wanted a kinda eastern suburbs team because we live and work out here. Everyone said no matter what dont support Collingwood so it came down to Richmond and Hawthorn really. At the time my new company I was trying to make my way in was packed full of Tigers fans and didnt have any Hawks fans so that made me want ot go Tigers less so I didnt look like a suck up and could get some good banter going being the only Hawk. And ofcourse there was the fact that the Tigers seemed to be really shit! lol I didnt get the whole draft, and rise and fall of clubs thing at the time.

 

[grizzly_bear5]

1. Why is there no capacity to send someone off? Someone could go out there and just start decking blokes left right and center and they cant get sent off??

Apparently yellow and red cards do exist in Australian Rules Football, but for some reason not in the AFL.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penalty_card#Red_card