"Stand" Rule and mark movement

slingy55

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Mar 25, 2010
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As the rule stands at the moment, the man on the mark is not allowed to make sideways movement once they are called to "stand".
If the mark/free is on the wing or half-back area, the player with the ball will often still be allowed to make sideways movements to centre up past the correct line without the man on the mark being able to alter their position.
Until the player with the ball stops on their line, the man on the mark should be able to move sideways. Otherwise any sideways movement should either be play-on or "stand" should not be called.

Overall the rule is a bit of a pain. It's very tough on defenders, applied inconsistently and able to be exploited, but it does do the job of helping speed up the attack.

I know it's been done to death, but anyone got any opinions on how the rule is applied in these cases?
 

ManInWhite

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Apr 6, 2009
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Not calling Stand is not an option. The key is to ensure that any sideways movement has play on called as soon as possible. Need to keep in mind that if the player with the ball is slightly to the side, you can't call play on until he makes a move. Ideally the umpire should be making the ball player go back in a direct line through the mark but the pace of the game makes that difficult.
 
Oct 3, 2007
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Not calling Stand is not an option. The key is to ensure that any sideways movement has play on called as soon as possible. Need to keep in mind that if the player with the ball is slightly to the side, you can't call play on until he makes a move. Ideally the umpire should be making the ball player go back in a direct line through the mark but the pace of the game makes that difficult.

Why are they calling stand? This is the top level and no other rule on the ground do you here the umpire tell the player what to do.
They should not be calling stand. Auskick stuff again, we can add it to the nominate ruck rule, help the kiddies get the ball out of defence by letting them run out 30m. 50m penalties for not interfering. AFL = Auskick Footy League.
 

Spearman

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Auskick stuff
Even the most intelligent professional athletes in other sports have similar spoken commands from the officials. It keeps that particular part of their game from getting messed with or time wasted. Look at union scrums. They have a very controlled procedure each time.
It's no big deal. Players adapt and the game continues. There are some minor positioning issues I will admit and calling play on can be better.
 

leathaleigh3

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Oct 17, 2021
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Why have they changed the interpretation of this rule again just before finals? I thought if you feign a handball you shouldn’t be called to play on as it was judged by movement of your feet as to whether you have come off your line?
 
Jan 3, 2012
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Why have they changed the interpretation of this rule again just before finals? I thought if you feign a handball you shouldn’t be called to play on as it was judged by movement of your feet as to whether you have come off your line?
Worried the scats may choke again, gives them scope to match fix
 

My_Username

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Jun 23, 2022
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Why have they changed the interpretation of this rule again just before finals? I thought if you feign a handball you shouldn’t be called to play on as it was judged by movement of your feet as to whether you have come off your line?

Changing rules during the season shouldn't be allowed except is extreme circumstances. (unanimous agreement from the clubs sort of thing required)

Changing them just before finals is a joke.
 

Maddo11

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Changing rules during the season shouldn't be allowed except is extreme circumstances. (unanimous agreement from the clubs sort of thing required)

Changing them just before finals is a joke.
Yep. Congratulations at being the best teams for the year under the old rule set. Here's a new one for the last 9 games.

******* laughable
 

BigPond101

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Mar 18, 2020
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Its a great rule and has improved the game a lot. Now when you watch a replay of an old game and the man on the mark is running side to side, back and forwards, doing a whole circus routine on the mark it looks rediculous

Well done Gil and rules comittee, they have got most things right in recent years
 

My_Username

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Jun 23, 2022
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So now they are going to call play on when someone thinks about handballing but I assume they still won't bother when players walk 4 or 5 paces wide of the line between the mark and the goal.

No idea, but isn't finals just the perfect time for players and umpires to work that out?

You can bet week 2 will be different from week one too, as the umps learn from earlier.
 

Maddo11

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So now they are going to call play on when someone thinks about handballing but I assume they still won't bother when players walk 4 or 5 paces wide of the line between the mark and the goal.
It's ridiculous how poorly it's enforced at one end of the ground, but if you're a defender and look sideways some umps will call play on in a millisecond, some will let you just trot past the MOTM

Can't see any scenario where changing this "feigning a handball = play on" doesn't just add more inconsistency
 
May 1, 2016
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Overall the rule is a bit of a pain. It's very tough on defenders, applied inconsistently and able to be exploited, but it does do the job of helping speed up the attack.
This bit's the real problem.

A bad rule will still be a bad rule if applied consistently, but its effects can be minimized because coaches and players adapt. This is a bad rule applied very inconsistently, and always to the benefit of forwards and midfielders over the backline. Players frequently steal a good 3-5m corridor side before the ump yells 'Stand!' which is what the rule is intended to negate. Some players drop off the mark to get to outside 5m and get pinged, others can run from behind the player to take the mark without query.

It's a bad rule, and delaying tactics have not gone anywhere. Just now, after the backlash the umps received early due to too many 50's, we know that the public has no appetite for change.
 

richard parker

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Feb 11, 2016
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Surely there is a middle ground between unfettered sideways movement and no movement at all. I think the player on the mark should be able to move in equal measure and in reaction to the ball carrier. Often the player on the mark is completely taken out of play, which looks ridiculous.

It’s a terrible look at lower level footy too. I was watching some NFNL finals last weekend and the player on the mark was often just accepting they were completely taken out of play and they just let the attacker run straight past. Can’t we just accept that the sport has finally matured and caught up with all other ball sports where defence is given equal value.

I don’t think it will last.
 

GoldbergsGold

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Sep 30, 2015
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Scoring has decreased with this
Its a great rule and has improved the game a lot. Now when you watch a replay of an old game and the man on the mark is running side to side, back and forwards, doing a whole circus routine on the mark it looks rediculous

Well done Gil and rules comittee, they have got most things right in recent years
How has it improved the game? Scoring decreased until the rule.
 

GoldbergsGold

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Sep 30, 2015
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This bit's the real problem.

A bad rule will still be a bad rule if applied consistently, but its effects can be minimized because coaches and players adapt. This is a bad rule applied very inconsistently, and always to the benefit of forwards and midfielders over the backline. Players frequently steal a good 3-5m corridor side before the ump yells 'Stand!' which is what the rule is intended to negate. Some players drop off the mark to get to outside 5m and get pinged, others can run from behind the player to take the mark without query.

It's a bad rule, and delaying tactics have not gone anywhere. Just now, after the backlash the umps received early due to too many 50's, we know that the public has no appetite for change.
I thought this terrible rule was brought into make scoring increase, when it's actually decreased. How can there be people shilling for this? That's beyond me.
 
Jun 7, 2007
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I thought this terrible rule was brought into make scoring increase, when it's actually decreased. How can there be people shilling for this? That's beyond me.
It hasn’t decreased. It was 80 in 2019, 60 which is equivalent to 75 in 2020. Stand rule was brought in has seen it go to 79 last year and up to 83 this season
 

GoldbergsGold

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It hasn’t decreased. It was 80 in 2019, 60 which is equivalent to 75 in 2020. Stand rule was brought in has seen it go to 79 last year and up to 83 this season
It's still lower than 2018, when it was at 33,063 points compared to this year which is at 32,891. The trend is the score lower every year, but fluctuate as they lower if you look at the end of year tally over the past 20 years. And when the rule was introduced, it lowered from 2019, the previous 22 round, 20 minute quarter year. I wouldn't compare it to 2020, because it's excluding 5 games and those extra minutes.
 
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