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What rules would you change/fix to make the game more watchable?

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i would change the stand rule to only being enforced inside the defensive 50 once it leaves then is resorts to the old system.

Interesting idea. Richo rightly hates the stand rule in the forward line. Perhaps defensive half instead of defensive 50 to make it easier for players to observe and keep up attacking pressure from defence.

Take out no prior op and ping them for not disposing of the ball.

Tick.

raise the cap for interchange as it is literally bad for players health and they must the protected or increase the bench players

Agreed. Drop the sub idea and expand the bench to 5.


Pay umpires a full time wage (this is ridiculous that they are not)

Underpaid. I'm guessing they would get a much better quality of umpire if they paid $300,000 per year plus.

cant deliberately rush the ball behind for a point

Yes, yes, yes! Imagine the battles on the final line if they couldn't just step over it.
 
The stand rule is easy to fix. If the player with the ball moves laterally, the player on the mark is allowed to move laterally as well, that way they still kick over the man on the mark. Right now they can just run around them, which makes a mockery of the rule.

If the man on the mark goes too far, or starts back peddling to guard space, 50m, just as the rule was designed to do. It was not implemented to give the kicker free rein, but to stop the defender from guarding space. Now it is doing the opposite of what it was designed to do, it is giving the kicker all the advantage.

Simple to officiate, just like stepping over the mark, the player knows how far to move forward or not, and it makes it really easy for the ump to adjudicate, so it takes the interpretation out of the call, which is one of the biggest problems.
 
Anything that gives Selwood a free kick - he's more than surpassed his career allowance, and

get rid of rules -
Any call that shoves sunshine up or spotlight on an umpire and delays the play - including

Ruck noms and i'm backing out this way... just use other existing rules to penalize
"mic"ing up
stand the mark
deliberates that clearly aren't - double the boundary umps and get it in as quickly as possible.
50's for running into an exclusion zone when there is no tackle.
the 666 goes


Clean up's

Concussion is unanimously cleared by a panel of club medical doctors (3 Docs) as opposed to a nominated no of days - concussion does not run to a timeline!!

The sling tackle definition to include that it is a double motion. The onus needs to shift back somewhat to coaching players to protect themselves when contact is made. At present the rule is promoting diving into the ground / grabbing the head to milk a free.

med sub goes but interchange increases by one more player

New rules...

When umpires grandstand to get "me time" a panel of ex players can suspend and fine. This running in an arc with delay time between whistle and decision with sermons delivered needs to be severely penalized.

Pain killing injections that allow an injured player to get back on the field are banned.

SHocking is treated as a serial pest.
 
I flipping hate the "dragged it in" rule. Seeing players like Cotch or Jack Graham fight their arse off to win a ball only to get piled on and called HTB does my head in.

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I'd definitely simplify the holding the ball process
Q1 - Did the player being tackled with the ball have time to dispose of the ball after taking possession? If no, then ball up.
Q2 - If Yes, did they dispose of the ball with a handpass or kick while being tackled? If no, then it's HTB
The player needs to be given time to dispose of the ball or break the tackle, but no more time than this. None of this being turned 360 or 720 before the HTB is called.

I'd welcome this change. 'Immediately' disposing of the ball (the traditional interpretation) as opposed to 'eventually' (the present interpretation) removes the 360/720 problem (and variations) and might also have ancillary benefits (like reduced dangerous tackles). But it doesn't get rid of players being allowed to illegally dispose of the ball if they didn't have prior opportunity (!?!). It also doesn't discourage the rugby trend towards taking possession simply to cause a stoppage.

The concept of 'prior opportunity (to dispose)' creates a huge grey area leading to a confusing range of interpretations AND closes the game down. Removing the rule won't stop players taking possession - they will just have to be smarter about when and how. Lot more tap ons, knock ons and soccers. A quicker, more free wheeling game (which means we can get rid of that stupid stand rule). Players who can reliably break tackles will be worth even more. And fewer tackles might mean fewer concussions...

The AFL needs to seriously think about trialling the removal of prior opportunity at junior level.


Also I think we need to prioritise certain free kicks to avoid confusion.
I.e. if a player is running down the wing and gets tackled from behind, the HTB needs to get paid instead of any in the back decision. The HTB occurred first when they were caught, not the way the tackle was executed.

Completely agree. Only a reversal for a rough tackle should change your suggested result.
 
Get rid of the 'insufficient intent to keep the ball in'. Just straight up free kick against the team that touched it last.

What about players deliberately seeking to get an OOB against an opposition player?

Get rid of prior opportunity. You either dispose of the ball or you're pinged, period. If you can't pick it up and dispose it then just tap/kick it on.

Get rid of this 'stand' rule. It's ugly and encourages this slow kick-to-kick trash. Horrendously boring.

Penalise (progressively harsher fines) players who deliberately draw high contact. Don't pay frees for high contact that starts low and ends high/soft. Only pay those if it's really bad.
The stand rule is just corrupt and completely messes with my head.

Last night might have been Andrews with the ball after a mark. He makes one step to his right, stops, makes another step to his right, stops and props, so far 2 metres cribbed, the ump is 5m away and still not even a whistle in the mouth. Hey presto he plays on.

What is wrong with the ump, it's play on if someone goes off his mark, has been for 100 years, but this new rule is not only making the man stand like a idiot on the mark, it is allowing the ball player even more latitude than before this idiotic rule was introduce. Seriously ump blow play on as soon as he steps off his mark.

Waiting for the ruckman is another. Last night the ump held the ball up and waited for the ruckman to run about 40m to get to the ball up. In the mean time everyone sets up around the ball and behind it, while the 2 rucks get to the contest. Ball is up immediately, keep the game flowing, if nobody rucks, stiff.

Can somebody reiterate why the third man up was disallowed. Was it so that the ump had more control of the game, because every rule introduced, from the standing the mark, who goes up, deliberate rule (another head shake after Daniels last night), 50m penalties and more, all requires ump over controlling our game.

Ruckman were getting injured by the third man. It was also reducing the effectiveness of ruckman to the point they were becoming an endangered species. They over-egged the change though. Just needed to make each team responsible for the one up rule themselves. Two up and its a free kick.

Footy was once all aboiut not noticing the umps, now it is all about how much control they have.

Am I doing this right?
 
1. Modify the stand rule so that if the holder of the ball moves off the line then it's automatically play on, no need for a whistle to release the man on the mark. Player on the mark makes his own assessment at his own risk.
2. Protected zone is off limits to oppo players even if chasing a player. That will open up the game, as it will enable a loose friendly player to shake a tag and receive the footy when running past.
3. Get rid of prior opportunity and genuine attempt. If a player is caught with the ball and doesn't dispose of it legally within three seconds, for whatever reason, the tackler is awarded the free.
4. Piling on top of another player is a push in the back.
5. Get rid of nominated ruck. Any player can go up at will.
6. A mark is taken where it is first touched, not where the marker ends up.
7. No extra time for a shot on goal.
8. Instead of the 15m rule, a mark does not result in a free unless the kick originated outside the zone (ie behind the forward arc, centre, behind the back arc).
9. Reported players are sin-binned for the game.
10. Fix flooding with reverse off-side rule. Three forwards must be closest to their own goals at all times.
 
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1. STAND rule must go!
2. PRIOR OPPORTUNITY must go! And you must dispose of the ball by handball or kick.
3. PUSH IN THE BACK! Pay the free kick.
4. DRAGGING BALL IN- if the player on top drags it in(throw up).
5. HIGH FREE KICKS- if you duck, go in head first or drop your knees NO free should be paid to you, but if you don’t dispose of the ball correctly free against!
6. No nominated ruck!
7. Stop bringing in rules to make the umpires job harder. Simplify please.


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I'd love to be involved and have this as a job to be honest, pretty passionate about the state of the game, was really hoping they'd remove the hands in the back rule and they eventually did:

- Holding the ball, if the player has the ball with a chance to dispose of it (we'll say two seconds) and is then tackled without legally disposing of the ball, it is holding the ball. No other interpretations, no frees to be paid if a guy isn't making a "genuine attempt" whilst pinned under 50 blokes, this will be the only way it is ruled on, outside of a guy diving directly on top of the ball and trying to hold it in.

- Holding the man, if a player took possession and was tackled, if the ball spills out but the tackle is still completed, it will no longer be a free kick but be play on, as it's too harsh on the tackler and can easily be cheated on by players pretending to take possession.

- Stand rule gone.

- Protected area around the mark heavily relaxed, perhaps only resulting in 50 if a player is asked to move away and clearly refuses/delays.

- Deliberate out of bounds heavily relaxed, for example clearing kicks from defensive 50 that bounce out will no longer be pinged for deliberate, only clear attempts to get the ball out of bounds will now be paid.

- Minimum mark distance to now be 20 metres, no more chip chip footy or little sideways passes inside 50 to the midfielders who pushed up, keep the game moving.

- No more nominated ruckmen around the ground, but if a team clearly has two players contest the ruck then the other team will receive a free kick.

- If a tackle is legal and the tackler later falls into the other player's back, this will not be considered in the back, only clear in the back will now be paid wherever possible.

- Also relating to in the back, especially relevant in wet games, if a player falls over and causes an opposing player to fall over and land on their back, it will be play on rather than a free kick.

- High tackles to be relaxed a bit, frees for players who clearly stepped down into a tackle or ducked will not be paid.

- 50 metre penalty to possibly be looked at, maybe 30 or 35? 50 is just generally too far.

- Underhand taps to teammates will no longer be judged as throws, only clear throws will be considered as such. Why is a sideways slap okay but an underhand one not? We should reward good play, but if possession is taken and then a throw occurs, obviously pinged.


Might have others...
 

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Too late for me im 60 im just so over the game its actually been on a big down hill spiral for a long while now.Some here will be happy to hear it but this year was and is going to be my last for even going on a footy website like this one.

If not for the tiges i can honestly say this would probably have happened 10 15 years ago.

I dont expect the younger generations to agree after all they know no different but im sure for MOST of us from the 60's 70's 80' and even 90's the game has morphed into something that just aint footy.I also think the 34 year wait had a big part in keeping me in the game a bit along the lines of just gotta see a flag and i will be happy.

It would be an interesting exercise to do to see at what age footy no longer becomes a big thing in peoples life we all grow we all move on and as we get older footy no longer is the imortant thing it once was.
 
Front on contact
Ruck nominations
Stand rule
Slide in rule
Actually pay frees for throwing
Protected zone rule
Get rid of this shit and it gives the Umpires less rules to worry about , so they can concentrate on frees they should or shouldn't pay
It's no secret the Umpiring is getting worse every year becouse of adding more rules
Footy was awesome before it became over umpired shit.
 

That would just become part of the game/skill set. It's common in basketball.

All players would end up trying to keep the ball in play, tapping and kicking it along the ground unless they are confident they could pick it up and dispose of it.
 
To late mate
Don't watch after the Richo bit if you've had a rough day. I was there, worse day of my life... so far.


This is exactly why umpires with no feel for the game can ruin it, this video should be shown at AFL headquarters on how not to umpire and how dumb rules ruin games Of footy.
ps ill never forget that game. Add salt to the wound he paid a 50mtr penalty 😂😂😂😂😂😂
 

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Delete stand rule.... its unnatural in play and looks childish. Like watching a trial game. Man on the mark should have the right to defende space as long and they dont go over the mark. If they do it’s 15 mtr not 50 mtr.

delete off the ball frees for push and shove, break it up and warn the players with suspension then let the play go on.

delete the touch my little pinky and it’s no goal rule, if it goes through for a goal it’s a goal.

delete the 50mtr rule for all but the most heinous of frees. Don’t cheapen the game with soft 50s.
 
Too late for me im 60 im just so over the game its actually been on a big down hill spiral for a long while now.Some here will be happy to hear it but this year was and is going to be my last for even going on a footy website like this one.

If not for the tiges i can honestly say this would probably have happened 10 15 years ago.

I dont expect the younger generations to agree after all they know no different but im sure for MOST of us from the 60's 70's 80' and even 90's the game has morphed into something that just aint footy.I also think the 34 year wait had a big part in keeping me in the game a bit along the lines of just gotta see a flag and i will be happy.

It would be an interesting exercise to do to see at what age footy no longer becomes a big thing in peoples life we all grow we all move on and as we get older footy no longer is the imortant thing it once was.
Footy is still good that is why we still watch it. Think yourself lucky that you (and I) have seen the great era's and players. But I still love watching the great players and great games of today and the 2017 Grand Final was every bit as good as the 1980, although smashing Collingwood by a record margin is hard to top.

Many of the latest Richmond era are some of our best players ever. Martin, Rance, Grimes, Jack, Cotchin. And players like Bolton and Stack are just great to watch. A major issue is the way the game has been over umpired due to the weird way the officials have tried to turn the game back into what it was before. So many new rules, so many 50m penalties, so much is being decided by the umps. The coaches have a bit to do with it as well, constantly coaching things like dropping to your knees to mile a free.

It will have to turn back, surely even the bozos who make these rules can see the hate and anger the minor indiscretions are causing. Umps booed off the ground after the game is the worst look for footy ever. That can't go on, even 'they' must know it.

So hopefully the rules will be relaxed and some are reversed and maybe the game might go back somewhat to where it was before. Seems to me that only really last few years in particular have made footy hard to watch.
 
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Get rid of the Stand Rule.Its embarrassing to be honest.
One alteration i'd like to see is the advantage rule, if a free kick is awarded to a side and from an umpires prospective is when paying the free just hold his arm up and see what the next play is.If the free kick side can move fwd then no whistle.But if its a disadvantage then he blows his whistle.
 
Absolutely agree. Isn't the rule that if you duck into a tackle, it's considered your prior? I'd say 80% of the time a player ducks into a tackle they win the high contact free, and the other 20% the umpire will say ball up, you ducked. It should be holding the ball, you ducked, that's your prior opportunity!

And if you do a Selwood and shrug or drop at the knees, no free kicks. Per my post, this contact is almost never consequential contact.


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Agreed, players should be encouraged to keep their feet. They stopped the sliding in under players because it has potential to cause injury. Encouraging players to attack the ball by keeping their feet and turning side on for contact. This means less injuries and less free kicks. Fair bump ! Play on !
 
Increase the minimum distance for a kick to be paid a mark from 15 metres to 25 metres at least, probbaly 30 metres.
This opens up the possibility of more kicking errors and a reluctance to chip sideways and an increase in kicking to a contest rather than keepings off.
 

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What rules would you change/fix to make the game more watchable?


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