Ban the bump?

[Agent 86]

Bump under scrutiny again

Call me soft, but I don't see how "fair bumps" should result in fractured skulls, broken cheek bones & smashed noses etc.

The serious injuries occur because the player being hit is not expecting it & doesn't get the chance to brace or prepare for the collision.

I'd hate to see the hip & shoulder banned from the game & shepharding is a crucial & legitimate component in any attacking movement. But there's a number of players who thrive on what i reckon are "cheap shots" under the guise of legitimate shephards or bumps & take advantage of the fact that defenders don't see them coming.

Don't ban the bump - just ban the cheats.

[swans05]

BRING BACK THE BIFF

[cruiser]

The AFL has a responsibility to try to protect players from serious injury. As much as I love a good hip and shoulder, I think its days are numbered.

[The Red Barron]

Another step for the game i used to call footy turning into a touch type game. Thats why i love the swans because they are hard and fair.

[Zlatorog]

The problem is that it is not always hip&shoulder, especially when it comes wron an angle. Byron Pickett is in my opinion the biggest offender and a dirty one as well. Maybe he should get a life ban next time he seriously injures a player.

[NMWBloods]

The problem is that too many players are laying bumps against players who ar not aware and are hitting them far harder than necessary.

Of course there is an argument that the players should be aware of what is coming.

However, I think this needs to be looked at closely.

[Agent 86]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
...Of course there is an argument that the players should be aware of what is coming...however, I think this needs to be looked at closely.

There is that argument - but it's not always valid - in that the best anyone you could reasonably expect a person with 20/20 vision to have would be 180 degrees.

If you're chasing someone at full speed - you're only going to have eyes for what the ball carrier is doing & if another player is coming from just outside your peripheral vision then it's reasonable that you might not see them. So if you change direction slightly - & are off balance a bit - and BANG!

A few players* try to earn a reputation for being hard, but in a way it's cowardly and opportunistic. Sorta like a king hit, but legal.

* & I don't necessarily mean Byron, as he IS hard & certainly not cowardly. 'though he's had his moments of playing the man rather than the ball.

[giant]

I take it you're mainly referring to the Giansiracusa/Kosi incident.

My initial reaction was the same as yours - I don't want the game to turn into netball but a bloke shouldn't be getting his skull fractured just coz he didn't notice a sly shepherd. However, in hindsight, I think that incident was just plain bad luck (the type that Kosi seems to have a lot of - thank God we didn't spend a fortune getting him to Sydney to watch him sit on the sideline for a couple of seasons). It was just an unfortunate head clash of a type that could happen in all sorts of on-field incidents.

And while you claim that a player can only have 180 degree peripheral vision, if you've played the game a bit and you have an ounce of self-preservation, you soon develop a sixth sense for when someone is barreling down at you - Kosi's 6th sense seems to have become atrophied.

I also have a problem with the slam tackle where the taclkler pins the arms and slams the tackled into the turf - the latest occurrence was Luke Hodge on McGrath of Brissie on the weekend. This seems extremely dangerous to me and often leads to serious injury (think Willo & his broken shoulder last year). But how do you outlaw this without making extreme changes to the tackling rules? On balance, you probably need to accept that it's one of challenges of the game and hope when it's your turn that the guy will go a little easy.

[floppinab]

It's a difficult one this one. You can't just say the sheperder needs to be adjust his force depending on how aware the sheperded is of the impending impact.

You see say 50 odd shepards laid in a game. By far the majority both parties, the sheparder and sheparded are aware they are coming and can therefore handle the impact. How can we expect the sheperder to know when the sheperded is aware that he is coming or not????
In the Gia - Kosi incident Gia knows he's gotta put a body on Kosi and in 40 times previously he knows the shepereded will be aware he is coming and will attempt to run through Gia. If he backs off he runs the risk of being run through himself and the coach will be down on him like a ton of bricks for being soft.

How they can regulate this one, I've got no idea.

[Vyvyan]

As soon as AFL becomes touch football.. I'm out.

Maybe they can start to dress the players like in the Commonwealth opening ceremony.. IN TUTUs.

[Agent 86]

Originally posted by Vyvyan
As soon as AFL becomes touch football.. I'm out.

See ya!

[NMWBloods]

The Pickett one against Freo the previous week was a shocker. By the time Pickett hit the Freo player, the ball had already left Johnstone's boot, and the Freo player had slowed up and was still well short of Johnstone.

The Freo player was not really in the play and there was no need to lay the bump.

[Agent 86]

Exactly. It's not about taking the hardness out of the game - or turning it into "touch", it's about cracking down on the dirtiness and cheap shots.