New free kick tough on defenders

[Mr Magoo]

Very good point. I am in the leave it alone camp

Hear hear. I believe there is two ways of fixing the issues raised :

1. Why dont they go back to waiting until the umpire waves the flags before bringing the ball back into play. This curtails rushing for the sake of gaining a quick play. This one seems like a situation where the original change is the cause of the problem.

2. If they are worried about the Bowden situation occurring , maybe the rule could be changed more simply to a free kick is awarded in front where a behind is rushed directly from the previous kick-in without having touched another player. This would be very simple to police compared to the proposal in the NAB cup at the moment.

[ShockOfHair]

Well said all the above.

Instead of trialing some pointless new rule, why not use the NAB to bring footy as it used to be played: no centre diamond, 15m penalty instead 50m, and defenders free to chop forwards' arms.

The goal umpires could wear lab coats and hats, the players can do torps and dropkicks, and the fans will be allowed to run on the park at half-time.

It'd draw better crowds than Retro Round.

[laughingnome]

Well said all the above.

Instead of trialing some pointless new rule, why not use the NAB to bring footy as it used to be played: no centre diamond, 15m penalty instead 50m, and defenders free to chop forwards' arms.

The goal umpires could wear lab coats and hats, the players can do torps and dropkicks, and the fans will be allowed to run on the park at half-time.

It'd draw better crowds than Retro Round.

Oddly, not the worst idea I've ever heard.

[goswannie14]

Agree with a previous poster. The origins of this rule flow directly from a recent rule change.

When the AFL introduced the quick kick in after a behind rule, they inadvertently provided defenders with an easy out.

Think about it. You've got two forwards bearing down on you, so what do you do to relieve the pressure? Run the ball through for a point. With the quick kick in rule in place you are now free to run the ball 10 metres and kick it to a team mate further up the ground. All this with the benefit of having maybe 1, 2 or possibly 3 opposition forwards out of position, unable to tackle you and unable to get back quick enough to cover the zones. If implemented correctly it can be a very effective set play to move the ball from deep in defence to your forward line.

Simple answer to it. A quick kick in is not allowed for rushed behinds. Do this and you remove any advantage a defending team gets by rushing a behind.

This is the best suggestion in the thread.

[RogueSwan]

My two cents.

It seems every year that a new rule is being brought in to change the game.
And every year I think 'just leave it alone'.
The coaches is this game are smart enough to work around specific tactics such as flooding etc. The game will evolve naturally to counteract whatever the flavour of the season is. Last year it was the "defensive net". Some one would have devised a way to counteract it this.

[johnno]

What happens if we have a similar situation to the Port power vs Bulldogs match up in Darwin late last season? When David Rodan roved a boundary throw in and kicked at the wrong goals. What happens if a player has ping at the goals (the wrong end), starts to (fake) celebrate a goal and then starts to act embarrased after being told he's kicked to the wrong end. How can an umpire determine whether it is delibarate or not.

[Cheer Squad mbr]

What happens if we have a similar situation to the Port power vs Bulldogs match up in Darwin late last season? When David Rodan roved a boundary throw in and kicked at the wrong goals. What happens if a player has ping at the goals (the wrong end), starts to (fake) celebrate a goal and then starts to act embarrased after being told he's kicked to the wrong end. How can an umpire determine whether it is delibarate or not.

Discretion.

[laughingnome]

Discretion.

*Shudder*