General footy chat Rules of the game

[MattW]

The thing which interested me most out of the article on rule changes was the suggestion the game will revert to 20min plus time on. That would be a relief - the abbreviated game length last season really bugged me, and I thought they might hedge at something between 16 and 20. The longer game length makes for a much better spectacle, in my view.

AFL rule changes reveal: Rotations slashed, 'man on mark' on notice

[Nico]

Stop the clock when players are setting up to kick for goal. Time starts again when the ball is kicked. This will stop the likes of Brown taking a minute plus off the clock. This practice takes the suspense out of a close finish and irks me big time. Having the count down clock is lame.

[Bexl]

The thing which interested me most out of the article on rule changes was the suggestion the game will revert to 20min plus time on. That would be a relief - the abbreviated game length last season really bugged me, and I thought they might hedge at something between 16 and 20. The longer game length makes for a much better spectacle, in my view.

AFL rule changes reveal: Rotations slashed, 'man on mark' on notice

I don't know why the AFL doesn't just leave the game alone they do an knee-jerk reaction to something which then stuff the game up to which they do a knee-jerk reaction which stuff the game up to which they do a knee-jerk reaction and sew on

[Mel_C]

So if you're manning the mark you have to basically stand like a statue now otherwise it's 50 metres. What is wrong with this administration?

If they want the game to flow quicker they need to start penalising players that continue holding down their opponent after a free is paid. It happens time and time again and yet nothing happens. But if you step over the mark by 1cm you are penalised 50 metres.

[Ludwig]

Stop the clock when players are setting up to kick for goal. Time starts again when the ball is kicked. This will stop the likes of Brown taking a minute plus off the clock. This practice takes the suspense out of a close finish and irks me big time. Having the count down clock is lame.

This annoys me too, especially players who don't intend to take a shot on goal anyway, but are clearly wasting time. The same time limit should apply for all marks, whether a player is taking a shot or just playing on, whatever that is, 7 seconds, 10 seconds.

I've noticed that NFL field goal kicking is becoming increasingly accurate. The accuracy rate from over 50 yards is now over 70%. Maybe players who take a lot of set shots should practice this technique. It will be a new skill, since it's a soccer style kick that's used in gridiron.

[The Runner]

Ben Brown doesn't take a minute plus off the clock. He has a maximum of 30 seconds like everyone else. And the umpires are permitted to hurry players along if it appears they are milking the full 30.

The new rule changes really suit the styles of player we've been drafting over the past few years. Skilled users who can get to contests repeatedly and cover serious ground. Dawson, Blakey, Stephens, McInerney, Florent etc. And soon to be Campbell and Gulden.

The man on the mark and reduced interchange rules really play in to that for us.

[707]

Great, another 50 metre penalty for a absolute crap reason. The being in the protected zone 50 metre penalties drive everyone nuts, it's a game changing penalty for something that doesn't really impinge anyone.

I hate rules that see players incessantly appealing to the umpire and pointing to get their attention, like deliberate OOB, encroaching on the protected zone, rushing through for a behind

Seems even with the big HQ staff cuts we still have too many unnecessary people there dreaming up stuff.

How about fixing up the player pointing at the goals to milk 30 seconds off the clock to then not go for goal but pass it off, cheating gamesmanship like that needs to be called play on. Fix up deliberately hold a player down after a free has been paid or obstructing the player retrieving the ball from legs etc. So many things they could fix but don't.

Ben Brown wastes time because the 30 seconds is to start your run up, Brown goes back so far that he takes another 30 seconds to giraffe gallop in after he's had his 30 seconds

[The Runner]

Ben Brown runs back to take his kicks. If you think he's a blight on the game, you are worrying about the wrong things.
The delaying of a player taking a free kick is a real issue, and something umpires need to crack down on. The rules are already in place for that, they just need to focus on it.

I like the adjustment of not allowing a player to change on the mark. Really opens the play up behind them, as they can't move back and allow another player to get back and cover the mark. It will really get play moving.

[dejavoodoo44]

So if you're manning the mark you have to basically stand like a statue now otherwise it's 50 metres. What is wrong with this administration?

If they want the game to flow quicker they need to start penalising players that continue holding down their opponent after a free is paid. It happens time and time again and yet nothing happens. But if you step over the mark by 1cm you are penalised 50 metres.

Yes, that's my major rule gripe: that inconsequential running through the protected zone is 50, but it's okay for a player to wrestle with their opponent, delaying them taking their kick for about 10 or 20 seconds.

Rule of the week can also bug me. That is, something that has been largely ignored for a while, is cracked down on during the first game of the round, strictly enforced for the rest of the round and then forgotten about a couple of weeks later. I also find it sort of odd, that there's still tinkering with the rules, 160 years after the game's administrators first started doing so. You'd think that we would have got it largely right by now?

By the way, if anyone wants to read a good book on the history of rule and tactical changes of the game, I recommend Time and Space by James Coventry. Essentially the story of administrators trying to create more time and space, as a whole, while coaches tried to create less time and space for their opponents, but more for their own sides.

[Mountain Man]

second-tier competition, with a minimum of players from each team to be positioned inside each 50m arc - including one per team in each goalsquare – at all kick-ins and boundary throw-ins.

I read elsewhere the proposal is for 3 "pairs" to be inside the arc; and the expectation that the game will not be delayed to get players into position, because they will start to spend more time in those areas.

What does this all mean for player types?

Does it favour a Hawkins style "hulk, or say a Papley working from the square?
Ditto for defenders - will a Melican type be as valuable?
Would it suit a Buddy athlete if he cannot 'roam'?
Will games be decided not on possessions, but accuracy of kicks to the forwards?
Does the value of a tap ruckman increase if there is less congestion?

Crazy to announce today when decisions have been made - for us does Hickey in and Allir out change currency?

[Mel_C]

Ben Brown doesn't take a minute plus off the clock. He has a maximum of 30 seconds like everyone else. And the umpires are permitted to hurry players along if it appears they are milking the full 30.

Brown has 30 seconds to start his run up. He then spends another 10 to 20 seconds running in before he kicks the ball.

[Thunder Shaker]

So if you're manning the mark you have to basically stand like a statue now otherwise it's 50 metres. What is wrong with this administration?

If they want the game to flow quicker they need to start penalising players that continue holding down their opponent after a free is paid. It happens time and time again and yet nothing happens. But if you step over the mark by 1cm you are penalised 50 metres.

I agree, holding up a player for any reason after a free is paid should be 50. If an infringing player doesn't throw the ball directly back to the player who's won a free, that's 50. It holds up play. Why not a 50 for physically holding up a player?

Another rule that the AFL should really change is the deliberate out of bounds. It's stupid. It requires the umpires to be mind-readers.

[stevoswan]

The new 'man on the mark' rule is a classic case of AFL over reach and their solution for an inconsequential 'problem' is just stupidity. Hocking is a spud....this league is run by spuds. It's gobsmacking.....

[sharp9]

Simple tweak is to make the 30 seconds a shot clock like basketball...in others words 0:00 equals “play on”.

[Nico]

Ben Brown runs back to take his kicks. If you think he's a blight on the game, you are worrying about the wrong things.
The delaying of a player taking a free kick is a real issue, and something umpires need to crack down on. The rules are already in place for that, they just need to focus on it.

I like the adjustment of not allowing a player to change on the mark. Really opens the play up behind them, as they can't move back and allow another player to get back and cover the mark. It will really get play moving.

When a player stands over the ball and doesn't allow the player who has been paid the free to pick it up, is blatant time wasting to allow players to flood back into defence. The other one that irks me is when the player on the mark is pushed or blocked by another player from the team that is taking the kick. Should be obstruction and 50 metres. Both of these are Hawthorn tactics.

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Simple tweak is to make the 30 seconds a shot clock like basketball...in others words 0:00 equals “play on”.

I don't like any form of a shot clock. It is just a knock off from another sport. Just call time on until the player kicks it. If he handballs off it's play on. The time keepers know what they are doing.