The new rules and us - implications

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No doubt most people would be aware that the AFL have introduced two new laws into the book for the season proper.

Synopsis: "The Commission's view was that the deliberate rushed behind rule and the 50m penalty for tackling a player after disposal rule had worked well in the pre-season period and would benefit the game," Anderson said in a statement released by the AFL on Friday.

Firstly, I would be interested to hear people's thoughts on the implications of the first law (if any) on our young up and coming defence, our transient forward line and on our team structure/tactics as a whole.

Will the 'Deliberate rushed behind' law improve the game?

Will teams find any significant ways to exploit this law that we never actually saw in the pre-season comp? Given that teams did not (at the time) expect this law to be brought in to the season proper and hence did not focus too much on it tactically, was the pre-season competition an accurate depiction of how the rule would influence the game? If this is brought in will teams tailor their game play? These are just hypothetical examples but could we see more long kicks deep inside forward 50 to put defences under pressure so they can be coraled? Will forwards hang off until defenders gain possesion and then perhaps alter their zoning as well? Will there be no changes to the way the game is played what so ever?

I do not necessarily think that these new laws will hurt the game, they will hopefully do what they are intended for. I do have some reservations though as to whether the AFL should have used the pre-season competition (given the circumstances of teams not significantly incorporating this law into strategy) as a model to base their findings.

Cheers for your thoughts...

[demonsflag555657 3]

People overall are not getting why the afl bought this rule in the first place.

The media say that it was hardly used in the nab cup.

That is good because it was only bought in to stop what bowden for the tiggs did in that game v ess so to make sure that doesn't happen again.

[DustyDemon 0]

Personally, I wonder just how far will the rule manipulators go in their quest to have as many goals kicked as possible.

I know they are the glamour boys and great for the 'product' but, hand/s on the forwards' back, hitting forwards' arms, deliberate out of bounds.

I mean, how much easier are they going to make it for forwards?

Some marketing clown has convinced those at AFL headquarters that a game is only a good game if high numbers of goals are kicked. Absolute cr#p! Easily the best game I've seen for 10 years was Sydney's GF win. Absolute worst was a Ess-Nth game at MCG 10 or so years ago when 25+ goals were kicked by both sides.

If we continue down this path it will resemble basketball more and more, where just moving the ball into the forward line almost inevitably results in a score. That'd be great.

Who'd be a defender by choice these days?

(Speaking of basketball, I won't even mention the rules threat to the legitimate bump)!

The worst aspect of this sinister new rule is that it's going to be the umpires opinion of what's gone on at the goal line. Adrian Anderson can prattle on as much as he likes about stopping 'blatant' and 'cynical' walking back over goal lines or handballing through but, mark my words, as sure as day follows night, it will result in a very suspect, unfair and game changing umpiring decision at a critical stage and all hell will break loose when, yet again, an umpire will have had a direct influence on a game's result with a poor decision.

Umpires definitely get caught up in the excitement of a game, everyone has seen how that ridiculous and hateful 'deliberate out of bounds rule' seems to only ever be enacted when the recipient is within kicking distance from goal. In that rotten rule, most of the time it's paid, the umpire has had to 'look into a players mind' and decide what he was thinking and attempting to do. Amazing skills Ump. I hate that rule. I wish they'd either get rid of it or go to the same as so many other sports where the last player to touch the ball before going out decides who gets the free.

Sorry about the rant but I really do despair most of the time now as to just where this wonderful game is actually being steered to.

[titan_uranus 22,522]

IMO, something had to be done. If you're a midfielder on the wing, and you're hard up against the boundary with little options available, you don't have the luxury of stepping over the line and retaining possession. Now defenders have lost that luxury, and the rule is consistent all around the ground.

Whether or not the rule will be exploited remains to be seen.

[e25 5]

Some marketing clown has convinced those at AFL headquarters that a game is only a good game if high numbers of goals are kicked. Absolute cr#p! Easily the best game I've seen for 10 years was Sydney's GF win. Absolute worst was a Ess-Nth game at MCG 10 or so years ago when 25+ goals were kicked by both sides.

I concur - more goal-scoring (to me) equates to a much less exciting game.

Think of the passion in soccer when a goal is scored - why? because it is such a rare occurrence.

On the other hand you have basketball with a score every 30 seconds... individual moments of brilliance are exciting, but on the whole most scores are greeted with mild appreciation.

The AFL are actually trying to head in the wrong direction but are too stupid to realise it.