Has a Joel Selwood poster on his wall at home.

I mentioned in the game day thread that Oliver went up to the umpire just after the final siren to question Mathesen dropping his knees and lifting the arms in the tackle. The ump simulated the drop knees action and seemed to me to be indicating that the drop action was before the tackle rather than during. It's likely to become a habit because it's being rewarded.

Edited May 22, 20169 yr by Moonshadow

It's a tactic that is catching on throughout the league. McLean last week has perfected it.

Tacklers need to learn and aim lower because umpires are going to keep paying frees for it. They see tackles that are making contact with the head and that is a trigger for them.

I don't particularly rate anyone who does it as habitually as Mathieson did today, but he's doing the right team thing to keep drawing the frees for his team.

13 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

I mentioned in the game day thread that Oliver went up to the umpire just after the final siren to question Mathesen dropping his knees and lifting the arms in the tackle. The ump simulated the drop knees action and seemed to me to be indicating that the drop action was before the tackle rather than during. It's likely to become a habit because it's being rewarded.

it wasn't just the knee and arm action

notice when he ses ollie is about to tackle him. he runs into him at the same time turning his back to him and simultaneously dropping one shoulder. It was the turning his back to the tackler without trying to evade the tackle that is the starting action.

20 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

I mentioned in the game day thread that Oliver went up to the umpire just after the final siren to question Mathesen dropping his knees and lifting the arms in the tackle. The ump simulated the drop knees action and seemed to me to be indicating that the drop action was before the tackle rather than during. It's likely to become a habit because it's being rewarded.

If hes timing it or by sensing it before the tackle and dropping...how isnt at not dissimilar to 'ducking" ?

For mine the umps are getting sucked in here. Its not footy

there is another solution.....just run through the bastard

46 minutes ago, grazman said:

Has a Joel Selwood poster on his wall at home.

It's hanging in the doorway so that he can duck under it every time he walks in the room. 

Could it be any more blatant the way he raises his arm? Almost a McLean carbon copy.

The AFL needs to do something now. For a first game player to be doing this is absurd. 

49 minutes ago, monoccular said:

Some day one of these cheats is going to suffer a serious neck injury and the tackler will be made to feel really badly - the AFL should (but won't) crack down on this and start paying frees against these cheating bastards.  

What's sad is that when that happens, the sympathy for the injured player will be less than it should be.

1 hour ago, Redleg said:

Don't blame the kid, the umpires were told to not pay the duck and they continually do. Blame the umpiring department for not fixing it. It is a blight on the game that rewards stagers, actors  and cheaters. 

Agree Red. In fact good luck to him. If you can use the rules to your advantage then you're smart. It's up to the rule makers to do something about it.

Looks like a singer in a rock band going for a high note:

 

2 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

AFL should investigate or at least ask for a pleasr explain otherwise he will continue to get away with it every week. Drops his knees at every opportunity and sucks the umps in at all costs.

Add him to the most punchable heads too..

How does he manage to do it every week, when he played his first AFL game today?

3 minutes ago, Robot Devil said:

Looks like a singer in a rock band going for a high note:

 

Slain by loan gunman in the stands...............over & over again but heartbreaking each time.

That's a ripping photo - you can see clearly that Watts has him by the jumper too.

4 minutes ago, Nasher said:

That's a ripping photo - you can see clearly that Watts has him by the jumper too.

The Academy goes to.......

11 minutes ago, Robot Devil said:

Looks like a singer in a rock band going for a high note:

 

Looks like someone stuck a red hot poker up his arse.

If someone has twitter, it would be well worth adding that photo with a caption of: This is not an example of #beastmode

Just now, FireInTheBelly said:

If someone has twitter, it would be well worth adding that photo with a caption of: This is not an example of #beastmode

The new one going around is #cheatmode

Just now, Robot Devil said:

The new one going around is #cheatmode

nice

I was talking to a footy person today who said that, contrary to accepted wisdom, players are now being coached to tackle higher because it's all about pinning the arms to stop players unloading the ball under pressure. The margin for error is therefore less, and as a result high tackle numbers are up.

That would also go some way to explaining why so many players are now adept at collapsing the knees to draw high contact frees.

I can't believe the umps where giving them to him, it was pretty obvious what we was going especially the last one on Oliver. 

Edited May 22, 20169 yr by Robot Devil

Maybe I'm wrong but I thought staging for frees was a free against?

 

Beast mode,well that's just prime.

What a fIog. When he gets knocked out or his jaw re broken he will have no one but himself to blame.

 

The umps need to worry about this sort of shite over the delineate rushed behind rule.