2 hours ago, SaberFang said:

Was pathetic. Loved the way the crowd started booing him after the 5th or 6th free kick from "high" tackles, ie. him just throwing his head backwards into the tackler's shoulder. The one against Oliver in the dying minutes was pathetic.

How the [censored] do the umpires not converse about this at half time and stop paying it!? It was so bloody obvious to everyone; even the commentators started mocking the kid as the game went on and he was only able to win the ball via free kicks.

An absolute disgrace and yes he has a very punchable melon!

59 minutes ago, P-man said:

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. 

If Leppa is worth his salt as a coach he'd give him a clip himself and tell him to cut that [censored] out.

Rhys "Howard" Mathieson.

Forever known as

10 minutes ago, CityDee said:

Forever known as

Are you on acid tonight City or just riffin'..?

2 hours ago, Robot Devil said:

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

 

Lol what a [censored]! 

1 hour ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

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

 

Yeah, nah,  a short lived rule to try and prevent Matthew Lloyd from diving - don't think it worked from memory.

Something I have noticed the umps have forgotten is the rule change from last year where if a player ducks his head and gets tackled that is considered prior opportunity. Someone is going to really hurt themselves until the AFL start punishing players when they do that.

The other side of the equation is the MRP.

While we may love to see one of these cheats get straight-armed*, the guy who does it will probably get 4 weeks.

 

Players are all-but-helpless against this tactic. Mathieson was effectively untacklable today: he had 8 contested possessions and 6 of them were free kicks.

 

*  anyone remember vandenBerg vs Pendlebury? that was fun !

 

Edited May 22, 20168 yr by wretched.sylph
readability

The staging problem could be easily solved by reporting players for staging and ensuring that upon review they are referred directly to the tribunal and if the player is found guilty they miss at least 2 weeks, increasing for repeat offences.

The advantages of dealing with this problem via report is that the umpires can focus on the high contact while the tribunal can ensure that players are sanctioned for such behaviour without adding a dimension for umpires to assess during the game.

Edited May 22, 20168 yr by chookrat

Give him a break - the guy has a flawed technique and he was taught by Windows in the U18s.

If he persists with doing it, he'll end up being a regular concussion head - so it will be coached out of him - eventually.

 

7 hours 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.  

I was always taught that in a pack you keep your head up to avoid injury. Duckers put themselves at risk.

23 minutes ago, Deespicable said:

Give him a break - the guy has a flawed technique and he was taught by Windows in the U18s.

If he persists with doing it, he'll end up being a regular concussion head - so it will be coached out of him - eventually.

 

Okay, let's give him a break but instead focus solely on the umpires inability to adjudicate it.

The last thing we want to see is the sport become another 'Soccer-like' penalty seeking theatrics. I want to see players bullocking away from contests when tackles are applied.

Umps need to start calling it out before the year is out.

8 hours ago, leave it to deever said:

It was bad but if the umps keep rewarding the players for it then I can understand they keep doing it. The bulldogs did it against us last week with great effect.

I put the fault at the feet of the umps. The standard this year has been very poor.

 

4 hours ago, Pates said:

Something I have noticed the umps have forgotten is the rule change from last year where if a player ducks his head and gets tackled that is considered prior opportunity. Someone is going to really hurt themselves until the AFL start punishing players when they do that.

The rule change was about a player ducking and using his head to charge into the opposition player like some kind of battering ram, I think the umps have gone a bit easy on this one but that's another story.

That's not what this guy is doing, he's exploiting the rule and drawing the free kick, he's not staging, the free kick is there. It's up to the AFL to change the rule or for coaches to get their players to tackle lower and harder.

Not his fault and not cheating, some of the current greats do it. As someone pointed out, Selwood...but recently heard a magpie talking about how Pendles trains to do it.

Do I like it? No...reminds me a bit of Bartlett when I was a kid, the then VFL changed the rule. Time to act AFL? Yes..

Edited May 22, 20168 yr by rjay

6 hours ago, Tony Tea said:

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.

Yep, that's exactly what's going on and it's what's being exploited. Players are so good with their hands these days that you need to stop them giving it off quickly, the method being used is to take an arm or arms out of action. This means you are opening yourself up to tackling higher for someone prepared to slip the tackle...

The crack down on dangerous tackles has also had an effect on how the players are now being coached to tackle.

I think the AFL need to act on the player drawing the tackle but in the meantime I think our players should be taught to tackle harder and lower into the body which will force the player with the ball off balance and put the ball at minimum back into dispute and at best draw an incorrect disposal.

The rugby approach putting your shoulder into the tackle means you take them off the ball, it's not a dangerous tackle according to the rules and it takes the wind out of your opponent. They won't want to lift their arms to give off to much if they keep getting belted in the guts, it's a bit like the boxer softening up his opponent with body punches...

13 hours ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

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

 

Have you ever seen one paid?

8 hours ago, chookrat said:

The staging problem could be easily solved by reporting players for staging and ensuring that upon review they are referred directly to the tribunal and if the player is found guilty they miss at least 2 weeks, increasing for repeat offences.

The advantages of dealing with this problem via report is that the umpires can focus on the high contact while the tribunal can ensure that players are sanctioned for such behaviour without adding a dimension for umpires to assess during the game.

Should happen - won't happen.  AFL too gutless for that. 

Sometimes when my girlfriend steps on my toe I yell owe and then realise it didn't hurt whatsoever. I then milk her apologies if I sense she might fetch me a soothing whisky and have me recuperate on the couch. .

17 hours ago, SaberFang said:

Loved the way the crowd started booing him after the 5th or 6th free kick from "high" tackles, ie. him just throwing his head backwards into the tackler's shoulder.

That was one of the highlights of the day for me. You could sense the anger in the crowd that this little turd kept ducking into the tackle.  By the 5th time they'd had enough.

I love that his nickname hence forth will be Cheatmode.

Our players just need to learn to tackle better. The Bulldogs were able to get their arms free far too easily last week, then we kept whacking a bloke around the head this week (yes, I know he ducked, it happens, move on). Other times this year we have had a spate of in the backs paid against us because players dive forward in the tackle. We just need to adjust accordingly.

I recommend tackling an arm not the body, and pull it down and back if possible, may cause a few dislocations but will not give a free kick. This is for the duckers of the world. You asked for it.

 

 

Edit:- I have had a few shoulder dislocations and believe me I would rather a hit to the head any day. (Open to smart comments now...)

Edited May 23, 20168 yr by ManDee

1 hour ago, Skuit said:

Sometimes when my girlfriend steps on my toe I yell owe and then realise it didn't hurt whatsoever. I then milk her apologies if I sense she might fetch me a soothing whisky and have me recuperate on the couch. .

Have you got a man-bun?

We used to have a very simple solution for players like Rhys....he wants something to cry about....give it to him, run through the [censored] !!

DDT the fIog!

41 minutes ago, McQueen said:

Have you got a man-bun?

I mentioned I had a girlfriend, right?

20 hours ago, Rod Grinter Riot Squad said:

Bit rich to say he gets away with it every week when it was his debut

Pity you weren't quite correct. It would have been post of the year for mine. (I initially read it the same way as you, too.) 

20 hours 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. 

If the umpires are continually paying a free kick it's more likely a problem with the rules, not the umpiring. And that can be easily fixed.

19 hours 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.  

Frees against don't need to be paid automatically. It should be considered a legitimate tackle. If the player disposes of the ball correctly, play on. If he disposes incorrectly or not at all, a free should be paid against him.

34 minutes ago, Skuit said:

I mentioned I had a girlfriend, right?

Yes, but does your wife know?