https://twitter.com/stevo7afl/status/930180363820740608

 

Good one AFL. Another iconic feature of the game being attacked. 

So each Ruck Duel will be perfect now will it?

f$&@ the AFL Commission

• No bounce
• No 3rd man up
• No straight arm block (recall the 'Max Tax' - 5 frees vs Saints)

So, very little tactical nouse required by ruckman these days!  Days of the great ruck duels are numbered...as Jeff White said:  Sad...

Wish they would leave the game alone!

Edited November 14, 20177 yr by Lucifer's Hero

It's only a matter of time before we start using a round ball.

The end is nigh...

Very disappointed if the bounce goes in this endless pursuit of 'perfection'.

Maybe we should consider a round ball as the bounce is more predictable.

Shoot the ball out of an air cannon. 

3 minutes ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

Shoot the ball out of an air cannon. 

I was thinking of a launcher like they use for clay pigeon shooting where you are not sure which way it's going to go.

Bring back white coats for the Goal Umpires.... Iconic and internationally famous

21 minutes ago, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

Very disappointed if the bounce goes in this endless pursuit of 'perfection'.

Maybe we should consider a round ball as the bounce is more predictable.

If the bounce is abolished I suspect the justification will be OH&S with umpires complaining about the effect on their backs and shoulders.

I'm not particularly fussed if the bounce is eliminated. It was abolished a few years ago from around the ground bouncing (as opposed to centre square) with little impact. And if it improves the overall quality of umpiring because (1) the controlling umpire can see the ruckmen and what they're actually doing instead of having his head down and (2) it encourages competent umpires from pursuing field umpiring who might otherwise not do so because they are lousy at just that one aspect, I think it will be an improvement overall. 

Ours is the only game in the world that requires a match official to execute a difficult skill to begin proceedings.

Get rid of it and nobody will even notice the difference.

Max must have had a bigger impression than we thought, poor b.....

21 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

It was abolished a few years ago from around the ground bouncing (as opposed to centre square) with little impact.

Hardly...the game is more congested than ever.

Throwing the ball up is too predictable and all you do is get numbers around the contest.

Go back to bouncing around the ground and let the game go...less predictability and less packs.

Edited November 14, 20177 yr by rjay

4 minutes ago, demonstone said:

Ours is the only game in the world that requires a match official to execute a difficult skill to begin proceedings.

Get rid of it and nobody will even notice the difference.

A good reason to keep it if you ask me...

I think it's a terrible reason if it keeps potentially good umpires out of the game.

A lot of overreaction if you ask me.

It's bounced in the middle at the commencement of qtr's and after a goal is scored. All the other stoppages ball-ups far outweigh the bounce-downs.

I think by the sounds of it Jeff White might've been over-processing it by quite a margin too.

Should have gotten rid of the bounce a long time ago. Throwing it up will suit Gawn.

The game has passed ruckmen by - they are outdated Dinosaurs and have been for many years.

I have mixed feelings about this.  If the umpires enforced a recall for bounces which are clearly unfair to one of the ruckmen then I'd be for retaining it.  At the moment they often let it go even if the ball would fall outside the outer circle.  Maybe we need a third circle between the current two.....   

Of course they'd then get so many wrong we'd end up with 90% recalled  non-bounce starts anyway, so just as well go the whole hog and drop the bounce.

but will the umpires be skillful enough to all throw the ball up the same height? and what is the ideal height anyway?  higher the better i think, especially not those dinky little tip ups like basketball you so often see

The point is that an iconic part of our game is going to get thrown into the rubbish bin. I think it will be sad to see the bounce go and for all I care the officianados changing the rules of our game can get knotted.

1 hour ago, rjay said:

Hardly...the game is more congested than ever.

Throwing the ball up is too predictable and all you do is get numbers around the contest.

Go back to bouncing around the ground and let the game go...less predictability and less packs.

While I thought the banning of the 3rd man up was a good idea when it was introduced, its implementation has, I think, had the opposite effect. Now umpires have to identify who is the nominated ruckman before they throw it up. That introduces an unnecessary delay which exacerbates congestion.  A quicker throw into the air should reduce congestion, and if a club can't work out which of their players should jump for the ball and end up with more than one, blow the whistle and pay the free kick.  

So many of the great features of the game are gone.

The features that made our game unique.

The bounce is a wonderful thing that helps to make our game what it is.

How exciting to see that first bounce of the day and to a slightly lesser extent the bounce at the beginning of each quarter. To see this replaced by a limp throw-up that hardly goes above the umpires head will be sad thing to witness. 

It will be a tragedy to see it go, and once it goes, it will never come back. 

It is unbelievable how our game is being systematically ruined. 

Just think of all those things that have changed, eliminated or disappeared due to the misguided attitude that the changes are for the better of the game. 

If anyone thinks it is for the better, you have rocks in your head.

The bounce is unique, it is an iconic part of the game that tells you "ladies and gentlemen we have a contest on our hands", and we see two ruck man going head for head.

God help me. God help the game. 

I have been watching our game, aussie rules footy, for over 60 years and I will lament the loss of the bounce as a further unique feature of our beloved game is abandoned in the pursuit of some supposed benefit.

One of the most endearing features of our game (and note to the AFL - the game it belongs to us, the people, not them) has always been it's unpredictability arising from the bounce of an oval ball. Umpires throwing a ball in the air removes that wonderful element of our game.

For those who can, go back in time and watch replays of the game as it was played in the 80s. Not much slower and umpires were quick to blow the whistle when the ball was contested and bounce the ball before packs formed. The game was speeded up without the ugly rugby mauls and reluctance to blow the whistle.

If it must be, then let's at least ensure that the umpires learn to throw the ball for the benefit of the game.  Straight up and with some decent height so that the ruckmen have a chance to run at the contest, not just stand still and engage in an ugly wrestle. Many of the ball ups this year were little dinky throws at odd angles. Bounces were straighter and higher. I want to see Maxie jump over the top of his rivals.

I fear for our beloved and beautiful game.

2 hours ago, willmoy said:

Max must have had a bigger impression than we thought, poor b.....

Some people will do anything to eliminate Big Max's influence. Why not just toss the ball to a Demon's opponent? That is what happens in the Port Adelaide forward line, regularly.

Well Gil follows the compulsion of his predecessors to make at least one rule change every season.  Pity he can’t think for himself, and / or leave the rules alone for at least one year. 

2 hours ago, hemingway said:

 

God help me. God help the game. 

well may we say "god help me" because nothing will save hemingway or the game