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.