nutbean

In the Oliver article on the MFC website this little gem was thrown in... The AFL is cracking down further on dangerous tackles this season, with umpires and the MRP instructed to apply a stricter adjudication and interpretation of tackles made with a lifting, slinging or rotating technique ( emphasis is mine) How about the AFL publish on the website what "stricter adjudication and interpretation of tackles" actually means before we start watching competitive games ! Many were rightly complaining that Oliver was fined for a tackle that he should not have been fined for. I believe that the laws have actually changed and ANY slinging action will land you in trouble whether arms are pinned or not, or whether or not there are two motions. AFL - why do you insist in keeping we the supporters who pay to watch game in the dark - take a leaf out from the NRL who make public how they adjudicate the game (http://www.nrl.com/nrl-judiciary-code--dangerous-throw/tabid/10959/contentid/735083/default.aspx)

I get so few right ! I mentioned 2 weeks ago about his highlight package and now they are working on his tackling technique. Good move. There is so much grey area when you opt to sling. By watching his highlight reel you can see that Saturday was not the first time Oliver has gone the sling tackle. It is good that the club is on the front foot to get it out of his game ( and I await my call from the club if they would like any more insightful assessments on other players - I'm tipping I will have a long wait)

Spot on - that supporters read the "number of weeks out" next to an injured player and expect it to be 100% accurate, come what may, amuses me. Frost's toe was listed as 4 or 6 week injury but turned out season ending. Bottom line is that it just didn't heal in the time frame normally expected for that type of injury. I would suggest it wasn't mismanagement by the medico's, 4-6 weeks wasn't an optimistic timeframe given to appease supporters - it just didn't heal.

What is a very serious issue has a very bizarre twist being Andrew Bolt's reporting from Rome.

I just don't understand this. It may not do him harm to spend 8-12 weeks at Casey but if he is a talent and better than other footballers in the seniors then it will do the MFC who are trying to win every game harm ! I absolutely agree he must play games to get match fit and test his skills etc under match conditions. But what if he plays one game at Casey, 85% game time with no ill effect, works hard and tears it up ? Unless the medico's want him to ease him in with limited game time for a week or two and build him up, in my opinion if he is match fit, and if he shows good enough form to warrant it you pick him in the seniors.

Leaving aside the obvious effects that witnessing the Bali bombings would have on a person. We talk about the choice a person has of playing football at the highest level and the fabulous sums of money they can earn and I hear many chants of "what a gifted life". However it has always struck me, and moreso as every year goes by, that playing AFL football really is an abnormal life style. Whilst there is some responsibility on the players to perform actions and tasks so much of their lives are dictated and managed for them. Here are your training sessions, here is your program, this is what time to be at the airport, this is what time to be at the ground. Couple this with adulation and the spotlight from the public, it must leave a gaping whole in their lives once they retire. I know the ALFPA over the years has focused heavily trying to help players transition to life after footy but it is a huge task in moving a life from the abnormal back to the normal and it does not surprise me that many players do get "lost" and go the way of Febes. Best of luck to him - great courage in telling his story and I hope he continues on his current path of healthy mind and body.

Petracca did his knee in an interclub match - NAB matches are practice matches. So do we go into the season proper without players really getting the rust of their systems, testing new game plans or playing players in alternative positions. Injuries happen - they happen at training, they happen at intra club games and they will happen at NAB cup games.

disagree.. I think Lumumba always give 100% effort - now if we want to discuss effectiveness - that is a different story....

I won't go as far as comparing him to Jakovich ( the good bits of Jakovich not the bad bits ! ) but I think the comparison that they both have/had "X factor" is going to prove right.

I have no idea when Trengove will be back but I am tipping that the first week Trac plays VFL he will be on fire and in the seniors the next week. I suggest he will have very little problem "earning his spot".

I am sure that players want to tackle hard to knock the stuffing out of the opponent and take them out of the contest I am not sure any of these tackles are deliberately aimed to cause injury. With the breakneck pace of our game I also think it is a split second thing without malicious intent and tackles go horribly wrong. ( the days of a Grinter lining up a player to elbow his front teeth out or send him into the grandstand are gone in my opinion )

Was wrestling his way to the ball and had his direction changed in mid air by Corey Enright coming in from the side. All happened in a fraction of second where bodies are flying in all directions.... Deliberate......right.....

It wasn't a deliberate elbow.

I'm with you on this nonsense of not referring to people by their actual names, Nashmeister...

I understand your dislike for both Pell and Hird...but this is over the top....

I am more relaxed now. The scans are complete and waiting for the specialist to review the films but correct if I am wrong (webber - this is your area of expertise) - I would have thought the club medico's would have looked at them and if it was something season ending they would have noticed it already ? You would think that they wouldn't be filtering out the message of "minor" if the scans didn't look reasonable.

I think citing Harlett for his tackle is a bit of a billy stretch. The MRP is cracking down on slinging - arms free or not - BUT I think they have shifted the goal posts as part of the deal has always been slinging AND the arms are pinned AND two motions - I don't think the Oliver tackles meets the arms pinned or two motions. I am not surprised the AFL is cracking down on slinging in general as it is hard to control - and even if arms are free the whipping nature of the tackle means a risk of head injury even with the arms free as the player being tackled may not be able to brace. It would just help if it was clear to all that this is how they were going to adjudicate before they started penalising ( maybe they have told the clubs and we don't know ?) On a side note - I typed in NRL dangerous throw - and look at this link - http://www.nrl.com/nrl-judiciary-code--dangerous-throw/tabid/10959/contentid/735083/default.aspx Wow - NRL for the supporters - they explain the rule and give video examples to highlight what is a dangerous throw. That is how it is done AFL - wake up to yourselves.

We are Melbourne supporters - it's hard wired into our DNA

What got me on the Trenners incident (and now Oliver's) is that it was ok right up until the time he did the tackle and from that day on it wasn't. It seems to me the AFL plays catch up. "that was bad and we'll suspend you and from here on in anyone who does it gets suspended". I have no problem with what Oliver did being paraded to all clubs and say " if you sling , irrespective of hands free or not, irrespective of injury or not - then there is a danger of injury and we will cite these incidents".From today on - not acceptable. However unless the clubs have already been informed of this then this is a precedent setting suspension. ( the sad part is , that I knew it would be looked at and possible of a suspension fine as the AFL has a history of suspending first and setting the ground rules around the action second)

couldn't agree more - and seeing certain incidents over and over in slo mo moves us further away from the fact the game is played at a frenzied pace and decision are made in fractions of seconds and can go horribly wrong.

I haven't seen anything from Frost so far that has me excited. I think Pedersen offers more. I think it is great that players that most have written off like M Jones ( and to a lesser extent Grimes) are playing well. We want our players who are lock to have pressure on them to perform from lesser lights. It is healthy and will help to drive standards.

I agree that we the supporters need better clarity - (so I am lead to believe) each year the umpiring fraternity give vision to the clubs around rules, showing plays and what is and isn't acceptable. I think there should be complete transparency and let supporters see the vision so we can also understand what is and isn't acceptable. Like the bump ( which is all but dead) - any slinging type tackle - whether hands are free or not will be a thing of the past.

Because every season the AFL's seems to be tightening their stance on tackling and injuries. They looked at if a player was hurt and acted accordingly. Now they are looking at "Could a player have got hurt". The slinging motion happens quite quickly - whether the hands are free or not there is a risk of damage if the hands don't get in the right position to break the fall. Is anyone under any illusion that had Young hit his head Oliver would have got rubbed out ? The AFL are now taking it one step further - the sling could have hurt. I think it is pretty simple - just don't sling - whether the hands are free or not. (BTW I don't agree with the interpretations at all - it is a physical game and players will get hurt. Whilst I don't want any player getting hurt, my mind is telling me that the amount of players that get head injuries from a tackle are minuscule. The head bump i absolutely get - but tackling causing head injuries ? I still believe more knee injuries are caused in tackles than head injuries)

The number one issue is the AFL wants the physical act of the tackle to stay but no one to get hurt in the process.

Notwithstanding - I love the way that Oliver hunts the ball and the opponents - just tighten up the tackling technique.