Boomer….he’s also the smallest guy out there, so, I reckon deserves a little leeway…..and anyway – he was ‘outed’ about 3 years ago, got nothing from the umps for 12 months after that and now it’s pretty well back to he being super courageous and just getting ignored in the normal North Melbourne way with the umps.

Defenders are allowed to tangle them into a game of twister. The forwards don’t get a lot of frees they obviously deserve and thus this leads to them into making it a bit more obvious at times.

That is the root cause, the effect is playing for a free kick.

The AFL has announced both as issues for the umpires to be aware of going forward.

Redb.

4 vs 18.

How many subs players can sit on the bench for a 5 man run on basketball side have?
How many subs roll up to a top flight soccer match vs the 11 blokes on the paddock?

Could you imagine basketball with only one sub player, or soccer with only 2?

Perhaps we need a 3/3 set up.

3 guys are freely interchangeable. The other 3 emergencies CAN be used in the true ‘substitute’ manner. 6 off and 18 on. But, the emergencies only get credited a game should they get on the paddock. That’d stuff up the stats, as, it’s easy presently, all 22 get counted…but, then, who was the StKilda 20th man in the 1966 GF who got a medal but never got to go on??? Kevin Billing. Actually, I assume he got a medal….or whatever they got in those days??

I know your loyalties wheres Lloydy in that poll? Not that I think he was a diver but you’ll never get a non Essendon fan to agree, they’re convinced of it. Which is why I’m wondering where he is in that poll?.

Kirk Tippett showed some simulation form in the final against the Pies I beleive, throwing his head up when tackled.

Redb

The media did not want to out it. It has got so bad that the AFL and the clubs had to admit to the problem themselves.

As the Herald Sun article reports –

THE AFL’s proposed crackdown on players who stage for free kicks has gained strong club support, with the league determined to stamp out “divers”. Blatant examples involving Hawthorn’s Lance Franklin and Collingwood’s Alan Didak this year have been highlighted by rival clubs, who have told the AFL the issue is well worth addressing.

Adrian Anderson said – “There are a couple from this year we used as examples where (players) have grabbed their heads when they were not even touched.”

Imagine if they were soccer players, we would not be hearing the end of it.
Rivaldo was playing the wrong sport. He should have taken up AFL

Intersting poll results from the Hun website

Who is the worst diver in the AFL?
Brent Harvey 23.58% (1960 votes)
Stephen Milne 38.11% (3168 votes)
Brad Johnson 14.91% (1239 votes)
Lance Franklin 8.66% (720 votes)
Alan Didak 14.74% (1225 votes)
Total votes: 8312

The game keeps evolving anyway and soon there will be other factors some people dont like.

We are heading towards tighter contests on the scoreboard with better defensive pressure all over ther ground.

The game evolved again in July 2009 Round 14 – nothing wrong with that game, only the terrible weather conditions spoiled a repeat in the Grand Final of the all out attack on the ball and pressure on the man.

Redb

p.s. I should add that the added focus on kicking skills at this years draft camp is welcomed.

I’ve long suggested a 2 + 3 subs or 3 + 2 subs.

However – at least, the modern local coach is more open to USING the interchange as a tool rather than back 25 years ago when I started playing and the coaches I think were still stuck in their 19th/20th man era of the bench being a Substitute rather than interchange.

You’d sit there almost willing someone to get hurt or to muck up just so you could get on…..before half time…..before 3/4 time….get on at all…..

Other noxious scourges on our game include kicking the ball backwards and across the oval, hanballing ad nauseaum and being penalised for attempting to take a speccy, which although still used in the marketing of our game, is very rarely witnessed throughout a season of footy these days.

I believe footy needs to revisit some of the old skills set which could mean slowing the game down a bit. One way to do this would be to have less players coming off the bench.

What do others think?

perhaps fine repeat offenders?

To me it was a clear example of interfering with a player not involved in the play.
Isn’t there a 5 metre rule ? – well Riewoldt wasn’t within 50 metres of the play ! – and it was obvious to all there was definate & hefty contact to a player totally unexpecting it.

This is a far bigger problem in AFL than . . . ‘staging’ !

All this barging and bumping before the bounce is another related issue – I just can’t see the point – to me it just looks oafishly childish and plain un-professional.

NFL is a far more ‘violent’ sport than Aussie rules – but they just don’t tolerate any of that sort of thing.

The word may have entered the soccer vocab because the staging takes the appearance of a dive (often complete with multiple rolls – who could ever forget Klinsman in the 1990 WC final?).

The difference is understandable – in soccer, one is trying to simulate a trip, applied to the lower reaches of the body, and that simulation will indeed take on the appearance of a dive.

In Aussie rules, the simulation will be the form of exaggerating contact to the upper back, shoulder or head – which might not necessarily mean going to ground.

It’s only a minor difference – but it’s a real difference.

But back to the topic of the thread, just like in soccer, it’s very difficult to ping people. Note that the article uses the expression “obvious staging” – and the Riewoldt/Lake incident is a classic case of just how difficult it is.

Was the punishment harsh? (a goal scored before the 3rd quarter had even started) – undoubtedly.

But could Riewoldt be accused of “obvious staging” when Lake clearly headed towards him and dropped the shoulder as he Riewoldt was running by? Who can truly judge whether that was sufficient contact? The point is – there was definite contact and Lake didn’t have to what he did (and I say that as a bullies supporter).

Just like in soccer, if there is to be a punishment, it must only be directed at players who have staged when there has been no obvious contact – we can’t be in a position where we are trying to judge whether the contact was severe enough or not – far too difficult, and people shouldn’t be punished for things that hav a degree of ambiguity about it.

but anyway, with the footy jargon, my favourite is ‘leg speed’! why not just say ‘speed’ or ‘pace’?!

Why is an outright fake “dive” called a “stage”?

Why is the word “tranking” used when it the more accurate expression for it is “cheating”?

Why is an elbow aimed directly to the head called “striking”?

AFL is a politically correct sport.