The hearts of football fans were warmed yesterday as the AFL announced the scrapping of the controversial substitute rule that was introduced four years ago.
Coaches, players, officials and supporters have all expressed relief at the long overdue move to shelve the green and red vests which follows a series of measures taken by Gillon McLachlan to appeal to the more traditional football fans, such as cheaper tickets and food prices at stadiums.
The rule was brought in under the tenure of Andrew Demetriou, who seemed intent on changing every single aspect of the game, with the ultimate aim of bringing more money into the competition. Call me cynical, or old-fashioned, or both, but that’s how the plethora of rule changes came across to everyday footy fans.
All of a sudden, AFL football was no longer the game it once was, and many fans were disillusioned by the rapid, large-scale and sometimes illogical adjustments. Many rule changes also seemed to be reactionary to isolated incidents, which incensed fans across Australia.
Take for instance the sliding rule, which bans players from making contact with an opponent below the knees when sliding in for the ball. The rule was brought in after an unfortunate incident involving the Sydney Swans’ Gary Rohan, where he broke his leg after an opposition player slid in to get the ball.
Such an action is second nature to players, even those who, like me, play at the grassroots level. From the earliest of ages, young footballers are taught to go and get the ball at all costs, even if that means diving onto the footy. If you took out an opposition player, even better!
To watch players struggling to defy their basic training at times is painful to watch, and seeing them penalised for going and getting the football is infuriating!
Similarly, the interchange infringement rule was brought in weeks after the Sydney Swans fielded an extra player for an entire minute in a game that they drew with Richmond. After the incident, the AFL brought in a rule that required teams to document all interchanges and hand them to an interchange steward, and also penalised players who passed through the interchange gates before their team mates exited the field of play, even by a couple of steps, with a free kick and a 50-metre penalty.
The rule is illogical and redundant. A rule, the headcount, already exists as a measure to stop a team playing with extra players, and in a world where every square inch of the field is covered by cameras, a team wouldn’t get away with it for very long. In addition, and while I don’t have the stats in front of me, I would say that 99 per cent of players who come on from the bench do not affect the ball at the time when they are interchanged, especially now as players are often called to the bench after a goal.
Why a few early steps to go and defend a player or fill a part in a zone needs to be penalised so heavily, if at all, is beyond most football fans.
Staying on the subject of interchange rules, the cap on interchanges made in a quarter is silly, and this year, the cap has been lowered. No one really remembers why the cap was brought into place, and truthfully, no one ever remembers that there is a cap at all mostly.
Sure, the new level of 90 interchanges per quarter is unlikely to be breached, but there seems to be no logical reasoning behind the rule. If coaches want to make 90-plus changes a quarter, let them. If it means that players are less fatigued, it follows logically that players are less likely to be injured, and the quality of football on show will be better too.
Some head high contact rules are also unnecessary, and go against what many hold to be the spirit of the game. Sure, no one wants to see people unconscious on the field, but this is also the game we’re playing, where players are bumped, tackled ferociously and ‘rag-dolled’ constantly, much to the delight of football fans. It is inevitable that players are going to get hurt.
Yes, measures should be taken to limit concussions and players being knocked out, because after all this is the livelihood for many young men. But every player knows that when they cross that white line, whether it be the most remote football ground or the mighty MCG, there is every chance that they are going to get hurt, concussed or knocked unconscious.
It might be brutal, but that’s what football fans love to see. 22 young men wearing their teams colours, putting their body and health on the line for victory; that’s what gets bums on seats!
In fairness, not every rule change brought in under Demetrio was horrible. At first, I was cynical about what I dubbed the Joel Bowden rule, which was brought in after the former Richmond champion brilliantly took seconds off the clock to ensure a win by rushing two consecutive behinds while kicking in.
At first, I thought this was another reactionary rule that was pointless and stupid, but this rule has actually made the game more exciting. It’s become edge-of-your-seat stuff to watch how teams fight their way out from the last line of defence.
Yes, these ideas might be old-fashioned and against the grain, but they’re held by countless fans. Perhaps they’re idealistic too.
It’s widely held that our once great game is no longer that, and that it has changed to suit the corporates rather than to attract more followers. McLachlan seems to be a sympathiser to these views, which is certainly heartening.
The sub rule is dead and buried. Let’s hope the culling isn’t over though, and Australian rules football takes back its rightful title as the greatest game in the world.
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Now that was a quick change of mind!
