As the dawn of the new AFL season draws ever closer, I would like to go back to highlight something that happened in earlier in the offseason which has, quite remarkably, gone largely unnoticed and un-applauded.
The AFLlaws committee has copped a lot of flak for the introduction of their controversial interchange cap from all across the footy world and so I believe that when they make a good decision they should also receive their due praise.
And boy have they made a good decision, a very brave and crucial one at that.
This grave and sickening issue that has dogged our game for far too long has finally been addressed. I have seen it ruin countless great games.
It is perhaps the greatest blemish on our great sport. I talk of course, about raising your arms to the umpire in a protected area to indicate you don’t intend on interfering and are leaving the protected area as quick as you can.
If you do this, you will now concede a 50 metre penalty.
Finally! How many times have we seen that ruin a great game of football?
Here is a video that the AFL have made to explain the new rule. Skip to 0:36 to see this crucial new law in place.
This is surely a strong message out to those complainers who suggest that the law committee create too many new rules and tinker to much with the game simply to justify their own existence.
This rule change goes to show that the committee’s existence is justified and that the rules they create at the end of the year are only concerned with protecting the unique and fundamental aspects of our game that make it so loved around this nation.
I’m sure that this will come up every week and that umpires will enforce it every time. I doubt that the further complication of the rules will mean any more wrong decisions from umpires.
And the crowd will definitely understand what’s going on when their team concedes a fifty for this shocking offense.
The best thing that I can hope to happen is that if a player is caught in the act of such deeply malicious cheating on grand final day, that the fifty will be given and it will decide the premiership.
Say what you like about interchange caps, the laws committee is bang on the money here. They have used their time to finally fix one of the great wrongs of Australian rules football!
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