Joel Selwood is a master of it. Lindsay Thomas has been criticised for using it as a strategy for milking free kicks.
With the AFL coming down harder on head high contact it seems players across the competition are doing it regularly.
Ducking the head.
It has been a contentious issue recently in footy, namely because of the free kicks certain incidents have drawn but more seriously, because of the potential of injury.
Only recently we saw Casey Tutungi, a young Geelong footballer suffer a tragic spinal injury in a very innocuous incident we tend to see every week in our game.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the football community and has rightly seen a wonderful chorus of support for Casey and his family.
In a fantastic gesture, Geelong and St.Kilda players came together on Saturday night after the game to pose for a photo dedicated to the cause.
The fact he has been diagnosed as a quadriplegic is a wake-up call for our game that the need to protect the head is as paramount as ever. But who holds the duty of care? The tendency for players to duck the head or drop the knees is a dangerous one.
The tackler obviously has a responsibility to do his utmost in fairly attacking the player with the ball, however the player in possession should be universally encouraged to stand up in the tackle.
If not only for the integrity of the game, but also for his own safety.
The umpires are heard exclaiming ‘ducked the head’ on the microphone at some stage during every game, suggesting the majority are switched on to the tactic.
The word needs to get out that ducking your head is not part of our game and if it keeps happening, we will see an injury like Casey’s happen again.
There are no doubt serious injuries are part of footy but we can definitely live without ones that ruin lives.
We all cringed when we saw Nathan Brown snap his leg as a Tiger and Richard Osbourne doing his knee at right angles back in the 90s.
Fortunately in recent years we have been spared the gravity of these horrific injuries and I think all in all for a sport as tough as it is, Australian football has escaped the injury scrutiny of other sports.
It is clear the AFL and its clubs have spared no expense in their football departments when it comes to sports science, while the professionalism of club medicos in prevention of injuries is world class.
Despite this maybe the league could look at implementing a ducking rule where the offending player gets a free kick against him.
The sliding rule has caused a lot of discussion in footy circles and because of some incorrect interpretations and the occasional grey area, the rule has met its share of resistance.
The essence of why it was introduced does make sense though, less sliding in with knees and more players staying on their feet has resulted in less reckless contact.
So many rule changes in recent years have been introduced to speed up the game. Maybe introducing one that will deter players from putting their head and neck in harms way is on the cards for a pre-season trial.
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