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.
Avon River
Guest
There have certainly been players rubbed out at times where I've pondered that the 'victim' was more culpable of negligence than anyone by showing poor technique in approaching a physical contest. Either those who don't brace and go in wide open or those who seem caught by surprised when they seriously should have expected contact. Getting hurt shouldn't absolve of blame. A bit like running a red light and getting smashed by a semi. The judging of who the victim is can be too focusses on the outcome.
Brad
Guest
How about the umpires simply stop rewarding players who barrel head first into the opposition. The only reason this trend started is because the head became "sacrosanct" and players realised that ducking their head was a pretty clever strategy. Threatening players with suspension for ducking their own head is so stupid it borders on the hilarious. You can get reported for "diving/flopping" and yet players still do that all the time. But if they weren't rewarded for diving in the first place they wouldn't bother with it.
Mark
Guest
Ducking the head to recieve a free kick is taboo for me, very dangerous practice, and those found guilty of it should IMO be suspended, particuarly ducking the head into oncoming traffic. The head and neck as always, should be sacrosanct, when you have packs of players, and players bending to pick up the ball, he should be afforded every protection. Fully agree with the sliding rule, the intrepretation however by some umpires has not been correct however. it could be argued that because of game plans by Paul Roos and Ross Lyon, there are more injuries, and players are subjected to more packs than in days gone by, it seems fair to say that when all players are around the ball, then there is more chance of injuries, and serious ones at that. as a junior football coach, i would never ask or expect a player to duck his head to win a free kick, i would in fact ask the opposite, and err on the side of safety.
matt.nolan
Roar Rookie
I agree. Three different things, I am not suggesting we outlaw shrugging shoulders but ducking into someone should be looked at when it comes to protecting the players from themselves.
matt.nolan
Roar Rookie
Completely agree Ian. Warning system is a solid approach.
matt.nolan
Roar Rookie
Did Jordan Lewis shrug his shoulders and get a free on Friday night? No. He blatantly ducked his head into Brent Stanton hoping to draw a free kick. You can see Stanton back away with his hands in the air. I agree with the shoulder shrug but there is a difference when a player blatantly ducks his head for a free like Lewis or even Jack Riewoldt recently.
GazzaW
Guest
A lot of hypocrisy with this subject. I think a lot of it is media driven in that they need something to do and it's a good chestnut o bring up every now and then. A year ago I saw hawthorn do a heap of lazy tackles and then whinge that the opposition were ducking. Last week I saw my team not get any free kicks for headhigh tackles even when they were there. Then a couple weeks ago I went to Melbourne for a footy trip and saw a heap of ducking weaving shrugging and no one in the crowd commented about it. The player motions were no different to what I see at home just a different viewpoint. Not all ducking is a deliberate action either a boot could slip or you could just be weaving out the way in a sharp turn, you pretty much have to bend your knees to do it. Avoiding a tackle is what dodging weaving is all about are we supposed to just stand there and not try and get away. I still think it's up to the tackler to good enough to get low enough to tackle properly and you have to remember some of these giants would have to get real low to tackle a small midfielder correctly
Jermayn
Guest
As many have said. Ducking, Head thrusting and shrugging are three different things. Ducking is when you lower your head, looking for head high contact. Head thrusting is when you use your head as a battery ram to get out of the pack. Shrugging is when you move your upper body to shrug/ shake/ move out of a poor tackle to break the tackle. The first two should be outlawed and the third is fair play and people have been doing it for decades. To combat the third play, all that needs to happen is people learn how to tackle properly. I applaud you writing an article to 'tackle' this but do it properly...
BigAl
Guest
This is a difficult one - when is a player 'deliberately ducking' and when is he taking legitimate 'evasive action' ? Reminds me a bit of KB in the 60s / 70s just throwing the ball down when about to be tackled in the guise of '...going for a bounce' and hence gaining a free for '...being tackled without the ball' ?. This one was quite easily resolved by introducing the bleedin' obvious rule that once you have gained possession you are deemed to be still in possession until you dispose of it legally (by hand or foot ). It might be worth considering where the initial tackle is laid ? - ie.if the initial contact is below the neck/shoulder and you duck and escape you're away ! - and if you don't and can't dispose of the ball legally - you're gone ! - players ducking to barge through a pack using their head as a battering ram is way more difficult...
Ash of Geelong
Guest
Duck your head pay the price "Free Kick" cheats.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Nope. Go through the tape, and refer cases of ducking to the Match Review Panel. Then ban them for Recklessly Endangering the Head - yes, their own head. First offense a warning, then a week, then two weeks, then four weeks.
me, I like football
Guest
So penalise a player for shrugging a tackle? FFS! The only danger I see is players running head first into opponents (which by the way Selwood never does) and almost always the umpire calls play on. but there is little to no danger in shrugging tackles, look at Rugby League. What next, penalise players for jumping for a mark as they may get a fist into the back of their head? This whole thing is absurd BTW Selwood doesn't drop the knees to 'milk a free kick' he does it to evade a tackle and I would have no problem if the umpire called play on in that instance as he will continue to do it as it is a good techique to get clear of the tackler.
A Mans Not A Camel
Guest
Agreed. However, I agree with the idea - punish those repeat offenders playing for free kicks. Once they start getting free kicks against them, who knows, they might start learning to to get the ball out the good old fashioned way.
Proboy
Guest
Disagree. Certain players shrug there shoulders and get the free, this isn't ducking. Hodge, Puopolo and Selwood are the best at this. YOur article is incorrect and a waste of time