Bombers' intra-club shows just how tough the new man on the mark laws are

It was only a few years ago that a separate body administered the rules and the AFL had to apply for a change. They abolished that to have total control.

I’ve had the exact same experience with rugby union as you. Absolutely loved the sport and since about 2003 they slowly ruined it with rules. I can’t even watch it now

They are going to kill the game with these kinds of laws. I lived in QLD from 1987 after growing up in Perth, and was fascinated with rugby union, there was no footy in Brisbane at the time, so I went to see a couple of union games.. always watched the tests on TV. About 2003 they began messing with the laws and about 10 years later I had finally had enough and have never watched another game since. Aussie rules used to be a pleasure to watch, but rules like this will have fans throwing their drinks at the TV.. who needs that kind of stress? Easier to turn the TV off and take the dog for a walk.

Once again we have a bunch of meddlers sitting in their castle in Melbourne interfering with the national game. I'm not sure what these people want to achieve except to be seen to be doing something and then expect that people will applaud them for their efforts ... LEAVE THE GAME ALONE :angry: .

Brilliant comment. We need to get this across to these fools. Take your lessons from soccer, umpires / referees deciding games is not what fans come to see. It defeats the very purpose of even watching the sport. Goals from 50m penalty’s are not exciting. In fact they are hideously unexciting.

This is absolutely putrid. Every year we see this nonsense slowly ruining the game. These people are out of control. Every single year they have to justify their own job by creating more nonsense rules. We have to put a stop to this as fans. I don’t know how, but it has to be done. There will be over 1000 rules by the time we die

No counting to 2 unless you proceed to 3, thou shalt count 4, 5 is right out!

or like how they've tried to create suspense with the weather reporting by drip feeding like "it was a record breaking day in Sydney today. Find out which suburbs were the hottest later in the bulletin"..."coming up, where in NSW you can escape for a cool change tomorrow". It's nauseating.

Exactly. People are just whinging for a return to a time where high scoring was in fact an anomaly. Don't get me wrong, this low scoring trough is really low, but we aren't ever returning to the 40 goal games. The players are too fast for that now.

I didn't know Rowdy that Brayden Maynard wrote the Book of Armaments. Learn something every day in this caper.

Fantastic post!

At 14 seconds player with ball steps to side. Play on is the right call. What is the motive for the man on the mark to step sideways if the player with the ball is not moving that way? The art of manning the mark is dead. The cat and mouse skills of bluff and play on are just more fodder for umpire squashing. Subtle and elite skills being administered out of existence. When in our game is a player ordered to stand still? If you want to limit the defensive skills why not tie their shoe laces together? This does not stand up to ridicule which is a smart way of testing something. If you want more playing on and flow in the game make the goals worth their true value and not just underlings of those stupid four points.

Easy goals from penalties could hurt the game. The spirit of the rule seems to be...ummm..ahh... to umm... that is.... to umm stop the guy moving sideways when he's on the mark because.. umm when he moves sideways he gains an advantage. Putting improved scoring in the hands of the umpire is fraught. The umpire is there to serve the flow of the game in the hands of the elite athletes. He is not there to impose his authority at every little thing. Of course elite athletes will seek to use the rules and rulings to their advantage. Or.... This could be a headline seeking rule. Controversy in umpiring is easy chat fodder. Pretty disgusting if that is their intention. Speeding the game up has been mainly done by Clarko and his prior opp comments that changed the interpretation of holding 'the ball in a heartbeat. If this speeds up the game because the player with the ball has the chance to take off without fear of being stopped that could be good. How easy will it be to run around the man on the mark when he can't move until the umpire says so. But really the most corrupting aspect of the game is the end result focus compulsion over the simple joy of playing and watching the elite perform dazzling and spectacular feats of skill. It's like the only question is "Who's going to win?" The result is secondary to the actual game. Losing hurts so much that the feeling has infected the psyche of the footy community. It is now the most influential aspect of sport in general. The avoidance of a bad feeling. When this governs thinking over the incredible highs of the most athletic sport on the planet well... All I can say is Up There Cazaly.

I'll consult the "Book of Armaments" "Brother Maynard, the Book of Armaments, Chapter 5!".

Fair's fair.

Absolutely right Goals. It all hinges on who the Umpire is concentrating on. The Man on the Mark to see if he moves so he can pay a free kick or the Player with the ball to see if he moves off his "line" so he can call play on. You can bet, initially they'll be concentrating, unfairly, on the Man on the Mark to make a point about the new rule. Let's hope sanity prevails and they watch the Player with the ball closely, and the second he moves off his line they call play on so as to not unfairly restrict and penalise the Man on the Mark. A 50 metre penalty for this stupid rule that results in easy goals in a low scoring age such as this will be a blight on the game. It'll be just another reason for people to become frustrated and switch off!

Just like how the TV stations do live crosses for every story now, even though they add no more information, and they have “breaking news” every night about a story that they knew about yesterday. It’s all deliberately manipulated to create a sense of urgency and panic. When you watch it closely it’s obvious, and there’s very little actual news content.

Heard alot of coaches state it has sped up and opened the game freeing congestion so I'll reserve judgement for first half of year until the regular complaints and state of the game articles appear. If ppl stop complaining its not like their sensational seventies betamax video the afl may just stop tinkering.

The timing of the umpires call for play on will determine who is advantaged. Is it one foot moving sideways is play on or does the second foot have to go as well? Is forward and sideways play on? Is the line of kick toward the goal or to the players target? It has to be a straight line to the middle of the goal for it to work. If he does go sideways and the umpire doesn't call play on, is there any leniency in the mind of the official who can correct his mistake by not awarding a penalty?

There's certain pitch frequencies he hits to give the impression of authority. It's a manipulative science. Western Media trick number 44. Hinting at the the constant need for drama, conflict, and disagreement. It's impossible to enjoy your life while flirting with these mechanisms. But it is our way of presenting life. Every news story plays on this dynamic.