Renowned under Alastair Clarkson for their once unsociable style of football, Hawthorn has once again found a loophole in the laws of the game.
Having told his players not to bump and risk head high contact, Clarkson’s men appear to have mastered ‘the slide’, which has claimed its first casualty this week.
In dry conditions, Ash McGrath attacked a fifty-fifty contest where a Hawthorn player slid in under his legs from the side, buckling his knee and ending his day. McGrath was seen on crutches after the match.
Attention had been minor earlier in the year when commentators praised the Hawks for being able to cleanly handle the ball in torrential conditions courteously of the slide. Recent weeks suggest this ruthless attack on the ball may cause foreseeable leg injuries.
As with prior loopholes in the game such as tunneling, the potential to cause serious injury suggests come end of season, the laws of the game committee must consider looking at the legitimacy of sliding into a contest.
Hawthorn has vehemently employed this legal tactic which was innovated in cricket.
Sprinting full tilt in one direction, the slide allows an outfielder to reach the ground, turn 180 degrees and be in a position to get up and throw, or in AFL’s case, claim possession.
The only difference is no other player is at risk in cricket whilst other player’s legs are when attacking a pack in AFL. In theory, it is tunneling by ground rather than air.
In our game, after head injuries, knee injuries are the most unfortunate for players, clubs and fans.
Unfortunately though, various Hawthorn players have developed their sliding technique to ensure their body is fully turned by the time the crash the pack. Thus, the sliding player is protected at the point of contact.
Subsequently, the player gains possession, fires a quick hand ball out, and congestion is cleared whilst an opposition player is left clutching his leg.
Riddled by injury, aspects of Hawthorn’s on field success can be contributed to this fairly recent trend. By committing to a slide, the player has the lowest centre of gravity (assuming two players are not sliding into each other) and therefore does not risk head high contact to himself or the oncoming player.
The only downside is if the opposition is able to lock the ball in immediately, the sliding player will be pinged for holding the ball. But in a one-on-one contest, this is near impossible if the sliding player makes contact and bowls over his opposition.
Hawthorn’s quick handballs also ensure no free kick will be paid against.
With ground conditions at higher standards than ever, sliding is possible on any professionally maintained AFL playing surface.
Like tunneling, I suspect after an injury as a direct result of the slide tactic, the umpires will meet and begin enforcing some rule which has always existed but never been enforced.
Knee injuries are unlucky but continuous sliding will see the knee casualty rate increase. However, Hawthorn appears not to have broken any rules.
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