If, as reported, Adrian Anderson and the AFL are keen to strengthen sanctions against “staging” for free kicks, they’re going to have to do a far, far better job of defining it and selling it to the football community.
One of the features of the introduction of sanctions against staging a couple of years ago was the paucity of media explaining to fans what was involved and how it would work. The result? Massive confusion and a lot of unrealistic expectation that simply was never going to be met. Most importantly, the fiasco — and that’s what it has become with only one player reportedly having been investigated for staging — further tarnished the already worn reputation of the AFL with fans who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, seek out the explanatory material provided.
What Anderson and his fellow Rules Committee members need to be extremely wary of is creating a scenario where umpires lose the ability to make a judgement. It’s all very well to suggest targeting players who exaggerate contact to emphasise it and gain a free kick, but that line glosses over the fact that there is illegal contact in the first place.
If Anderson and the rules committee want to get all hairy-chested, perhaps they could turn their attention to the real blight on the game — non-centre bounce ruck contests. The level of blatant holding and blocking that goes on within ruck contests is scandalous.
Let’s make a ruck contest a genuine contest between the two ruckmen. Allow body contact and body positioning, but use of the hands on any part of the opposing ruckman draws an immediate free kick.
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