Talk is that 3rd man up will be outlawed in 2017 and there will also be a crackdown on incorrect disposal by hand. Sounds like the AFEL have us in their sights on both counts.
Printable View
Talk is that 3rd man up will be outlawed in 2017 and there will also be a crackdown on incorrect disposal by hand. Sounds like the AFEL have us in their sights on both counts.
Disappointed. As the reigning premier I expected more, such as; traffic lights out in Geelong? Free kick Western Bulldogs.
I think Lachie Hunter is going to go from averaging 25 possies a match to 15.
Just another grey area on some already frustrating rules. I'd love to see a season without a "tweak" of the rules.
Do you think it is coincidental that the year the sub is removed and interchange reduced to 120 a game is the year we win the GF? Our fitness and quick ball movement (the handball club) was paramount to our game style. No one could match our speed ... The AFL have to try and slow us down somehow.
I think we read the play very well and identified that if a cap on the number of interchanges were implemented then we needed to factor that into our drafting model. All the mids we drafted in 2014 had 14 plus beep tests at the combine.
Even with all of our injuries we just rotated more players through the midfield than other sides.
Hard to say other than what I've previously mentioned that we draft in clusters of similar sized players with differing skill sets.
2 years back we went with a collection of 5 mids who all played forward with a father son pick thrown in as well. On draft night, Webb was nominated as a defender and 12 months later he's back in the midfield.
This year 5 talls were drafted and 4 of them are forwards and no doubt 2 of the will be earmarked for defensive roles. At a guess that could be Young and Greene.
Balanced drafts be damned :) Find what you want and draft a swag of them.
Confirmed that 3rd man up is outlawed in 2017. Don't you just love the way the AFEL put out a pissy press release just before Xmas like they are taking out the garbage.
This is a major change to the way the game will be played moving forward. Would Melbourne for example have traded for Jordan Lewis and offered him a lengthy 3 year contract had they known the rule would change so quickly? Would Tim English have been ignored by so many clubs? It is an appalling lack of integrity by the AFEL to implement such rule changes after club lists have been finalised for the following year.
FWIW I'm not too bothered by how this will impact us - I suspect that we have already plannned for this eventuality with our trade and draft strategy. I do think some other clubs might have been caught short by this - Geelong with their plethora of mobile rucks who aren't very good at actual ruck work springs to mind.
Bont had five hit outs to advantage in the Grand Final, and 53 hit outs for the year. It is absolutely a tactic that we have used to our advantage, but I hope it's impact will be minor going forward.
The most ridiculous part of the AFEL reasoning was that "there was no evidence to show that it reduced congestion." Who gives a damn? It also doesn't increase congestion, so what is actually gained by changing it? An ongoing role for 210cm players who aren't mobile?
Luke Hodge has labelled the AFL’s decision to abolish the third man up rule as ‘ridiculous’
SUPERSTARS Luke Hodge and Patrick Dangerfield have slammed the AFL’s decision to ban the “third man up” in all ruck contests.
The league said the radical rule change, proposed by the Laws of the Game Committee and approved by the commission, was made to guarantee the long-term future of the game’s big men.
The new rule states: “Only nominated ruckmen will be able to compete at a contest for a throw-in or ball-up, with players no longer permitted to contest a ruck contest as a third man up.”
Hawthorn skipper Hodge and Geelong Brownlow medallist Dangerfield were among those to criticise the move. Hawthorn and Geelong have been regular exponents of a tactic that data shows has exploded in recent seasons.
Hodge tweeted: “No 3rd man ???? Ridiculous.”
“What every player is thinking! #seriously #ridiculous” Dangerfield replied.
Geelong ruck Mark Blicavs was also unhappy with the change.
In a series of pre-Christmas rule changes, clubs were told:
* THERE will be a stricter interpretation of deliberate rushed behinds.
* PLAYERS won’t get a free kick for high contact if they drop their knees or raise their arms to make a legal tackle illegal.
* PUNCHES to the stomach will have a “stricter interpretation”, meaning players are more likely to cop a suspension.
* JUMPER punches with minimal impact will attract a fine.
* THE match review panel will be given the power to recommend a sanction to clubs involved in large melees or multiple breaches in a single season.
* CHARGES of engaging in a melee and wrestling will be merged to further discourage repeat offenders.
The future of the third man up rule divided clubs at last month’s laws summit meeting, with some wanting the ruck craft to be protected while others were concerned stoppages would become too predictable and congestion would return.
AFL football operations manager Mark Evans said banning players from leaping over the top at ball-ups and throw-ins would safeguard the value of ruckmen.
“These law changes and amendments are in keeping with the AFL’s strong stance to protect players against injury and to promote exciting football in all parts of the ground,” Evans said.
“Eliminating the third man up at ruck contests will support the recruitment of tall players and ensure our game continues to be played at the elite level by players of various sizes and differing abilities.”
Defenders shovelling the ball over the goalline for a rushed behind will be put under a bigger microscope, with umpires told to consider pressure applied, distance from the line and whether there has been prior opportunity.
“A stricter interpretation ... is designed to keep the ball in play and promote contested football, which is the preference of our fans,” Evans said.
The days of players winning free kicks for inducing high tackling contact are over. Umpires will call play on when a tackle is reasonable “and the player with the ball is responsible for the high contact.”
Toby McLeans free kicks for just dropped dramatically.