The gloves are off

[Remi Moses]

Sorry? Knee braces are used to assist players recover from and prevent injury. Strapping tape is commonly used to prevent injury. Compression garments are used to decrease muscle soreness and improve recovery.

Gloves are used to increase the players ability to grip the ball.

I see a stark difference.

Why doesn't every player wear gloves? Not really proven, think more of a mindset than anything. I keep thinking of that famous Shaun Rehn knee brace, in which he clearly didn't need but was more a physcological issue. It reeks of an AFL need to be up front in the news stakes.

[Maddog37]

I think Travis Cloke is a counter argument to your theory. He would still take a heap of marks, whether with or without gloves.
Surely you are not suggesting with the gloves he is able to take the most marks in the league however without them he would not be able to mark it let alone be one of the better marks in the league?

Not at all. I am sure he would still be pretty handy (would be great for us) but maybe his effectiveness would be reduced be it physically, mentally or both.

I have always had an aversion to gloves unless for medical reasons. It is not in the spirit of AFL.

If gloves are solely for improved performance then it opens the door to a place we do not want to go.

[LostDoggy]

For the advantage in marking/taking possession with the sticky surface, you lose in disposal in the ball drop or handball.

What's the difference with using resin/hand spray or even using new boot technology ?

[Remi Moses]

For the advantage in marking/taking possession with the sticky surface, you lose in disposal in the ball drop or handball.

What's the difference with using resin/hand spray or even using new boot technology ?

Agree, it opens up so many cans of worms it isn't funny!

[KT31]

Ban it all.

Didn't the glove start with our very own Tony Cambell ?

If the full forward can wear a glove let the full back wear a boxing glove, hard to take a mark glove or no glove with that sort of pressure coming from behind.

[jazzadogs]

Ban it all.

Didn't the glove start with our very own Tony Cambell ?

If the full forward can wear a glove let the full back wear a boxing glove, hard to take a mark glove or no glove with that sort of pressure coming from behind.

What exactly does 'ban it all' entail though? People were comparing gloves to knee braces and compression garments before, but surely we're not going to ban them?

(question goes out to others who also suggested 'ban it all')

As far as I'm concerned players shouldn't be allowed to wear gloves, as they are used to increase grip. There are probably plenty of players that do use things like grippo as well, so would that be banned?

[Ghost Dog]

Unless they have sparkles. A la M Jackson. then they are ok.

[LostDoggy]

There is a basic and simple difference (which is very clear unless you're deliberately trying to obfuscate or muddy the argument) between equipment that is for injury prevention/management and equipment that is performance aiding. Pretty clear that a knee brace helps someone play where their body may otherwise not allow it (and even then there are clear guidelines around medical approval and also that it can't be too big or hard or cause injuries to others), but a glove has NO OTHER PURPOSE than to aid performance.

It's not that complicated - one is preventative, the other is performance enhancing. Once you get into permitting someone to wear gloves, what's the line? Can a defensive tall wear MMA-style gloves to get better purchase on a spoil? Why stop there? Go body armour. Heck, why not just dress like NFL players and crash and bash into each other?

ps. resin etc., PLENTY of sports do ban precisely this type of thing. I don't see how it's that hard to police. Clearly there has to be directives around acceptable creams etc., otherwise what's stopping someone putting cream on their gloves that could be detrimental to another players' health in a tackle etc? Trying to regulate this crap is more trouble than it's worth, and footy doesn't need it.

pps. In the past, soccer had a directive from FIFA around acceptable footwear in response to Adidas's (and other imitators) predator style boots and how far it can go in creating grooves in its boots to aid in spin etc. It also has strong directives on goalkeeping gloves re: size, material etc. Also, at least boots HAVE other purposes (ie. it is actually footwear) and is actually necessary. Gloves in footy are completely unnecessary and provide unnatural advantages for certain types of players over others.

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ppps. this is slightly on a tangent, but I have a MASSIVE problem with players playing with multiple painkillers to get over otherwise impossible injuries. It's borderline unethical from a medical standpoint (this was a big debate in sports medicine, and although doctors hired by AFL clubs will tell you it's a settled issue, it's not), but from a sporting standpoint, it's UNDOUBTEDLY performance enhancing. There is a massive difference between a guy needing a mild painkiller to get over some discomfort, it's another thing altogether for Vossy to get continuous injections into a knee that he wouldn't otherwise be able to walk on to play through a Grannie, and that WILL have done serious damage and have irreversible consequences to his knee later in his life. (How many did he get at quarter time? At half-time? I think overall he had something like 26 injections that day -- the AMA had a huge problem with it and the AFL had to come out with a directive around that because it got so extreme.. didn't Lappin have a punctured lung that they didn't pick up because he was on too many painkillers to feel it?) AFL doctors have also essentially given up their rights as a health professional under the AFL directive as it has been left 'up to the player', which is nonsensical.

[Sockeye Salmon]

ppps. this is slightly on a tangent, but I have a MASSIVE problem with players playing with multiple painkillers to get over otherwise impossible injuries. It's borderline unethical from a medical standpoint (this was a big debate in sports medicine, and although doctors hired by AFL clubs will tell you it's a settled issue, it's not), but from a sporting standpoint, it's UNDOUBTEDLY performance enhancing. There is a massive difference between a guy needing a mild painkiller to get over some discomfort, it's another thing altogether for Vossy to get continuous injections into a knee that he wouldn't otherwise be able to walk on to play through a Grannie, and that WILL have done serious damage and have irreversible consequences to his knee later in his life. (How many did he get at quarter time? At half-time? I think overall he had something like 26 injections that day -- the AMA had a huge problem with it and the AFL had to come out with a directive around that because it got so extreme.. didn't Lappin have a punctured lung that they didn't pick up because he was on too many painkillers to feel it?) AFL doctors have also essentially given up their rights as a health professional under the AFL directive as it has been left 'up to the player', which is nonsensical.

Adrian Whitehead says hi