The protected area and the new rules.

[Mofra]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

Oh yeah - you want to know something else?

After the umpire says stand, you cannot 'leave' the mark until play-on is called. You cannot hand the mark over to someone else, you cannot do a thing. If you move laterally, forwards or backwards - if you do anything more than jump up and down on the spot - that is 50m.

I'm sure the players will get it but it is seriously messing with my brain....

Apparently teams are experimenting with not manning the mark at all in the entire forward half of the ground (when the defensive team have the ball in their back half), as the man on the mark is useless anyway as they cannot take a single step laterally.

Terry Wallace circa 2000 vs Essendon is in play here. The idea is to speed the play up but there are circumstances where the kicker will now be kicking to a 17 vs 18 man zone making it harder to spot up a free player.

This will completely change the way teams set-up. It will have massive team selection issues too - defenders who can defend but have a poor tank will be lost to the game (Aaron Francis types - and where does this leave Will Gould?)
We may see some sides ditch their second ruck altogether especially with the cap reducing from 90 to 75. Other teams will play their ruck a kick behind the play a la Wynd (and English for the last 2/3rds of last year) and have a KPF take ruck duties in the forward third of the ground. Galaxy Coleman time!

This is going to infuriate fans more than 50m penalties for encroaching on the protected area from the side. The game will change substantially this year, and adding 'grey zone' for umpires to officiate makes the impossible task of umpiring AFL just that little bit harder.

[Bornadog]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

Oh yeah - you want to know something else?

After the umpire says stand, you cannot 'leave' the mark until play-on is called. You cannot hand the mark over to someone else, you cannot do a thing. If you move laterally, forwards or backwards - if you do anything more than jump up and down on the spot - that is 50m.

I'm sure the players will get it but it is seriously messing with my brain....

Total and utter madness by the AFL.

If they introduce the rules they are experimenting with in the VFL, ie 3 players staying in their zone, I am out of here.

[soupman]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

Total and utter madness by the AFL.

If they introduce the rules they are experimenting with in the VFL, ie 3 players staying in their zone, I am out of here.

No you won't be. None of us are leaving.

That's the annoying thing, they know that no matter what they do to "improve" the game the loyals will return. Much like how Channel 7 know their commentary team is woeful, but that the vast majority of supporters will tune in anyway cause there aren't any alternatives. So both those organizations will just keep changing stuff to attract the people on the fringes, knowing that they might as well give the guy who is only mildly interested in watching what he wants instead of the guy who turns up very week because the second guy is locked in.

At least on the Channel 7 front there are alternatives to listen too, even though it's a nightmare trying to sync them up.

[GVGjr]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

Total and utter madness by the AFL.

If they introduce the rules they are experimenting with in the VFL, ie 3 players staying in their zone, I am out of here.

Agreed, this is not the way to improve scoring, it will be an error ridden game

[Twodogs]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

No you won't be. None of us are leaving.

5 to 9 baby, 9 to 5. No-one here gets out alive.

[Twodogs]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

Agreed, this is not the way to improve scoring, it will be an error ridden game

The stupid and frustrating thing is they outlawed third man up, last tactic that combatted congestion, sped the game up and let the good players get the ball with time and space to do something creative with it. Now we have the unedifying sight of 200 CM men putting their hands up like schoolkids and ruck contest after ruck contest.

Will they admit they made a mistake? On no. They'd rather the game died a slow strangulated death than do that.

[Happy Days]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

No you won't be. None of us are leaving.

That's the annoying thing, they know that no matter what they do to "improve" the game the loyals will return. Much like how Channel 7 know their commentary team is woeful, but that the vast majority of supporters will tune in anyway cause there aren't any alternatives. So both those organizations will just keep changing stuff to attract the people on the fringes, knowing that they might as well give the guy who is only mildly interested in watching what he wants instead of the guy who turns up very week because the second guy is locked in.

At least on the Channel 7 front there are alternatives to listen too, even though it's a nightmare trying to sync them up.

Yep. The AFL is very aware that football is heroin and they will get mine and everyone else’s money no matter how little regard they pay to what the fans actually want. Its exactly why there’s a team on the Gold Coast and not in Tassie.

[Bornadog]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

AFL clubs ‘really struggling’ with new ‘stand’ rule that may blow 2021 wide open

AFL clubs are “really struggling” to come to terms with the new man-on-the-mark rule for 2021, which could have a dramatic impact on scoring and open up matches.


The new rule will see umpires tell players manning the mark to “stand”, after which they aren’t allowed to move from their position, nor be replaced by a teammate.


AFL footy operations boss Steve Hocking has said he wants to see “greater flow” in matches. The rule should hurt the ability of defenders to force players to kick out wide, rather than through the corridor, and therefore enable faster ball movement.

Umpires have been attending training sessions throughout the pre-season to help players come to terms with the new rule, but Essendon great Matthew Lloyd believes it may have a dramatic impact.


“I’ve heard some teams are really struggling with (the new stand rule),” he told 3AW‘s Sportsday.


“The umpires have been at up to 310 training sessions amongst clubs, I heard (Swans coach) John Longmire say he hopes it’s not a 50-metre goal fest.

“A player at one club took one step, whistle goes and it’s a 50-metre penalty. I reckon the umpires are going to be ferocious on this rule early on.


“They say stand, you place once foot away (from the mark) and they were paying 50-metre penalties.”

However Brownlow medallist Gerard Healy believes the rule will be a success if it leads to higher scoring, even if there are more 50-metre penalties than expected at first.


Scoring has declined in recent seasons. The average team score of 2019 was just 80.4 points, the lowest since 1967. Between 2010-17, the average hovered between 86 and 93 points per team per week.


“What (Steve) Hocking would be asking for would be better ball movement,” Healy said.


“The game is a better game when it goes from backline to forward line without going sideways. There’s nothing wrong with slow play, but if all you’ve got is slow play then it’s a boring game.


“If it means a few players initially give away a few 50-metre penalties, who cares about that.


“They will adapt and the umpires will adapt. Ultimately what you’re doing, and I think this is the key to this 50-metre penalty, is you’re not allowing someone like Tom Hawkins to stand on the mark from behind the bloke with the ball, so that releases another player to go into defence.


“What you’re saying is what’s in defence stays in defence, if we get quicker ball movement which leads to more goals then that’s surely a win.”

[Hotdog60]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

The game is controlled by wankers.
When the AFL commission first came into power it was to represent all the clubs. I believe the Commission need 75% of votes from the league to do anything significant. The league then gave up the power to the commission and now they are controlled by the commission at the request of media rights.
Bugger the game.
I may be wrong on some of these facts but one fact is true the wankers up the top have lost the plot.

[Bornadog]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

one fact is true the wankers up the top have lost the plot.

I have been saying that for years.

[Twodogs]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

How is higher scoring automatically better football? Does it then follow that 200 points v 180 points is the greatest game in the history of the sport even if it's a manipulated result? If the game has no tackling or defensive pressure will that make it a more enjoyable spectacle?

What a load of horseshit. The AFL commission have completely lost the plot. To be fair they never really had a lot of sense but since Gillon McLachlan and in particular Steve Hocking came along it's gotten sillier than ever.

[Axe Man]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

The game is controlled by wankers.
When the AFL commission first came into power it was to represent all the clubs. I believe the Commission need 75% of votes from the league to do anything significant. The league then gave up the power to the commission and now they are controlled by the commission at the request of media rights.
Bugger the game.
I may be wrong on some of these facts but one fact is true the wankers up the top have lost the plot.

Is this the chairman?

[Grantysghost]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

Check this out in Lions v Suns. Daniher arcs 5 to 10 metres and the poor old Suns player just has to watch.

https://streamable.com/iwx2kh

[jeemak]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

Check this out in Lions v Suns. Daniher arcs 5 to 10 metres and the poor old Suns player just has to watch.
https://streamable.com/iwx2kh

But did you notice how much the ground opened up allowing free flowing play as a result?

You have to look at the bigger picture. After all, the purpose of the rule was to increase scoring and it looks to have done that so far.......

[Grantysghost]

Re: The protected area and the new rules.

But did you notice how much the ground opened up allowing free flowing play as a result?

You have to look at the bigger picture. After all, the purpose of the rule was to increase scoring and it looks to have done that so far.......

Daniher could've just keep running on past the guy on the mark, put that to Benny Hill music and we've got something entertaining and free flowing.