Running too far - should it be extended to 20m?

How far should a player be allowed to run before bouncing the ball?

  • Keep it at 15 but enforced properly.

    Votes: 14 38.9%
  • Keep it at 15 but 'enforced' the way it is now.

    Votes: 5 13.9%
  • Make it 20m but enforced properly.

    Votes: 16 44.4%
  • Something else

    Votes: 1 2.8%

  • Total voters
    36
  • Poll closed .

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Change it to how it's actually adjudicated, 15 steps. Watching this game for years, you get a feel of what is and isn't running too far. Rankine was right on the line. I think pretty much everyone just counts steps.
So you want the Umps to count the steps now?

Good luck with that.
 
It should be quite simple for umpires to police now - just pull up a player if they CLEARLY exceed the 15 metres, which is the way the rule is (and should be) applied in 99.9% of cases.

There's no way Rankine should have been pulled up in the Collingwood game, for instance.
 
Mason Cox has come out and suggested getting rid of the bounce altogether.

It's worth thought, but I don't think we should go that far. It would change the game more than people think, I can imagine players tucking the ball under the arm and really going for it.
Mason Cox's opinion means less than my nearly 12yo daughter's when it comes to footy.
 

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It should be quite simple for umpires to police now - just pull up a player if they CLEARLY exceed the 15 metres, which is the way the rule is (and should be) applied in 99.9% of cases.

There's no way Rankine should have been pulled up in the Collingwood game, for instance.
Of course he should have since he ran 24 metres. It was clearly too far
 
So you want the Umps to count the steps now?

Good luck with that.
It's not so much counting the steps, more of a feel thing. We all naturally have a guage on what feels too far and that threshold usually kicks in once the player reaches the 15 step mark. Player usually breaks away, has a few strides before a few more steps in the setting themselves for the kick process.

It is what it is last thing we need is more strict interpretations, end up with the shit show like we did with htb this weekend. There's nothing wrong with it, no one has a problem with it, and it's barely ever contentious. Happy to just leave it to the gut feel of the ump. If you start being strict on metres then the game will just look weird af, everyone has different stride length and will look awkward trying to get a kick out in time.
 

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Surely in this tech savvy world a GPS could track the ball and if it is not bounced after 15m then it explodes and a free kick is given.
That's exactly what the AFL are trialing. A long way to go I expect before if can be used in real time on game day.
In the meantime leave it as it is, 15m, somewhat leniently adjudicated, and the occasional 'Lewis Jetta running into an open forward 50' exception.
 
Make it 15 steps, not metres.
Much easier to enforce, and pretty much matches how it's enforced already.

Currently the rule 0f thumb is seven strides with the eight stride being illegal.

There is an Australian Football variant in the U.S.A. called Ausball and is used for inductions.
It has one rule that simplifies just about everything - it's the three second rule.
No gauging running too far. No holding the ball interpretations to worry about.
 
I'm hanging out for that to be random rule of the week in the opening game of a round. See how many blokes get done before they adapt 🤭

I also agree with the sentiment "From a kick-in it seems like the unofficial rule is you can run 30 before bouncing".
Simply mark a line 15m from the kick-in rectangle.
 
Any good umpire would be doing that already.
Currently the rule 0f thumb is seven strides with the eight stride being illegal.

So Nick Watson and Mabior Chol get judged equally by the number of steps ??

As for the 8 count, that is almost never enforced. Many get away with 10 or 12.

Last night Chol was pinged on his 10th step.
 

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Running too far - should it be extended to 20m?

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