Zac Merrett tackle

[ferball]

You can do it properly without getting players concussed players need to stop with the excuses.

If you tackle someone without slinging them and they resist the tackle then it becomes a physical contest between the players, if one of them falls and the tackled played bangs their head on the ground how do you prevent that without one or other player surrendering the contest?

The only real solution is for the umps to blow the whistle immediately but that removes the advantage good players who can break tackles have and that would make the game poorer.

 

[ferball]

Another solution would be better umps with the judgement to differentiate between a tackle that will result in the player breaking free and one that won't.

You could make piunning both arms illegal and train players to pin one arm I spose. That might work. penalising tackles that leave a player on the ground might as well but, as we saw with bumping (players leading with their heads), players might try to use that to their advantage by falling or diving when they are tackled.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

I've been saying for years - define when the tackle is held.

In rugby union it is when the player is downed.
League is elbow spot as well as forward momentum being stopped
Gridiron is momentum and knee spot

What is it in footy? There's no definition.
If the play has effectively stopped, call a ball up, don't leave it another 10 seconds.

 

[HairyO]

If you tackle someone without slinging them and they resist the tackle then it becomes a physical contest between the players, if one of them falls and the tackled played bangs their head on the ground how do you prevent that without one or other player surrendering the contest?

The only real solution is for the umps to blow the whistle immediately but that removes the advantage good players who can break tackles have and that would make the game poorer.

Problem is players with the ball throw themselves forward trying to get an In The Back free, so the tackler tries to spin them sideways to avoid giving away a free but that action then risks the head hitting the turf.

Umpires still continually award free kicks to players who duck and dive and throw themselves forward which just encourages it even more.

As with all the other issues with the game, this is a product of their creation but they will never accept responsibility nor will they make the obvious changes which can stop it happening.

 

[ferball]

Problem is players with the ball throw themselves forward trying to get an In The Back free, so the tackler tries to spin them sideways to avoid giving away a free but that action then risks the head hitting the turf.

Umpires still continually award free kicks to players who duck and dive and throw themselves forward which just encourages it even more.

As with all the other issues with the game, this is a product of their creation but they will never accept responsibility nor will they make the obvious changes which can stop it happening.

In the back hardly ever gets paid these days too. you'd think they'd have worked that out. Even high contact gets ignored if the player is thought to be trying to milk a free.

Its a hard contact sport. Even when its played fairly it can be brutal because humans going 100% trying to win the footy will have uncontrolled impacts at times. The only long term solution is to remove all contact, including ruck contests and marking contests or acknowledge the risks and have waivers and other, long term supports for players who end up with CTE.

Including putting some of the money the AFL makes into research about mitigation and potential healing strategies that might be developed.

 

[HairyO]

In the back hardly ever gets paid these days too. you'd think they'd have worked that out. Even high contact gets ignored if the player is thought to be trying to milk a free.

Its a hard contact sport. Even when its played fairly it can be brutal because humans going 100% trying to win the footy will have uncontrolled impacts at times. The only long term solution is to remove all contact, including ruck contests and marking contests or acknowledge the risks and have waivers and other, long term supports for players who end up with CTE.

Including putting some of the money the AFL makes into research about mitigation and potential healing strategies that might be developed.

No. The umpires blow their whistle immediately. If prior its a free. If none its a ball up.

And ball up immediately too so the packs cant form while waiting for the rucks to jog over.

 

[ferball]

Are you replying to the other comment about players breaking tackles?

Definitely agree that ball ups take too long and contribute to the congestion around the ball.

There are so many issues with the game that could have been fixed with little changes like ball up immediately - don't wait for rucks to nominate, better adjudication of when tackles are held, stricter interpretation on returning the ball for free kicks - if you have the ball give it back within a second or its 50m.

Stuff that used to happen when I was younger. (Shakes fist at cloud and hits post reply.)