AFL umpires are penalising those off the ball hits in the first week of the finals. The ugly come from behind bumps on unsuspecting players, when play has been stopped, are being heavily penalised. The Geelong vs Brisbane clash at the MCG saw two clear examples of this involving hits on Cam Rayner, which resulted in free kicks in front of goals and two goals scored by Brisbane against the run of play. It may enrage the fans but stamping out this crap is ultimately good for the game. Viewers watching the game on TV don’t want to see this stuff, as it mars the spectacle. The AFL clamping down on off the ball hits in finals.
Umpires In AFL Finals Cracking Down On Cheap Hits
Whacking someone when they don’t expect it, is not tough, it is a dog act (with apologies to canines). Running into an unsuspecting player, when play has been stopped, is not football. It is toxic masculinity crap. It is akin to blokes who beat up their wives and kids. It is like those guys that king hit people at parties. Hitting someone when they are not ready for it is taking advantage of vulnerability. Footy fans want to see true contests of strength and skill when the game is in motion. They don’t want to see this weak weasel shit on their screens. It has to be AFL coaches encouraging this crap. ‘Has-been’s’ polluting the modern game with their poisonous take on footy. The AFL clamping down on off the ball hits in finals is a good thing and about bloody time.
Get Rid Of The Argy Bargy From AFL
This pseudo psychological warfare reached its nadir when Izak Rankine uttered his homophobic slur against Isaac Quaynor. The drive-by hits behind play had been raining down on Izak all match. The negating stuff to block Rankine was at fever pitch when the shit hit the fan and the expletive was uttered. This is what you get when you allow negativity to subsume positive play. Do we want to see the best players performing their incredible talent or do we want to see the best stuff shut down? Tagging players can go too far and regularly crosses the line, despite there being 4 umpires officiating. Hits behind play and off the ball may mess with a player’s head, but it, also, mars the game. It is about reducing the standard of play to the level of brute force. It is weak weasel shit. It is the lowest of the low bringing good players down to their level. The AFL clamping down on off the ball hits in finals will make the game better.
“Homophobic Adelaide Crows fail to fire in final. It is a funny thing, what goes on inside the heads of football players and, seemingly, something coaches and supporters cannot count on. I suspect that week off before the finals sent too many Adelaide players into holiday mode for too long. Young teams are particularly susceptible to this anomaly. Yes, they missed Izak Rankine too.”
Do We Really Want Our Great Game Marred By This Shit?
The parallel between domestic violence and these cheap shots when play has stopped is not frivolous. Coercive behaviour, the attempt to control an intimate partner by means of aggressive behaviour is the same stuff as hitting a guy from behind and pushing him over, off the ball. They share the same essential nature. It is the stuff of cowards, and it is pissweak. It is picking on the unsuspecting or the physically weaker sex or children. Toxic masculinity is about the misuse of power. Football is a game. It is not actual warfare. These AFL coaches encouraging this shit should be booted out of the system. It makes the game look bad. It sends the wrong message to kids watching and to the world at large. Let us see the best players playing this brilliant game without all the crap.
Earlier In The Season
“Marcus Windhager crossed the line with his tagging tactics on Nick Daicos on Saturday night. Based on the vision showed on Fox Footy after the game – from which we can safely assume there were dozens more cases of kneeing, pinching and whacking that the broadcasters didn’t pick up – Daicos should have received about ten more free kicks than the four he ended up with at Marvel Stadium, of which only two were directly against Windhager. It’s a baffling oversight, considering how many of these little gut-punches and other skirmishes umpires usually pick up, and yet seemingly didn’t over and over again where Daicos and Windhager were concerned.”
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The Stoic Golfer; Money Matters and America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.
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