I think the being allowed to protect yourself is very different from kicking someone in the face. Whether he was looking or not, your throw your boot towards an oncoming players head, you accept the consequences. Just like if you pin the arms and sling the player to the ground.
Of course it is different to a marking contest in that people going into a pack expect that knees and feet are everywhere. When you run to tackle someone who is receiving a handball, you have every right not to expect his spriggs across your face. Was a dog act.
You can (within reason) legally clobber someone in a marking contest, even knocking them out, and all bets are off. Itâs always been an anomaly of this game compared to others. And a good thing. Generally you are using this to push off as well, your opponent knows itâs coming.
If he raised something (knee, leg, arm) in one motion or turned his body & stuck his backside out to protect himself, even if it knocked him out then fine. Itâs the distinct second action, the only reason for it is to hurt his opponent. Also you donât need to be looking at someone to whack them.
All players should be doing it every time then, go into a contested ball situation, put your knee out at the last second to protect yourself. Gotta player coming at you from behind/side on, watch where he is when he is about to tackle, then throw the arm back and whack him in the headâŚsorry last i looked he was standing up and dropped to tackle me, all good though.
I dunno, itâs one thing to put a knee up to protect yourself while taking a mark, itâs another to fully extend your leg studs out head height while you jump to receive a handball.
Thereâs no way he deliberately aims for his head, or even knew exactly where the guy would be, he just pushed out to ensure he wouldnât get tackled.
The fact the guy was in a lowered position as he arrived at said foot could not have been known or predicted by Greene.
Still donât know what youâre trying to prove. He doesnât know where his boot has landed, and of course heâs going to push off from what he reasonably believes to be his body to gain space and momentum feed into the direction he needs to run.
Note also in the pictures though, ⌠that by the time contact is made, the guy is virtually in a sitting position, ⌠so has probably reduced his own height by 2 feet rather than one.
You kick your boot out at an opposition player and you accept the consequences if you hit him. He knew where the player was and he used his boots to keep him away. That isnt ok. It is insanely dangerous.
