The way the game is played is not in any way within the rules. We’ve been conditioned to think that it’s good, tough football. There were about 120 free kicks in the last 2 minutes that were overlooked. Every time someone tries to pick up the ball they are being held before they take possession so that the defending team can make sure they don’t get a clean possession. That is a free every day in the history of the game up until 2005.
The way the rules have been interpreted in the last 29 years has swung the game in favour of the defensive game far more than it needed to. “Reward the tackle” became the war cry, and we’re too busy judging small forwards on tackle numbers rather than goals. And in the last 2 minutes of close finals umpires are now too gutless to call the most blatant infringements. It ruins the spectacle of the game. AFL these days is just a rolling maul. But I guess Gil’s Sydney private school equivalents would love it.