Michael Walters is the weakest and worst player in the league since Lindsay Thomas

Football Discussion Non Essendon Stuff
61
I don't like him at all but in this case it is more about the game than the playa. The umpires need to get on top of it.

and yet there’s hundreds of players in the same game not doing it.

Indeed but there are also plenty who are clever enough to exploit the rules. Selwood bending at the knees whenever he gets tackled springs to mind. I don’t like it but if a player is clever enough to earn a free because of a crappy umpire interpretation, fair play to him (except when they are playing against us of course).

When you change the direction of your head/neck to purposely push into the arm/shoulder of the player tackling you there is NOTHING fair about that. The ■■■■ is going to hurt himself or worse he is going to disgrace the game and win a free during a pivotal time that will be more of a blight on the game that Fark Carlton trying to sell 2 for 1 tickets.

There rules are there to protect the players not to allow players to put themselves into more harms way. There aren’t too many players you would wish for to hurt themselves and to ■■■■ off from the sport. Lindsay is one of them.

He isn’t clever he is fucken stupid and what he is doing is dangerous. He is one stupid duck away from a serious spinal injury

62
I don't like him at all but in this case it is more about the game than the playa. The umpires need to get on top of it.

and yet there’s hundreds of players in the same game not doing it.

Indeed but there are also plenty who are clever enough to exploit the rules. Selwood bending at the knees whenever he gets tackled springs to mind. I don’t like it but if a player is clever enough to earn a free because of a crappy umpire interpretation, fair play to him (except when they are playing against us of course).

When you change the direction of your head/neck to purposely push into the arm/shoulder of the player tackling you there is NOTHING fair about that. The ■■■■ is going to hurt himself or worse he is going to disgrace the game and win a free during a pivotal time that will be more of a blight on the game that Fark Carlton trying to sell 2 for 1 tickets.

There rules are there to protect the players not to allow players to put themselves into more harms way. There aren’t too many players you would wish for to hurt themselves and to ■■■■ off from the sport. Lindsay is one of them.

He isn’t clever he is fucken stupid and what he is doing is dangerous. He is one stupid duck away from a serious spinal injury


and whoever is the player Lindsay breaks his neck on and is going to be blamed and put through the ringer in the press.

■■■■ the media that has a big whinge for Diesel suffering dementia but talks up Selwood’s toughness and Thomas’ cleverness.

It’d be clever if they were getting free kicks without self harming. You can’t cleverly trick people into hitting you in the head. They need psychological treatment not kudos.

63

It would be more related to the angle he gets his head/neck in when taking in impact, which is during a period when that area is vulnerable.

I’m no specialist in this area fwiw

And what @freespirit said, some player will get stoned for hurting him, which would be far from the real story.

But you can see(from the Essendon boys anyway) that the opposition players don’t really respect him and I doubt his own team mates like it.

Hope he gets exposed

64
I don't like him at all but in this case it is more about the game than the playa. The umpires need to get on top of it.

and yet there’s hundreds of players in the same game not doing it.

Indeed but there are also plenty who are clever enough to exploit the rules. Selwood bending at the knees whenever he gets tackled springs to mind. I don’t like it but if a player is clever enough to earn a free because of a crappy umpire interpretation, fair play to him (except when they are playing against us of course).

Calling it ‘clever’ is one thing (which it isn’t), calling it ‘fair play’ is another thing entirely.

65
It would be more related to the angle he gets his head/neck in when taking in impact, which is during a period when that area is vulnerable.

I’m no specialist in this area fwiw

And what @freespirit said, some player will get stoned for hurting him, which would be far from the real story.

But you can see(from the Essendon boys anyway) that the opposition players don’t really respect him and I doubt his own team mates like it.

Hope he gets exposed

My favourite part was when Petrie called Stanton a diver. He is, but you don’t get to say anything when a) you’re Drew Petrie and b) you have Lindsay Thomas in your team. I laughed too hard at that.

66

Reckon the solution to the diving and dropping of the knees to draw high tackles is simple.

I term such action, like Thomas and others use, as prior opportunity to dispose of the ball, so ping them for holding the ball. Would stamp it out pretty quick.

67

Personal opinion: change the rule so that if the tackle starts legal and ends up going high due to the actions of the tackled player (ducking the head, shrugging, buckling at the knees), then it’s play on. The tackler has done everything they’re required to by initiating a fair tackle.

People go on about protecting the ball carrier, but you should actually be protecting the player who’s making the play. And trying to do nothing but draw a free kick is not making the play.

68

It’s a sound idea, but that would be way too hard to adjudicate for most umpires.

They can hardly work out what a mark is, let alone having to give them the onus to determine when a tackle has started and ended.

69

Consider this.

It’s a testament to how rubbish he is that I only think about how much I hate him when we play North. Every other week of the year I forget his existence. Guys like Ballantyne, etc you can hate all year round. Thomas is an A-Grade jerk but he’s also incredibly forgettable.

70

And then there’s this-

Open season on duckers: AFL to crackdown on head-high frees

THE AFL is urgently seeking ways to discourage players from leading with their heads to gain a free kick for high contact amid concerns the dangerous practice is becoming more prevalent.

Director of umpiring Wayne Campbell said he would consult with clubs, coaches and the laws of the game committee to get an answer as soon as possible.

While he said a mid-season rule change was unlikely, a tweak in how free kicks were adjudicated when a player ducked his head was possible.

“It’s where the players have their head over the ball and deliberately lead with their head and contribute to the contact … that is the one we are looking at,” Campbell said.

“[We] need to disincentivise someone trying to draw a free kick through searching with the head for contact.”

Richmond CEO Brendon Gale wrote about his concern for player safety on Twitter on Friday night. AFL legend Leigh Matthews agreed that something needed to be done before a player was seriously hurt.

“I think the footy world acknowledges that it is an issue so it is beholden on the laws of the game and us to look at it,” Campbell said.

Campbell said it was important to differentiate between the type of head—high contact when determining what changes might be necessary.

“We say a shrug is OK if there is head high contact. If you drop your knees that will continue to be a free kick because it’s really hard to adjudicate if it is not,” Campbell said.

The average number of free kicks per game for head high contact in 2015 is 5.2, exactly the same average per game as 2013, 2012 and 2011. In 2014 the average was 4.9.

Richmond’s Trent Cotchin has both earned the most free kicks for head high contact (13) and given the most away (seven).

Geelong’s Joel Selwood and North Melbourne’s Lindsay Thomas have also earned 13 frees for high contact in 2015 while Essendon’s Joe Daniher and Fremantle’s Nathan Fyfe have conceded seven free kicks for high contact this season.

71
I'd be very surprised if a tackle ended in a spinal injury but it wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility. I may be wrong but I would have thought that most concussions occur as the result of collisions and not tackles.

What, you’ve never watched an Arnie or Stallone movie where they grab a blokes neck and shcccrreegh! Neck broken, just like that!

72

they must be tweaking the tripping rule also ,now that fletch is 40.

73
And then there's this- Open season on duckers: AFL to crackdown on head-high frees

THE AFL is urgently seeking ways to discourage players from leading with their heads to gain a free kick for high contact amid concerns the dangerous practice is becoming more prevalent.

Director of umpiring Wayne Campbell said he would consult with clubs, coaches and the laws of the game committee to get an answer as soon as possible.

While he said a mid-season rule change was unlikely, a tweak in how free kicks were adjudicated when a player ducked his head was possible.

“It’s where the players have their head over the ball and deliberately lead with their head and contribute to the contact … that is the one we are looking at,” Campbell said.

“[We] need to disincentivise someone trying to draw a free kick through searching with the head for contact.”

Richmond CEO Brendon Gale wrote about his concern for player safety on Twitter on Friday night. AFL legend Leigh Matthews agreed that something needed to be done before a player was seriously hurt.

“I think the footy world acknowledges that it is an issue so it is beholden on the laws of the game and us to look at it,” Campbell said.

Campbell said it was important to differentiate between the type of head—high contact when determining what changes might be necessary.

“We say a shrug is OK if there is head high contact. If you drop your knees that will continue to be a free kick because it’s really hard to adjudicate if it is not,” Campbell said.

The average number of free kicks per game for head high contact in 2015 is 5.2, exactly the same average per game as 2013, 2012 and 2011. In 2014 the average was 4.9.

Richmond’s Trent Cotchin has both earned the most free kicks for head high contact (13) and given the most away (seven).

Geelong’s Joel Selwood and North Melbourne’s Lindsay Thomas have also earned 13 frees for high contact in 2015 while Essendon’s Joe Daniher and Fremantle’s Nathan Fyfe have conceded seven free kicks for high contact this season.

disincentivise.

Can’t be a word, surely.

Discourage, dissuade, deter, all acceptable. Disincentivise? No.

74

It exists! Although ■■■■■■ if i’ve ever heard it in day to day conversation

75

Not paying a free kick for it would be a great deterent.
It’d not exactly rocket science…

Thomas won’t get a free kick for a month and Scott will whinge and wine.

76

When Eddie came out and had a crack at the umpires you know what that means? They Play them in 2 weeks

77
"We say a shrug is OK if there is head high contact. If you drop your knees that will continue to be a free kick because it's really hard to adjudicate if it is not," Campbell said.

So, in summary, they’re not going to change anything.

78
It exists! Although ■■■■■■ if i've ever heard it in day to day conversation

using it in day to day conversations is disincentivised

79

Someone just needs to knock him out when he puts his head down in a tackle. Might make him think twice about doung it bext time.

80
It exists! Although ■■■■■■ if i've ever heard it in day to day conversation

using it in day to day conversations is disincentivised

It was disincentivizing when I asked my dog to use it