Push laws can simply shove off

Adelaide's Scott Thompson is about to be penalised for this feather touch on Hawthorn's David Hale. Picture: Fox Footy Source: FOX SPORTS

Geelong coach Coach Chris Scott says the explanations to say that you can't block, bump, push or hold in a marking contest makes it very difficult to understand how you can make any contact at all. Source: Getty Images

THE forensic attitude from the umpires and laws of the game committee is ruining one of the fundamentals of the game - the mark.

In the past week, past and present players such as Barry Hall, Cameron Mooney, Robert Murphy, Paul Roos, Gerard Healy, Tom Rockliff and North Melbourne's Scott Thompson have shaken their heads in disbelief at the sudden interpretation crackdown.

And fans are mystified about what is legal and what is not.

Scott, Bucks confused by rule

There are several examples of players pushing and not being penalised.

It has become a lucky dip.

Umpires' boss Jeff Gieschen further confused the issue on On The Couch on Monday night.

He talked about half-cocked arms and fully cocked arms, and when he was finished, Roos laughed.

"I'm more confused," Roos said.

And Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley wondered yesterday what it meant when the arm was 80 per cent cocked.

Fair question from Buckley.

The rule says players cannot push, block or bump in marking contests. Soon, the laws people will add tickle, nudge, brush and breathe on, such is the stricter interpretation.

It wasn't Ray Chamberlain's fault he penalised Adelaide's Scott Thompson on Saturday.

He was only following orders.

The blame is with the laws of the game, and/or Gieschen.

This wonderful game with its oval ball and its unpredictability is being umpired to within an inch of its life.

The Thompson decision destroyed the soul of the game - a one-one-one contest with one player judging the flight better and using his body to render his opponent useless.

Buckley and Geelong's Chris Scott yesterday joined the chorus of disbelief.

"The explanations are extremely confusing," Scott said. "To say that you can't block, bump, push or hold in a marking contest makes it very difficult to understand how you can make any contact at all."

Buckley said he needed to know how to coach his players.

"Right now, from what I gather, a half-push is OK but a full push is not acceptable," he said.

"I don't know how an 80 per cent push is going to be adjudicated.

"We coach our players to go to the ball as often and as strongly as they can.

"There's going to be body-to-body contact ... we've got some players who are very good in one-on-one contests and hold that space very well and take marks, and we hope they're rewarded for their efforts."

Scott said: "My personal view is that if we've been saying you can't bump, block, push or hold in a marking contest, then two of the greatest footballers of all time in Tony Lockett and Jason Dunstall would have been ineffective.

"It's not a great development in our game.

"But the reality is that when two players are competing in a contest, they're both pushing against each other, so if one's stronger than the other, the push is going to become more obvious."

Strength used to be such advantage - from stars such as Jack Dyer, Ted Whitten, Wayne Carey, Lockett and Dunstall, to lesser lights such as Alan Martello, James Clement and John Longmire.

Now, we have Geelong's self-confessed weakling Andrew Mackie saying he has the advantage because he can't hold his ground.

God knows how many frees Stephen Silvagni would have given away. Under today's interpretations, "SOS" might not have been in the Team of the Century.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Push laws can simply shove off

Dengan url

http://astagaberita.blogspot.com/2013/05/push-laws-can-simply-shove-off.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Push laws can simply shove off

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Push laws can simply shove off

sebagai sumbernya