CARD RULE COULD MEAN NO MORE SEEING RED
IS this the end of the annoying, niggling tagger?
AFL players trying to rough up opposition players beware: the league is ready to crackdown.
As speculation of a redcard system flared late in the 2018 season – largely due to Eagle Andrew Gaff’s vicious off-the-ball strike on Docker Andrew Brayshaw – the league may instead take a tougher stance on lessergrade incidents in a bid to prevent rising tensions.
AFL football operations boss Steve Hocking said the League would next month hand the AFL Commission a set of proposals regarding on-field behaviour.
And while a red-card rule has been considered, as much focus had been put on preventing more serious incidents from occurring.
“I think the thing that we’re really looking to get after is just that low-level behaviour, you know pushing guys in the back, the low-level punches and so forth,” Hocking said. “We’re going to take a very strong stance on that for 2019.”
Hocking said recommendations would be put to the Commission, from which it would determine “how hard we go.”
“We’ll put in front of them something to deal with what potentially leads to the Gaff incident,” Hocking said.
“And I think that’s where we need to add to. I think too often we do just look at the end outcome rather than the standard of behaviour that potentially escalates to that level.
“I’ve been very clear since I’ve been in the role, I’d like to see that stamped out of the game.
“The cheap shots, they’re just a waste of energy.”