How can the shepard when the player they handball too is right next to them but so is the attacking opponent 
This!
Feels like a leftover from the Wallace years that's never been erased. Player A, who gives off the handpass, runs away from the receiver Player B and the opposition chaser, to create the next link in the handball chain, instead of protecting Player B by shepherding the opposition chaser and giving Player B time and space to dispose of the footy cleanly under minimised physical pressure.
