Rohan still whinging about it--------------------------------------
Time to act on rushed behinds
Rohan Connolly | August 12, 2008
IT was in a mid-2006 match against Melbourne that then Brisbane Lions defender Mal Michael conceded a rushed behind by booting the ball through the Demons' goals from more than 20 metres out.
It was a bizarre passage of play, the subject of innumerable replays and much discussion, seemingly one of those quirky one-offs in much the same way as umpire Peter Carey's "mark" in Perth all those years ago.
Fast forward just a couple of years, and Michael's "own goal" would barely raise an eyebrow, players regularly enough conceding a point under pressure by kicking at the opposition goals.
It's been only three weeks since Richmond's Joel Bowden twice walked the ball back through his defensive goals at a kick-in to soak up precious dying seconds of a thriller against Essendon.
There was fierce debate, some calling for action to prevent a repeat of an ugly time-wasting tactic, the more predictable response to "leave the rules alone". Much of the latter reaction centred around the Bowden incident again proving a quirk seldom to be seen again.
But that's already proved to be bunkum. The very next week, a TAC under-18 team pulled "a Bowden", not just once, but a couple of times. It's been repeated at AFL level since on several occasions. Most recently last Saturday night.
Collingwood, not just a kick but 22 points up, had its game against St Kilda stitched up when Marty Clarke kicked-in approaching the 27-minute mark.
There were no options on offer save Dale Thomas, 15 metres away in the back-pocket. Clarke chipped to Thomas, who then walked backwards, sideways to the goal face, drew Stephen Milne to him, then retreated across the goal line.
That chewed up 10 seconds. A couple of minutes later, with the time clock now approaching 30 minutes, Thomas went the safe option again, receiving a chip from Dane Swan and hanging on for 15 seconds until Adam Schneider was forced to run at him, Thomas again stepping back over the goal line.
One behind was a twist on the Bowden tactic, bringing a second player into proceedings from a kick-in and absorbing more time, the other from general play. Both highlight a growing plague that goes against the things that help make Australian football so appealing — continuous action and a sense of risk, or at least adventure.
Champion Data statistics prove it's happening more frequently. In 2003, the competition average for rushed behinds per game was 3.9. It's crept up every year since to 5.8 so far this season.
And last Saturday was a big one for the rushed behind. Thomas' pair were among the five of St Kilda's 11 behinds that were rushed. It was six from 14 for Hawthorn, five from 11 for Brisbane, eight out of 24 for Carlton, and eight from 18 for Fremantle.
The handball through the defensive goals is a dime-a-dozen now, not just from near the goal line either, but often from 20 to 25 metres away. It kills off any danger, more time, and rewards the side copping out with a free kick and chance to rebound into attack under no pressure from a range of increasingly well-rehearsed set plays.
"It's because the game's all about turnovers now," one senior assistant coach explains. "Zoning is so good now and an indiscriminate kick out of the backline so costly that you almost guarantee the other team a score if you turn it over in defence.
"Why make a decision under pressure you wouldn't normally make when just for conceding a behind you can minimise the danger and get the ball in the hands of your best kick out of defence?"
The coach says his team isn't drilled in the art of conceding behinds, but it doesn't need to be. Its defenders know as second nature to play the percentages in this case so much in their favour.
We've become used to defenders chipping the ball to each other. But at least then there's still an intent to keep play alive. The extension of that philosophy to the deliberate rushed behind can't even boast that. It's a zero risk get-out-of-jail card that offers too many benefits and not enough sacrifice for those who take the soft option.
Some of us aren't great fans of rule changes. And a change to the game's scoring system is a radical step. But this isn't merely a fad of which the natural evolution of the game will take care.
The deliberate rushed behind is very quickly ingraining itself as a fundamental part of defensive strategy. And one that only the introduction of a three-point penalty will realistically nip in the bud.
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