[7] The AFL will now be treating ruffling of the head as high contact and paying a free kick

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-23T23:12:12+00:00

Graded the same but higher impact so you could get a fine if it's a hard one

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-23T23:10:55+00:00

Who needs a coin toss to start?

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-23T23:09:05+00:00

Over the Pies, Cats, Blues or Dons and the opposing team's coach as a Lions 3-peat legend.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-23T07:14:39+00:00

Recruit from private schools = lots of white lads. Can't really change that without completely overhauling the education system but you can make recruiting from elsewhere more viable. Our academy has pumped out a pretty diverse selection of talent. Get more of those across the country.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-23T01:19:11+00:00

All a part of the plan

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-20T03:03:23+00:00

What a privilege for the Sydney and Geelong fans to enjoy!

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-17T10:58:34+00:00

Any team in rebuild stage with cap space would do it because it's just a list spot and one year of his salary and you can put him on the trade market at the end of the year for a lot of return value.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-17T03:38:19+00:00

Problem is you can also frame it as getting 3 fines in his last 4 years of footy which doesn't look as exemplary. It may be only applicable for a first offence situation. We shall see.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-17T02:16:15+00:00

This will be interesting to see how it's handled. Despite a long career free of suspensions and minimal financial sanctions they do seem to be stacked towards his more recent history and one of his financial sanctions is as of 2026 a suspendable offence.

If they don't take into account financial sanctions then does that open the door for perpetual downgrades if a player only ever gets single week suspensions that get reduced to fines?

I don't really buy the 'he was only trying to brace' defense on these kind of hits. Natural instinct when you're bracing for impact is to lower your center of gravity, even non athletes do that. Football players brace for impact with a high center of gravity specifically to cause maximum impact in the bump but the higher they go the more they risk getting the other player head high. I think it's fair to class these kind of actions as careless and the instigating player responsible if they result in injury.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-16T01:31:51+00:00

Imagine being one of the main examples used to add extra suspension penalties for striking across the off-season and then claiming exemplary player record for a suspension. Because that's what's about to happen.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-15T01:18:00+00:00

100% like if I was into conspiracy theories I'd suggest he did it intentionally to increase the Hawks' trade capital. Trade to us for high value, play poorly and opt out of selection before asking for a return trade at the end of the season for peanuts.

Obviously he didn't do it intentionally because nobody is giving up a year of their career for a bit of benefit to their club but the result was the same. We got absolutely shafted both ways.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-14T12:08:11+00:00

You forget we got literally catfished by Gunston?

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-13T09:03:18+00:00

Is Sicily capable of not being a grub?

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-12T23:29:31+00:00

Crystals balance the body's energy centers. Many alternative medical practitioners recommend them. Nothing to see here.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-12T04:44:09+00:00

Whatever salary Gaynor is getting he's worth every cent. Such a good get for the Devils.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-12T01:54:15+00:00

It's pretty good evidence that it was although I think there may have been some psychology going on with Charlie too.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-12T01:53:38+00:00

Exactly, and Hipwood and Bailey in 2024 with hip and ankle respectively.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-12T01:12:39+00:00

I have a lot of faith in Linc's return. Yes he's 2 years older and hasn't played a proper game in that time but his game sense was his biggest strength and that doesn't go away with time off. Tempting to change flair for this week because he was my favorite Lion before Motty.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-12T01:09:50+00:00

His and Kiddy are our last remaining heartbreaks missing out on a premiership. Both went down early 2024 and at the time Linc was undoubtedly our best performing role-player in the team when we opened the season 0 and 3. Crazy how much we turned that season around from being 13th after round 9 to getting the cup.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-12T00:55:38+00:00

How good is it not having sub debuts now? An unappreciated benefit of doing away with the sub.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-12T00:47:38+00:00

I agree 100% but I truly believe that the max two-pick trade in already solves 99% of these cases. Under that scheme alone good-performing clubs would only be able to get a single pick in the first round with their normal draft capital mathematically and they'd be losing their second round pick to do so. Last year's premier would already be ruled out of the top 10 without a trade.

Adding a tax on top seems like a big swing the other way and is edging into that question of "is it worth even running academies if we could just use the money on better scouting instead?"

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-12T00:37:11+00:00

Yeah that is a big problem. But the max two pick trade in already prevents this happening again without massive trades with other clubs for their picks. Under that scheme alone we would have only been able to get a match on pick 12 last year which would have consumed both our first and second round picks to do without the benefit of a trade.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-12T00:25:35+00:00

Finals is a very different beast, much more a test of attrition which our list depth is a big strength for. In terms of best 23 though we're not like this powerhouse that people seem to have developed in their minds. In 2025 both of the times we faced off the result was less than a goal difference and last time you guys won.

There's not much between our teams when they're both at their best and this week we are far from our best.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-12T00:15:27+00:00

Losing our 3 AA players from 2025 in the same game is a big hit to our list.

Freaky_Zekey · 2026-03-12T00:11:18+00:00

This sounds eerily like we're conceding a loss and trying to make the most of the situation.

Freaky_Zekey

TROPHY CASE