Time Wasting

[rooboy_Tim]

The commentators mentioned this over the weekend.

It seems like whenever a team kicks a point and the ball goes into the crowd. They immediately throw the ball back on the ground, while the player kicking in grabs another ball. Hence having 2 balls in play at once and not allowing the defending team to play on straight away, which gives the opposition time to man up.

It's very smart from the crowd but it is within the spirit of the game?

I don't think so.

[MIGHTY MAGPIES 01]

I have noticed this recently also, i guess the supporters think they're helping their team by giving them more time to cover their opponents, thus stopping them from rebounding quickly. Not sure if there is anything the AFL can do about this though, unless they put a net behind the goals or threatened to ban supporters who did this. Another controversial time wasting incident on the weekend was when Joel Bowden rushed 2 behinds to ice the game with 30 seconds left. I'm sure the Tigers fans were happy with this tactic but i reckon the Essendon fans would have thought that it was against the spirit of the game. In the pre-season they trialed the 3-Point penalty for a rushed behind, but i think that is a bit harsh. I think a more reasonable solution to this problem would be that after a rushed behind they could have a ball-up on the 50 Metre line which would give the opposition a 50/50 contest with a chance to score again, and it would stop teams from rushing behinds.

['51 Bewick]

Maybe I am missing something, but surely the best solution to the Joel Bowden situation, is to restart the time clock only when the ball had been disposed of and left the goal square.

[rooboy_Tim]

or maybe 1 of the bombers players needed to overstep the mark, give away a 50 and at least not give him that option.

[Perry]

or maybe behinds rushed by a defending team in the last quarter are throw-ins from the behind post rather than a kick in?

[Bird of Prey]

Originally Posted by '51 Bewick

Maybe I am missing something, but surely the best solution to the Joel Bowden situation, is to restart the time clock only when the ball had been disposed of and left the goal square.

I agree with what you're saying, but I think what Rooboy was referring to was not the team that conceded the behind wasting time, but the fans of the team that scored the behind.

[MIGHTY MAGPIES 01]

Just an update on this, Hutchy has reported on the Footy Show tonight that the AFL has issued a warning to all Cheer Squads, if they are caught throwing a ball in play to waste time they will be thrown out of the ground and their Clubs will be fined. It seems a bit harsh, but the Cheer Squads should get the message.

[Don]

Bewick 51 is right. simply stop and re start the clock, it then only becomes a viable option for defender when clearly saving a goal, not time.

A player who picks up and uses a ball thrown into the game from the crowd should penalized and a free kick awarded to the opposing team....from the goal square....that will stop this cheating very quickly.

[peterfitz]

Originally Posted by MIGHTY MAGPIES 01

I have noticed this recently also, i guess the supporters think they're helping their team by giving them more time to cover their opponents, thus stopping them from rebounding quickly. Not sure if there is anything the AFL can do about this though, unless they put a net behind the goals or threatened to ban supporters who did this. Another controversial time wasting incident on the weekend was when Joel Bowden rushed 2 behinds to ice the game with 30 seconds left. I'm sure the Tigers fans were happy with this tactic but i reckon the Essendon fans would have thought that it was against the spirit of the game. In the pre-season they trialed the 3-Point penalty for a rushed behind, but i think that is a bit harsh. I think a more reasonable solution to this problem would be that after a rushed behind they could have a ball-up on the 50 Metre line which would give the opposition a 50/50 contest with a chance to score again, and it would stop teams from rushing behinds.

Not a hell of a lot you can do about the crowd throwing the ball onto the field.

If the cheer squad does it though they should be fined as was mentioned in your other post.

Joel Bowden's rushed behind tactic was fair enough. I'm a bomber supporter and can't complain about it as it's within the current rules.
I think it should be stopped though. If the ball is rushed through again after a behind has been scored without the opposition touching it either...

(a) the ball should be bounced at the top of the goal square (punching the ball through in the ruck from this bounce without being touched by the opposition again would result in the point being scored and another bounce)
(b) a free kick should be awarded to the other team in front of goal
(c) 3 points for the rushed behind

I personally think option (a) would be best