Re: 2018 Rd 8: Post Game Passion: Carlton vs Essendon
Reply #171 –
The 3 sports in which I take a keen interest, AFL, soccer and tennis, all have aspects which I consider to be blights on the game. There is no doubt in my mind that if these aspects were removed, the game would be better.
I see this targeting issue as being much the same. Remove it, and the game becomes better.
This game will always have a strong element of physicality - it's a contact sport, so even with current rules, which some consider to be a little tiggy touchwood, there is plenty of tough stuff and bravery to keep the punters happy.
We must free ourselves of historical justifications and rationalizations. Just because something has existed for some time, it doesn't make it good in the current context, and it doesn't mean a change isn't a change for the better.
There is nothing tough about targeting a player, and most especially since most of the players targeted are the soft targets. Nobody would dare do that to Hodge, Jono Brown etc. It's always the babies (Mills), the sooks (Goddard), the brittle ones (Sicily) etc.
What I want to see in terms of controlling and limiting the influence of top players is what Ben Jacobs did to Dusty on the weekend. Now that's class and a genuine victory IMO
You didn't see north players roughing up dusty at every opportunity?
Nick Riewoldt copped the same treatment back in the day.
Let's face it, teams do it and they do it all the time but people don't notice. At the game jed going Goddard wasn't evident, and they whacked Devon Smith frequently too, and all the bombers players were getting stuck into some of our boys too.
4 weeks ago it was weitering copped this treatment.
It happens.