Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says umpires must reward the tacklers more often, which in turn would help reduce the amount of congestion in the game.
As debate rages about what can be done to free up the game, Buckley said radical rule changes such as zones aren’t the answer. Instead, making a simple tweak to the tackler/ball handler situation will help be the panacea.
“I like the fact the game can evolve on its own but there is one rule that I’ve been keen on for quite a while and that is to eliminate prior opportunity,” Buckley told SEN’s Whateley.
“If teams want to handball in a short space, they get numbers into that congestion and they want to handball and take the tacklers on.
“If you possess the ball, but you do not kick or handball it, then it’s a free kick against. I think that is something that will change it all together.
“If you put two or three quick handballs together inside or you have a handball to a player that was hot, and he was tackled, regardless of prior opportunity or anything, if he had the ball, was tackled and didn’t handball or kick it, that’s a free kick.”
Buckley also added the evolution of tactics always happens and he is frustrated by the constant discussion surrounding the state of the game.
Listen to Nathan Buckley's chat with Gerard Whateley on SEN's Whateley in the player below