Former AFL recruiter Matt Rendell says the introduction of the stand rule has improved the overall spectacle of the game and exposed defenders who zone off their opponent.
Rendell thinks West Coast, Richmond and Carlton have been “found out” defensively since the stand rule was introduced this season.
After an adaptation period in the pre-season, players have now fully adjusted to the rule – designed to increase scoring, guard against congestion and improve the speed of ball movement.
“The stand rule is a great rule – one of the best rules we’ve ever seen because the standard of footy this year has been fantastic,” Rendell told SEN Flip.
“The scoring hasn’t improved dramatically because of how poorly they’re kicking for goal.
“What’s happened is the defenders have got better because they were so used to zoning off, but now they can’t zone off.
“If you zone off now at AFL level, you’re getting cut through. We’ve seen that with Carlton for most of the year.
“We’ve seen it with West Coast, we’ve seen with Richmond even. It’s brought them back to the field because they were so good at zoning off and so good at slowing the play down, especially with their pressure forwards. Now the game’s opened up.
“West Coast and Richmond in particular have got found out and Carlton has been a disaster for most of the year except for a little patch.
“The game to look at has been so much better and because players have got space, they’ve taken the game on.”
West Coast and Richmond sit seventh and 10th respectively on the ladder with four rounds remaining in the home and away season.
Carlton’s finals hopes took a major hit after losing to bottom-placed North Melbourne last week.