After a week of intense commentary, the interpretation of what constitutes a high free kick is still not crystal clear.
Collingwood forward Jack Ginnivan was tackled high in the first quarter of the Pies’ after-the-siren win over Essendon on Sunday, yet the MCG stood still for a whistle that never came.
Earlier in the week, the AFL had moved to clarify how they’d pay free kicks for high contact after plenty of controversy to start the year.
A shrug was classified as a player’s arm raising to move the tackler’s arm around the neck, while a drop at the knees or of the body would also not be rewarded.
Both would instead be called play on.
However, dual-premiership Kangaroo David King was left disappointed by the communication from the league.
“The AFL have made mistake after mistake this year with these sorts of issues,” he told SEN’s Whateley.
“You just come out and say, ‘we’re going to crack down on this and if you do A, B and C, that is it’, and then you stick to that.
“You can’t have rules for some and rules for others, and that’s where we are right now.”
In Ginnivan’s contentious non-free kick from Sunday, the 19-year-old raises his arm slightly, but after the high contact has already occurred.
King suggested the lifting of the arm could have been what kept Ginnivan from receiving a free kick.
He believes a rule tweak may be the way to go.
“The lifting of the one arm, that’s a tell. We have ruckmen who take their eye off the ball, ruck free kick against, we just pay it because the eyes were the tell,” he continued.
“If the arm comes up, I would pay a free kick against that player, that would be my change next year because then you are changing behaviour and we’re taking it out of the game.
“If Jack Ginnivan gives away three free kicks in a row, Craig McRae’s not playing him.
“But because it’s play on, there’s no price to pay.”
Ginnivan was seen to be one of the reasons the AFL sent out its release earlier in the week on the high tackles, having received plenty of frees with his unique style of challenging the tackler in just his second season.
However, the latest questionable decision has ultimately left the league back where it started.
“They’ve meandered through this mess the AFL, and now we’re nowhere,” King concluded.
“I don’t even know the rule anymore … he almost got decapitated on the weekend and no one can tell me if it was a free kick or not … we had to go to the replay and slow it down (to see if he lifted his arm).”
McRae refused to be drawn on whether the youngster was being unfairly treated when speaking after the game.
The AFL has not released any indication of whether it approves or condemns the decision.