The AFL has well and truly lost the plot, the tackle is now dead

The AFL officially sunk to its lowest point on Tuesday night with the Tribunal changing the fabric of the contest in horror fashion.

The AFL has officially lost the plot

COMMENT

Sorry AFL, there’s no defending this.

On Tuesday night the AFL Tribunal effectively drove in the final nail on the coffin of tackling within the game.

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Charlie Cameron and Toby Bedford both fronted the Tribunal in attempts to have their three game bans overturned after both were cited for dangerous tackles.

Both men failed and will now sit out for the upcoming three matches.

In upholding the rulings handed out by the Match Review Officer, the fabric of the game that we know and love was changed forever.

The AFL instilled a crack down on dangerous tackles with players copping bans for slinging and slamming opponents head-first into the turf.

While those moves can be lauded, the MRO and Tribunal have overcorrected to an ugly degree with the outcome now outweighing what unfolds in the heat of the moment.

The rulings on Tuesday night show that tackling, as almost every player has been shown for countless years, is no longer acceptable.

Sorry Toby, that’ll be three weeks. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Three weeks as well for you, Charlie. (Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Holding onto a player, bringing them to the ground and trying to stop them from being able to dispose of the ball is no longer an option.

Players must now do everything within their power while performing a tackle to ensure that their opponent has an arm free and that they’re not being taken to the ground with force.

Effectively, don’t bother tackling.

The AAP’s Oliver Caffrey summed it up amid the flood of backlash among footy fans on social media when he wrote: “A bewildering, game-changing night at the tribunal. The not-so-subtle message now to players is essentially: tackle at your own peril.”

The outrage was palpable as everyone from current players to former players and couch experts torched the league for the absurd rulings.

AFL legend Wayne Carey begged for the AFLPA to “do something please” while Lions great Jonathan Brown questioned where the league was at.

The league has lost the plot. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Tackling, along with the bump, is now dead. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Ahead of the Tribunal hearings players were questioning exactly how they were meant to go about conducting a tackle.

Giants star Lachie Whitfield said: “I just don’t know any more what to do. It’s very, very confusing.”

Those comments were all but backed up by Lions star Josh Dunkley when he said his teammates play was “the perfect tackle”.

If they were confused beforehand, they’re going to have absolutely no clue now.

The league seem determined to make major changes week in, week out to the game to continually keep not only players, but fans of the game guessing.

Players have no idea what they’re meant to do. Pic: Michael Klein

In recent weeks we’ve seen the league crack down on the interpretation of the holding the ball rule.

Those changes have seen players hesitate to scoop up a footy that’s in dispute in fear of instantly being pinged for holding the ball.

What they’ve now set in motion after Tuesday night’s Tribunal hearing is that players are going to be second guessing if they should go through with a tackle on an opponent.

I can almost guarantee this weekend we’ll see a player wrap their arms around their direct opponent in a tackle before they release their grip and let their rival free.

It’s a new world we find ourselves in with the AFL and it’s one that fans right now can’t and won’t accept.