Crackdown a welcome initiative
02/02/2010 06:18:14 AM
to whether players have been legitimately fouled in the penalty box or have been guilty of 'simulation' (which is a yellow-card offence) - it is still a step in the right direction by the AFL.
After all, the AFL's greatest strength in its bid to not only hold off the growing threat of soccer but also to conquer the rugby league heartlands of New South Wales and Queensland - where it will set up second teams in the next two years - is that its game combines the skill and speed of soccer with the toughness of rugby league.
But staging for free kicks is the antipathy of what the AFL believes its game stands for and is an element of the game that must be stamped out if it is to not only maintain its traditional dominance in the southern states but also conquer the northern states as well.