04-25-2022, 10:05 AM
Still not convinced about that. It's not as though Darcy was able to target Pitt's knee like a soldier firing an anti-tank missile.
There were 3 different angles showing the incident. One of them was from behind Pitt and watching it would raise concerns because Darcy's eyes were on Pitt as he ran in and only looked up at the last moment. But the camera on the side of the contest showed that both ruckmen were looking at each other and looked up at virtually the same time. In other words, they were both using the same standard technique.
Even before the ball is bounced, the ruckmen will keep close watch on the opponent to see if they shift around the circle. If this happens, you'll usually see the other ruckman respond by trying to match the movement.
Ruckmen also look at the other ruckman after the ball is bounced in order to adjust their approach if needs be. Is the opposing ruck going to stay down and try to rove your tap? Is he going to jump into you early? Is he going to run on an arc and come at you in an unexpected direction? Is he going to trick you by acting as if he's coming in hot with a knee only to run around you and watch you fly past when contact doesn't eventuate?
If Darcy had been trying to make contact with his knee/shin just so, even a small movement at the last moment from Pitt would have turned the tables on him. As I noted before, this isn't like a defender punching a forward in the ear in a marking contest. It's a toss up as to who will fare worse out of the contact.
I also don't think the shin guard was involved. In any event, the shin or the knee will do more damage than the shin guard. The shin guard isn't like the hard helmets used in NFL. The NFL had a problem with "crowning": players lowering their heads and using the top of the helmet to knock out an opponent. But shin guards aren't hard guards. They are somewhat flexible and are there only to reduce the damage from repeated clashes in the ruck. On the other hand, when players come back from broken hands or arms, permission has to be sought from the AFL to wear guards or casts over the injury that are harder than shin guards.
There were 3 different angles showing the incident. One of them was from behind Pitt and watching it would raise concerns because Darcy's eyes were on Pitt as he ran in and only looked up at the last moment. But the camera on the side of the contest showed that both ruckmen were looking at each other and looked up at virtually the same time. In other words, they were both using the same standard technique.
Even before the ball is bounced, the ruckmen will keep close watch on the opponent to see if they shift around the circle. If this happens, you'll usually see the other ruckman respond by trying to match the movement.
Ruckmen also look at the other ruckman after the ball is bounced in order to adjust their approach if needs be. Is the opposing ruck going to stay down and try to rove your tap? Is he going to jump into you early? Is he going to run on an arc and come at you in an unexpected direction? Is he going to trick you by acting as if he's coming in hot with a knee only to run around you and watch you fly past when contact doesn't eventuate?
If Darcy had been trying to make contact with his knee/shin just so, even a small movement at the last moment from Pitt would have turned the tables on him. As I noted before, this isn't like a defender punching a forward in the ear in a marking contest. It's a toss up as to who will fare worse out of the contact.
I also don't think the shin guard was involved. In any event, the shin or the knee will do more damage than the shin guard. The shin guard isn't like the hard helmets used in NFL. The NFL had a problem with "crowning": players lowering their heads and using the top of the helmet to knock out an opponent. But shin guards aren't hard guards. They are somewhat flexible and are there only to reduce the damage from repeated clashes in the ruck. On the other hand, when players come back from broken hands or arms, permission has to be sought from the AFL to wear guards or casts over the injury that are harder than shin guards.