Unfortunately, Siposs took a bit of St Kilda with him to the Super Bowl. But Mailata was pretty flawless (at least to my less-than-expert eyes).
As far as the players being disciplined, they are disciplined by the rules and referees. Even ‘jawing’ leads to a flag and a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty. That’s a killer - it either kills the drive if the offense is guilty or it leads to an automatic 1st down if the defenders are guilty. Fisticuffs would probably lead to expulsions. I remember a QB being thrown out of the game when he took his helmet which had come off his head and swung it at an opponent.
But if we took such a hard line, I can just imagine all the whingeing about soft free kicks and calls to let the players play.
The other difference is that Aussie Rules is a 360 degree game whereas in NFL the players are separated by the line of scrimmage, so NFL players can’t thump an opponent in the back with a forearm or elbow him in the guts before the play starts. Then everyone goes in motion when the ball is snapped and the 7 referees are on the lookout for penalties and that’s almost a referee for each of the 11 pairs of players. Spot fires are most likely to erupt at the end of a down but the offensive players have to get to the huddle quickly while the defensive players need to set up behind the line of scrimmage very quickly as the QB will otherwise go into a hurry up play to take advantage of an undisciplined defender.
Edit: It was actually a defensive player Myles Garrett who ripped the QB Rudolph’s helmet off him and then swung it at the QB leading to Garrett’s ejection.
As far as the players being disciplined, they are disciplined by the rules and referees. Even ‘jawing’ leads to a flag and a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty. That’s a killer - it either kills the drive if the offense is guilty or it leads to an automatic 1st down if the defenders are guilty. Fisticuffs would probably lead to expulsions. I remember a QB being thrown out of the game when he took his helmet which had come off his head and swung it at an opponent.
But if we took such a hard line, I can just imagine all the whingeing about soft free kicks and calls to let the players play.
The other difference is that Aussie Rules is a 360 degree game whereas in NFL the players are separated by the line of scrimmage, so NFL players can’t thump an opponent in the back with a forearm or elbow him in the guts before the play starts. Then everyone goes in motion when the ball is snapped and the 7 referees are on the lookout for penalties and that’s almost a referee for each of the 11 pairs of players. Spot fires are most likely to erupt at the end of a down but the offensive players have to get to the huddle quickly while the defensive players need to set up behind the line of scrimmage very quickly as the QB will otherwise go into a hurry up play to take advantage of an undisciplined defender.
Edit: It was actually a defensive player Myles Garrett who ripped the QB Rudolph’s helmet off him and then swung it at the QB leading to Garrett’s ejection.