The AFL has an approved range of gloves to avoid some players using the super-sticky gloves favoured by NFL wide receivers. OBJ’s one-handed touchdown catch was brilliant but no doubt the glove reduced the degree of difficulty. IIRC, one AFL player was caught out using Nike super-sticky gloves - was it Travis Cloke? That led to a crackdown.
Scientists have been trying to unlock the secrets of the gecko’s ability to climb up sheer glass. The idea is that a profusion of small filaments provide a sticking force by causing a weak attraction between the filaments and the glass at the molecular level. That has already provided advancements in dry adhesives but they want to produce gloves and footwear that will enable people to crawl up glass without the need for suction cups and the like. Imagine how much of an advantage that would give a player in wet conditions. You’d end up with gloves that were so good it would be as if the players were using Velcro paddles to catch fuzzy balls. Fortunately, the AFL has been able to stare down equipment manufacturers in a way Cricket and Golf rule-makers could not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4hr-idVdhA&t=65s
But gloves wouldn’t do much to protect an injured hand unless they were reinforced with padding or a hard material such as metal or stiff plastic. Any modifications to approved gloves to protect the injured hand would have to be approved by the AFL. We all remember umpires inspecting our boots before a game and making sure no jewellery was exposed. Same thing but it makes sense not to put the onus on the umpires to assess the glove before the game.
Scientists have been trying to unlock the secrets of the gecko’s ability to climb up sheer glass. The idea is that a profusion of small filaments provide a sticking force by causing a weak attraction between the filaments and the glass at the molecular level. That has already provided advancements in dry adhesives but they want to produce gloves and footwear that will enable people to crawl up glass without the need for suction cups and the like. Imagine how much of an advantage that would give a player in wet conditions. You’d end up with gloves that were so good it would be as if the players were using Velcro paddles to catch fuzzy balls. Fortunately, the AFL has been able to stare down equipment manufacturers in a way Cricket and Golf rule-makers could not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4hr-idVdhA&t=65s
But gloves wouldn’t do much to protect an injured hand unless they were reinforced with padding or a hard material such as metal or stiff plastic. Any modifications to approved gloves to protect the injured hand would have to be approved by the AFL. We all remember umpires inspecting our boots before a game and making sure no jewellery was exposed. Same thing but it makes sense not to put the onus on the umpires to assess the glove before the game.