Watching the game, I think one of the erosions of the game between the public perception and how the game is adjudicated relates to the holding the ball rule.
For those who don't have prior opportunity there is a clause which says:
For the avoidance of doubt, a Player does not elect to Incorrectly Dispose of the
football when:
(a) the Player genuinely attempts to Correctly Dispose of the football;
Now the AFL has been obsessed with the game continually moving so the wording of this rule has been interpreted incorrectly, and there is now no emphasise on the "genuinely" or the "correctly". The rule is being interpreted as:
(a) the Player attempts to Dispose of the football;
As long as the player attempts to move the ball on, they aren't penalised unless it is a blatant throw.
Link to this years rule book in case anyone is interested: AFL 2024 Rule Book
For those who don't have prior opportunity there is a clause which says:
For the avoidance of doubt, a Player does not elect to Incorrectly Dispose of the
football when:
(a) the Player genuinely attempts to Correctly Dispose of the football;
Now the AFL has been obsessed with the game continually moving so the wording of this rule has been interpreted incorrectly, and there is now no emphasise on the "genuinely" or the "correctly". The rule is being interpreted as:
(a) the Player attempts to Dispose of the football;
As long as the player attempts to move the ball on, they aren't penalised unless it is a blatant throw.
Link to this years rule book in case anyone is interested: AFL 2024 Rule Book