Simplicity overlooked in new interchange laws

It's been a few weeks since my last post, but not much has changed. Geelong and Hawthorn are still undefeated, as are the Western Bulldogs, who I like, but not as much as the other two. Hawthorn's Mark Williams this week made a bold attempt to become less likeable than his Port Adelaide namesake, and we had another controversial draw, this time between North Melbourne and Sydney. This time it wasn't the timekeepers' fault, but instead the blame rested on the shoulders of whoever was Sydney's 19th man on the field, as Darren Jolly failed to go off when he was supposed to.

A disaster like this was bound to cause some outrage, and after fining Sydney for what could perhaps have stolen them two points from 0, the AFL came up with a Die Hard 2-esque (How did they manage to come up with that plot?) rule change. Now, instead of the traditional one off-one on rule, the coach must go through more hurdles than customs to get a new player on the field, while the 70 year old interchange steward is told he has to do something. That's right, instead of watching the players go on and off, he has to actually watch what they're doing, and organise all the paperwork before a player can even scratch his ass let alone leave the bench. Apologies for all the hyperbole, but it seems easier to get on the line on those post-midnight quiz shows where the answers are as obvious as the fact that no one is getting through until they make back the money they paid the "actors" at 55c a call.

Now as comical as it is watching 5 people sit on the bench and the Collingwood steward warding off players attempting to get back onto the ground, surely the easiest solution would simply be to get the steward to watch very carefully and give him the power, should there ever be 19 on the ground, to actually do something about it, like tell the umpires. As for the penalties too, with a goal at risk should the team offend, do we really want to throw six points at a team for something that, frankly, has very little to do with the actual game? Do we really care that much about
interchanging properly that we are willing to giveaway goals for things happening off the field? Even a headcount seems less silly!