AFL: Ducking for a Free Kick

There has been a lot of talk this week about players shrugging and ducking in a tackle to get a free kick for head high contact. Alistair Clarkson called for a change to the rules, Jeff Gieschen said it was not in the spirit of the game.

Seems like a big over reaction to me. The game and the tactics are developing faster than ever before, and this is just another example. "Back in the Day" players used to be taught to tackle from the hips and keep the arms low. But that often meant the player being tackled would lift his arms to keep them free from the tackle so he could get away a handball. So to counteract that, players now try and tackle higher and pin the arms. (In fact it is only last year that there was a fair bit of talk about this being dangerous because players could not protect themselves if they were thrown to the ground.) 

So ball players have just developed a new evasive skill to deal with the new style of tackling where instead of getting their arms out of the top, they try and slip the tackle by going underneath. One of the effects of that is they sometimes draw head high contact. But it is just part of the development of the game. Next step I see is that tacklers will need to learn a new technique to deal with this. Perhaps this is something that Alistair could concentrating his energies on.

SHARES: A 20% profit and I am not happy about it.

I recently had an offer that was too good to refuse. I made an immediate 20% gain on QBE shares with no risk and I am not happy about it.

QBE decided that they wanted to raise some more capital and so offered more shares to existing shareholders. At the time the offer was made, the share price on the stockmarket was down so the price QBE was asking $10.70 per share. But by the time we had to accept the offer, the share price on the stockmarket had recovered to over $14.00 per share. The decision was a no brainer. Buy shares for $10.70 each, knowing I could sell them on the market for over $14.00. 

So why am I not happy. Well, I have to wonder what on earth they were thinking. Why would management sell off assets that are worth around $14.00 for only $10.70. 

Remember, I own shares in that company. I am a part owner. They are my assets they are selling - and they are selling them for 20% less than they are really worth. Yes I made some money in the short term, but this kind of action is going to hurt the value in the longer term. Are management forgetting that they are employed to maximise the shareholder value - not sell it off at a discount.

AFL: What a great start to the season.

There were some sensational games of football on the weekend. I got to see Richmond v Carlton and Hawthorn v Collingwood on TV and went on Saturday night to see Essendon beat Kangaroos by 2 points. Add to that I have watched Eastern Ranges in the first two rounds of the TAC cup and I have had a fill of footy over the past week.

I know it is only round 1 and the players are usually up and about at this time of year. Free from injury, fit and keen with great expectations for the year. However, I am excited by the style of football being played at the moment. It is fast, skillful, open and a great game to watch. I also saw the game between the Under 18 AIS squad and Box Hill last week - and if it is any indication, the next crop of AFL players are going to be just as exciting. 

The next few weeks we might see a reality check for a few teams and players. Football has a way of reminding you that you need to keep your feet on the ground. You still have to play in the now and not let your expectations get ahead of where you are really at. From the games I saw this week there might be a couple of teams feeling a bit bruised after being brought back to earth with a thud.