The interpretation of the play-the-ball now favours the side in possession too much (worse than touch football). Make the attacker play to the EXISTING rules.
Play-the-ball commences
(1) ON THE MARK,
(2) by a player STANDING with BOTH FEET ON THE GROUND,
(3) in control of a ball that is NOT on the ground.
It continues by placing the ball on the ground in front of one foot and rolling the ball back WITH THE FOOT.
No rule-change necessary. THIS IS THE CURRENT RULE.
In the spirit of fast play, change the rule-breach penalty to HAND-OVER. The penalty for obstructing a hand-over (i.e. professional foul) should probably be 'sin bin'.
A possible rule clarification might be that when standing prior to the play-the-ball, the ball must be at least at knee height to forestall the coaches from teaching a 1mm ball lift.
I don't think this will slow the game because it will soon eliminate stoppages due to lost-ball plays and stoppages due to re-plays. The tackled player needs to accept that he has been stopped. He is entitled to a clear play-the-ball. He is not entitled to further advantage just because he has the ball.
Play-the-ball commences
(1) ON THE MARK,
(2) by a player STANDING with BOTH FEET ON THE GROUND,
(3) in control of a ball that is NOT on the ground.
It continues by placing the ball on the ground in front of one foot and rolling the ball back WITH THE FOOT.
No rule-change necessary. THIS IS THE CURRENT RULE.
In the spirit of fast play, change the rule-breach penalty to HAND-OVER. The penalty for obstructing a hand-over (i.e. professional foul) should probably be 'sin bin'.
A possible rule clarification might be that when standing prior to the play-the-ball, the ball must be at least at knee height to forestall the coaches from teaching a 1mm ball lift.
I don't think this will slow the game because it will soon eliminate stoppages due to lost-ball plays and stoppages due to re-plays. The tackled player needs to accept that he has been stopped. He is entitled to a clear play-the-ball. He is not entitled to further advantage just because he has the ball.
