HITTING back at accusations that he is out of touch with the modern game, Kevin Bartlett says: "The world's greatest gynaecologist is a male, and he's never had a baby…"
The latest person to question the relevance of Bartlett and several other members of the Laws of the Game Committee is Collingwood ruckman Darren Jolly
Jolly said he was "annoyed" by the AFL's determination to introduce an interchange cap next year and has accused the League of making rules that "aren't relevant or sustainable".
Jolly was especially critical of AFL legend Bartlett and AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou.
The interchange cap, trialled at 80 per team (20 each quarter) in the NAB Cup, has come under enormous criticism from coaches and players, and Jolly expects it to only get worse.
He believes a cap will result in more injuries, shorter careers, superstars being rested more, and players becoming so tired they will simply flood back more.
"Kevin, you are and always will be a legend of our game, but you finished in 1983 – two years after I was born. Perhaps your comments are not relevant to today's game," Jolly said in a Fairfax Media column.
"I'm sure football played today is a whole lot quicker and more demanding than it was 30 years ago, when recovery consisted of cracking a beer, not sitting in an ice bath and then going home to bed …
"More than half of the rules committee have not played for many years, or have never played at all. They are making the rules that aren't relevant or sustainable for today's game, which is our living.
"There's a reason why we need to rotate as much as we do. It's because you have instructed the umpires to throw the ball up quicker; you've shortened the time allowed when kicking for goal; and kicking-in after a minor score. You want the ball in constant motion, so, naturally, the play gets faster …
"Isn't it time the Laws of the Game committee is made up of people who understand what the modern game is like to play?"
Jolly blamed Demetriou for making the came faster and consequently increasing the demands on players.
"I feel that Andrew has stopped listening to us," he wrote. "At no stage has he or any of the rules committee come to my club and asked our opinion on this rule, or any other rule.
"If you want to improve our game, you should be consulting with the clubs, coaches and players. We are the experts, but feel you don't want to consider our opinion.
"I know Andrew has an understanding of what it's like to play … but please don't say it's 'already in place, there's no going back'. If you have the power to introduce it, you have the power to take it away."
Darren Jolly is a ruckman in NAB AFL Fantasy. He averaged 81.6 points in 2012. Register your team at our AFL Fantasy Hub.
