Matthew Lloyd says there is no need for the AFL to remove the ruling that allows players to use their knee to jump into marking contests, despite a spike in injuries due to that same act.
It comes after football legend Leigh Matthews questioned whether the AFL should officially rule out that law.
Collingwood skipper Darcy Moore has landed himself in the spotlight for using his knee to jump into his opponent’s backs in marking contests, over the past few weeks.
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Despite Moore’s legal acts causing injuries, Lloyd doesn’t feel the need for the game to make yet another rule change.
“I hate great respect for Leigh, but I just hate hearing that,” Lloyd said on Nine’s Footy Classified on Wednesday night.
“I just hate when I hear that. The fabric of our game will be lost. I think we’ll just lose our game.
“Do you even go and watch a key forward anymore? It’s becoming a midfielder’s game.”
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Moore’s knee into Petracca’s back caused serious internal damage, including a ruptured spleen, ending his 2024 campaign immediately.
In round 16, Gold Coast ruckman Jarrod Witts suffered the same fate, with Moore kneeing him in the back, causing a fractured vertebrae.
“Even when Petracca gets injured, it’s just a footy act. So what? Accidents, injuries are going to happen,” Lloyd said.
“The technique that Darcy Moore is using there, has been used for 130 years,” leading AFL journalist Damien Barrett said.
Jimmy Bartel echoed Lloyd’s thoughts, urging the league to leave the game alone to keep the fabric strong.
“An element of what draws people to the game is risk and excitement,” Bartel said.
“More people want to go (and see) someone jump on someone’s head and take a mark, or someone come back with the flight, or lay a strong tackle or a bump.
“There is an element to our game, which the beauty of it, is the risk of it.”
“What we have is a game that needs to be able to have some sort of semblance to what we grew up with,” Eddie McGuire added.
Moore’s Magpies will face off against Essendon on Friday night at the MCG.