“If we keep going at this rate, there’ll be no tackling by the end of 2024-25”, Brian Taylor squawked on Friday night. “When you play this game, surely you sign up for a dangerous game. You’re not a tiler, laying tiles in a safe environment. It is a dangerous, physically brutal, one-on-one sport, and that is the most appealing thing about it.” “I give up on that one,” Matthew Richardson said. “I’ve just got no idea,” Luke Hodge added.
It was in response to Jarrod Berry being reported for dangerous tackling, which was swiftly and predictably thrown out. It was a neat snapshot of what passes for football commentary on Channel 7. It was a conversation we hear in lounge rooms, in grandstands, on footy panel shows, and in cyberspace. “That’s another one!” Anthony Hudson cried after Lachie Whitfield’s tackle on Jordan Clark the following day. It’s a staple of watching the football now – Is player X in trouble for this tackle? Football’s stuffed! It’s soft!
