The next generation of AFL footballers are already being trained in new tackling techniques, in a bid to sidestep the sort of controversies that have engulfed Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield and Collingwood's Brodie Grundy in the past fortnight.
Both Dangerfield and Grundy were suspended after laying tackles that would once have been considered flawless.
Their cases have flared debate about where the game is headed, and what can reasonably be expected of players who are being asked to play a fast and highly physical game, while also taking a level of responsibility for each other's welfare.
The solution — at least at junior level — is to teach players to tackle like "dead weights".
"It is about dropping the weight into the tackle, so it is not a rotation or a throwing action," said Mick Wilson, talent manager with the Murray Bushrangers in the TAC Cup, Victoria's elite under-18 competition.
"It is about restricting the player without throwing them aggressively to the ground."
Wilson said clubs met at the start of the year to discuss their approach to tackling, and agreed a proactive approach was necessary. He said most, if not all, clubs in the competition would regularly practise tackling techniques.
"AFL clubs are looking for kids that are as ready-made as possible. They want players where they don't have to spend time and effort teaching them how to play," he said.
"That message is coming from the top down."
An incident early in the TAC Cup season when a player was knocked unconscious in a tackle prompted AFL Victoria to remind clubs about its guidelines, which say players "should not lift, sling, rotate or drive their opponents into the ground with excessive force".
Wilson said his team even took the step of dragging a player from the ground during a recent game, because he committed a dangerous tackle.
"The coaching staff just went through the incident with him, even though there was no free kick paid."
