If we look at the history of the ball crossing the boundary then originally it was a bounce then the ball was thrown in. In 1925 a free kick was awarded against players kicking or forcing the ball out of bounds. In 1939 the free against kicking out was rescinded. In 1969 a free kick was awarded against players kicking out on the full because fans were tired of continuous boundary play. This law was ushered in with utmost uproar but quickly dissipated as unwarranted. In 2016 the SANFL trialled a law that a player would be penalized for kicking or handballing (disposing) the ball over the boundary. The feedback from that has been positive. I haven't been able to find out when but the fullback has been penalized for kicking the ball out (untouched) for as long as I can remember.

Thus in summary by altering the laws the AFL is :
1. Reverting to an old law.
2. Reducing and simplifying the number of laws.
3. Removing most of the the need for and surrounding controversy of deliberate out-of-bounds. .
4. Encouraging play to revert to more attacking styles.
5. We aren't asking anything more of players than what the fullback is already required to do.

As for the need for a player to be footed to pick up the ball I was shocked when this was first mentioned as it was a feature of Australian Football to show one's desire by diving on the ball. However, this feature has worked well in IRS to stop the number of scrimmages. As well we have seen diving on the ball discouraged in AFL immensely with strong holding-the-ball and tripping interpretations. From a skills p.o.v. , it is more skillful the way AFL players get a ball out of congestion these days. It doesn't have the same emotional desperation of diving on the ball but IMO we are just about at the point where we could flip especially from a safety and concussion perspective.

The SANFL still had the last touch rule during season 2017. Only saw two games live, and from what I saw on TV matches it looked a bit like there was some umpire discretion involved when ball went out after the ball was "touched" by player trying to mark or keep the ball in play from opposition kicks or play. (eg. would have been advantageous for "last touch" player to keep it in play.)

Didn't really hear the commentators ever discussing/commenting about any of the decisions etc. when ball went out of play "last touch" or on the full etc. Seems like there were/are no contentious issues with it.
Unlike what happens in AFL with the continual/annual rule changes to fix contentious issues brought on by the previous years rule changes. :-)