AFL did have some big hits in the past. They are now ILLEGAL. There is something wrong promoting the illegal side of a game. It may result in an increase in an increase in people watching AFL in an expectation of violence but it does not increase people playing Australian Football. if I remember rightly the Pat McAfee concentrated on the physical independence of a player rather than the outright roughness of the game.

I have met players from all over the world and not one of them has remarked that the "big hits" attracted them to the game. Quite the opposite. What attracts people to play Australian Football is the fast, free-flowing nature of the game with many options and little restriction. Coaches have worked hard to instil duty-of-care across the board and it's one of the reasons why women's football is so strong.

The on focus physicality will lose more players than it will gain. American Football is under immense pressure in this regard and Australian Football has the chance to be an alternative there. Both RU and RL are losing participants around the world whilst Australian Football is one of the few sports with increasing participation. Let's not jeopardise this with something that didn't work in the 1980s. and puts AFL in the class of Wrestlemania.