We will need a decent free taker with these new rules 45s are worth 2 points
Play Sherlock the whole match he won’t have to do as much running as before
Yes, the value of an accurate kicker from distance will increase.
And the importance of a good KO, and a good KO defence, will also increase because there will be more point attempts from distance, and (whether wide of over) thus more KOs in a match.
I wonder about the detail of the new KO rule. The ball has to go beyond the 40 meter arc - so presumably the players have to allow it to do so? Like if a goalie kicks it low against a strong wind, can the opposition run forward and intercept it before it passes the 40 meters, or do they have to wait until it passes the 40m arc before playing it? If the opposition are disallowed from doing that, then what about the rule which allows the goalie to dribble the ball out? - that will probably have to go. I have never seen it used, but under the present rules the goalie does not have to kick the ball once-only - he can dribble it out (he just cannot take it into his hand). With the new rule that it has to be kicked beyond the 40 meter arc, will he be limited to one kick, or can he still dribble it. Imagine the goalie dribbling it out uncontested to just before the 40m arc
. Anyway, presumably they will have thought of all that and will probably also change the rule so that the goalie can only give it one kick.
Ah editing this post - I see that the opposition players have to wait until it passes the 40 meter arc before playing the ball. Haha - if they don't also change the rule about allowing the goalie to kick it more than once and advance with the ball then the goalie will be able to dribble it out right to the 40m arc (for sure they'll fix that, but if they don't it'll be funny).
