The hysterical reaction to one free kick paid during Monday’s match between Melbourne and Collingwood has shown the people still don’t understand the contact below the knees rule.

The argument that Taylor Adams shouldn’t have been penalised because he got to the ball first and tapped it to a teammate ignores the fact that he something that the AFL is trying to remove from the game – diving in front of an opponent’s legs.

It’s been only seven years since former Eagle Jaymie Graham’s career ended because he kept his feet and his opponent, Danny Hughes, didn’t.

The impact from the desperate Subiaco player who was simply trying to win the ground ball destroyed Graham’s leg.

It left him with a dislocated kneecap and ruptures to the anterior cruciate and medial ligaments. Graham was 28-years-old and never played again.

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Graham’s body still isn’t the same. Now an assistant coach at West Coast, you won’t see him doing much physical activity at training because his body can’t handle it.

It’s easy to say that was one freak accident but that’s not right.

Players routinely attacked ground balls by diving in front of opponents and we often saw ankles and knees being injured in the process.

They weren’t necessarily serious, but they had the potential to be.

Think back to the 2016 AFL grand final when Bulldogs defender Easton Wood went to ground to win the ball and injured Dan Hannebery’s knee. Bizarrely, Hannebery didn’t receive the free kick.

That incident had a huge impact on the game and Hannebery’s pre-season.

Kieren Jack and Tom Papley were lucky to avoid injury when Toby McLean and Dale Morris went to ground in front of them too.

The umpires were criticised that day for not paying free kicks. Now they’re being criticised for correctly implementing the rule.

Players have been educated to attack contests with faith that their opponent will keep their feet. Doing so doesn’t rob the game of hardness or skill. It could be argued that it makes the game harder.

Dyson Heppell got knocked out at the Gabba on Sunday as both he and Luke Hodge stayed on their feet to attack the ball instead of diving at the dribbling ball. It was a brutal collision that showed how tough you have to be to play the game.

Had either man dived at the other’s legs, it could have been carnage.

Knee injuries destroy careers. The rule that simply requires players to keep their feet is a good one and prevents injuries.

Instead of crying foul every time a free kick happens, people should ask why players still haven’t adapted when the rule has been in place for six years. Keep your feet.