Target: Lindsay Thomas has been accused of milking free kicks. Credit:Getty Images It wasn't long until the name of Geelong captain Joel Selwood, a frequently-cited figure in this discussion emerged again, though this time, according to commentator Brian Taylor, more favourably. "Selwood does it in a tough manner and a really well-disguised manner. Lindsay Thomas does it in a manner more akin to soccer. The way he does it doesn't quite sit nicely," he said. There's a series of big claims for you. Indeed, you could devote several columns to what actually is the spirit of our game, the rather murky matter of our national identity and the ethics of soccer versus other sports. But I'm more of the view that this whole debate is a bit of a storm in a teacup, one filled with a series of red herrings. Is it really a growing blight on AFL football? I'm far from convinced.

Friday night's game certainly had its share of evidence. Of 40 free kicks paid, 14 were for high contact, 11 of those involving tackles. But statistics show it was far from the norm. In fact, the average number of free kicks paid for high contact in games so far this season has been just four, only 3.3 of which have involved tackles. An increasing problem? Again, not according to the numbers. That average of four per game is the second-lowest we've had in the past four seasons to this stage (4.1 last year, 3.8 in 2014 and 4.6 in 2013). They're hardly the sort of figures which suggest a rule change or tightening of interpretation on head-high contact (and we had one of them mid-season last year, don't forget) is something demanding action. Thomas is arguably the biggest red herring in all this. Friday night doubled his tally for head-high frees this season from two to four, putting him 25th in the AFL. Selwood was fifth before Sunday's game against Carlton. But the likes of Allen Christensen, Toby McLean and Sydney rookie George Hewett, who were the top three, don't get nearly as much of the ball as Selwood, not irk people for other reasons the way Thomas seems to.

I don't get a lot of the other rationales for the dislike of Thomas, either, but it seems there's a lot of people now using any excuse for a good ol' stacks-on-the-mill on his character. The other furphy in this discussion is that the concept of drawing free kicks is somehow a latter-day phenomenon. It's not, of course. One of the greatest players the game has seen, Richmond's Kevin Bartlett, made an art form of bouncing the ball as he was being tackled, winning frees for holding the man. So contentious did that become, it forced the VFL in 1979 to change the rules so that a player having bounced the ball would now be deemed in possession. Players have propelled themselves forward in a tackle trying to win frees for a push in the back as long as I've watched the game. Reeled out of packs holding various limbs looking for the umpire's whistle. An official Legend of the Game, Carlton champion John Nicholls, in 1967 cost Richmond's Neville Crowe a premiership when he feigned a blow to the face, failed to come clean at the tribunal, and cost Crowe a four-game suspension. That didn't seem to affect his reputation as one of the greats.

What there perhaps is a growing tendency towards in the modern game is a lust for a controversial issue, of which 2016 to date has been mercifully free. Perhaps that absence of angst saw the considerable number of drama-holics in the football world these days unleash a good deal of pent-up energy. Friday night football is a showcase now. Would the same incidents in the same game have sparked nearly as much comment had they happened, say, in the twilight Saturday slot? Long among a catalogue of games and soon to be overtaken by others? This is one debate in which, perceptions, sometimes wildly inaccurate, have tended to rule over empirical evidence. It would hardly be the first time the heart has ruled the head in matters AFL football, either. But the worst thing the AFL could do is overreact to it. Because the circus moves on pretty quickly. And next week's round of hysteria may only be a prime time game slot and a few slow-motion replays away. AND WHILE I'M AT IT ...



Credit:Getty Images Carlton's brave 19-point win over Geelong is without doubt the Blues' best victory for a long time. How long? Many would argue since their upset of Richmond in the 2013 elimination final, or perhaps the comeback win over Port Adelaide the week before to get them into that game. Some might go back even further, to round three of 2012, and a 10-goal shellacking of Collingwood which saw the Blues briefly installed as flag favourites. They're significant reference points, too. Because each turned out to be a mirage of sorts which masked a fragility about the Blues. Sunday's win, in contrast, continues to further the impression that Carlton's latest revival is based on foundations a lot more solid.

The Blues had offered at least lashings of effort before they'd even won a game this season. Now, resilience is becoming a byword, never underlined better than in a win over Geelong achieved without skipper Marc Murphy or Liam Sumner able to play for more than three quarters. And with key big men Matthew Kreuzer and Levi Casboult having both returned weeks earlier than anticipated from serious injuries, Kreuzer's efforts against the Cats inspiring indeed. The hand-wringing about a new-look list under a new coach in Brendon Bolton when Carlton lost a meaningless NAB Challenge game to Essendon in February was ridiculous enough at the time. Now, it looks embarrassing. Let's hope the usual suspects don't go off half-cocked again in the other direction this time. Because Bolton's Blues will still have their share of setbacks and the occasional off-day for a while yet.

But the spirit of Bolton's group is clearly the best it's been at Carlton at least since they went within a kick of a preliminary final under Brett Ratten in 2011. And unlike those other false dawns, this time there's actually still a fair bit in reserve. The senior imports are slotting in nicely, none anything like a would-be messiah like Chris Judd, or even Dale Thomas, but all playing a part in a whole much greater than its individual parts. The latest batch of draftees, with the obvious exception of Jacob Weitering, have barely even been called upon yet, Charlie Curnow the only other to taste senior action, the fruits of Harry McKay, David Cunningham and Jack Silvagni still to be harvested. And there's been a telling impact on the older heads around the club who have laboured through hard times for so long.

Bryce Gibbs is having an outstanding season. Dennis Armfield and Ed Curnow played a couple of the best games of their careers. Sam Rowe was pivotal to a defence which is working together quite brilliantly. The structure, patterns and learning under Bolton is being adhered to not only more regularly, but far more enthusiastically. But more importantly, however good the present looks for Carlton right now, unlike previously, the longer-term future looks even better.