A player going into a contest feet first is very dangerous and is a suspendable offence. It was long before the "forceful contact" rule was introduced.
Thomas didn't go into the Rohan contest feet first. He planted his feet in a position that unfortunately was the exact position where Rohan's feet were but he was attacking the ball with his body. Although the rule was probably introduced in response to Rohan's injury, there was an element of freakish misfortune in that incident.
Easton Wood didn't enter the contest that injured Hannebery's knee in the 2016 feet first. The forceable contact to Hannebery's leg was with Wood's body - the full force of his body at that. Furthermore, Wood didn't slide into that contest. He just went to ground but Hannebery paid the price (and, indirectly, is still paying the price). I think that contest is a better example of the kind of contest - and injury - that the rule is intended to discourage.
Hannebery hobbled by medial knee injury - AFL.com.au
Just because injury doesn't always occur - or in some instances, isn't likely to occur - from a player going to ground isn't the point. A split second difference and it well could. The behaviour that the rule is intended to discourage is the going to ground, and I don't see the benefit from complicating it by permitting players to go to ground if they are approaching the contest from some angles and not others.
Kieren Jack wasn't injured when the Dogs player went to ground late in the second quarter of the 2016 GF because he was able to take evasive action. However, had the umpires correctly called that as a free against the Dogs, a later contest when Papley was quite fortunate not to suffer injury when his legs were taken out from under him might not have occurred. And had the umpires correctly paid the free against the Dogs in that contest, maybe Easton Wood would have thought twice about going to ground and taking out Hanners' legs.
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