Totally agreed, Possum.
I think we need to be careful to distinguish between those who are trying to prove something to the other guy by disconnecting & flying, and those who are picking an appropriate time to disconnect and fly in a genuine attempt to keep their skills up.
Note I said "attempt". There are 2 a/c types in QF where the rostering situation coupled with the nature of the flying makes it virtually impossible to maintain anything resembling a high level of manual flying skills on the line. Most, except the few pilots with the uncanny talent of having superior manual flying skills permanently etched into their motor-neuron system (as opposed to the ones who think they do), just stay "rusty".
Of course this is extremely unlikely to change, as it involves the expenditure of more money.