We’ve got to note that the defender is no longer illegally positioned when the disc is released by the thrower (as the thrower is no longer a thrower), and the defender may feel like they’re covered by 18.1.6. I feel like OP raised a good suggestion as it may look like a loophole and that’s easy to argue around that during a game. Of course 1.2 applies there but I think this particular situation should be precised so that any player reading the rules has a clear understanding that this is not possible.