My point was on the re-initiation of play being from when the kick was taken and comparing that to penalties, free-kicks, etc. It's not the distance travelled in those cases. Of course opposition players should be back the required distance - 18 yards in this case.
The ref doesn't call play only once a free kick has travelled 10 yards, so not sure why goal kicks are different. Anyway, happy to admit I didn't know the full extent of this law.