AFL’s holding the ball interpretation is all wrong
Columnist
By Ben Somerford, 1 Jun 2010 Ben Somerford is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- AFL, AFL umpires, Claremont, holding the ball, Peel Thunder, WAFL, West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagle's player Andrew Embley is tackled by Carlton's Jeffery Garlett during the AFL Round 10 match between the Carlton Blues and the West Coast Eagles at Etihad Stadium, Melbourne.
I popped down to the WAFL on Saturday and witnessed Claremont demolish Peel Thunder by a staggering 195 points. Yet on the drive home my thoughts were not mesmerized by the margin of the victory but rather the performance of the umpires.
Saturday’s incredibly lopsided encounter was admittedly the first WAFL match I’ve got down to watch first-hand this season.
My Aussie Rules diet this season has consisted only of AFL and it hasn’t been in moderation.
So the short journey down to Claremont Oval was a refreshing change and one which got me thinking about the differences between the national and state-level competitions.
Beyond the obvious discrepancies in quality, the thought which resonated with me throughout the afternoon was the performance of the umpires who were barely noticed all game and did a good job.
Having watched AFL all year, I’ve been continually frustrated by the umpires’ willingness to constantly blow the whistle, particularly for holding the ball decisions. You can tell when they’re going to do it, they seem to let the play go on a little bit longer than usual.
It has appeared at times they don’t ever want to have to bounce the ball for fear of a stoppage.
On Saturday at the WAFL, though, there was no such trigger-happy whistle-blowing from the umpires and it made for better, more pure viewing.
And there’s a reason for these discrepancies. Way back in December last year, AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson announced in 2010 league umpires would crack down on players who try to bend the laws on holding the ball.
Anderson said: “What became clear in our consultation with clubs was that on a number of occasions, players are soaking up or absorbing the tackle, forcing a stoppage. Players must make an attempt (to dispose of the ball).”
Aussie Rules is a game where given the number of grey areas in the laws, players will always try to bend the rules to the limits, so that’s the rationale behind Anderson and co trying to find a solution, although I wonder if the problem merits it.
Nevertheless, the interpretation they’ve come up with as a result seems completely out of whack.
On Sunday, West Coast’s Matthew Rosa was pinged for holding the ball when he actually didn’t possess the footy, with the tackler, Carlton’s Heath Scotland, holding the ball around his chest.
In the Round 9 Geelong-Collingwood blockbuster we saw Cameron Ling done in a similar incident and there’s been countless others this season.
Indeed, what seems to have happened is rather than the player with the footy pushing the limits of the laws, the tackler is now the one bending the rules. Once a player dives on a footy, we see several opposition players pounce on that, force the ball under them, tackle them, hold the ball under and win a free-kick.
I’ve overheard umpires say “you’ve got to make an attempt”, but how can you do that when you don’t actually possess the footy anymore?
The point has already been made by numerous AFL commentators that they don’t like the idea of punishing a player for trying to win the ball. Jumping on the ball is what we’re all taught as young footballers, so this interpretation goes against the basic instincts of most Aussie Rules players.
In a video released at the start of the year following their revision of the ‘holding the ball’ interpretation, the AFL stated: “The purpose of the holding the ball law is to keep the ball in play”. Heaven forbid a stoppage!
Indeed, in this circumstance, it seems the AFL’s endless quest to speed up the game has created more problems than it has solved. The new ‘holding the ball’ interpretation appears to have come at expense of the fair and even contest and footy purists will be hating that.
It makes you think, perhaps soon the only place to find a fair dinkum contest will be down at your local suburban footy club.
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Aaron said | June 1st 2010 @ 4:41am | Report comment
I was talking on this very topic after the West Coast game this week. Umpiring has become so abysmal that they obviously don’t feel like they are doing there job if they’re not involved in every single play.
When it gets to the stage where players are playing for frees because they are so easy to receive then it has become a problem. I play amateur football on weekends and its a much more free flowing and great to watch and play game. It once again becomes a game of physical strength, speed and football nous rather than relying on the umpires to pay you a mark due to minimal interference.
Perhaps the umpires association could have a look at the lower leagues for some inspiration?
Jim said | June 1st 2010 @ 6:02am | Report comment
Totally agree. The “Modern Game” in terms of some of its rules leaves a lot to be desired, and the holding the ball rule is one of them. I guess that eventually the ball is going to fall into the middle of a pack and then just lie there with players standing around waiting for some poor bugger to grab it and then get pinged!
Whats the point of trying to win the ball when you’re going to give away a free because someone else holds the ball to you. It’s just not right and it really gets me riled when I see it happen.
I have no problems awarding a player who makes a great tackle with a kick, but why punish the player who is prepared to have a go at the ball?
Maybe we should go back to the way it was. If the ball got caught in a pile of players “stacks on the mill” it was a ball up. End of story. Holding the ball was when you got caught holding the ball when you were running, not lying on the ground with the opposition diving on top of you. In fact if you were on the ground with the ball and the opposition dived on top of you the chances were that you’d get the kick because the other players were attacking you and not the ball.
Maybe we should start calling it Aussie “To Many” Rules
Galloping Guru said | June 1st 2010 @ 7:54am | Report comment
I think the problem is that in their quest at AFL level to speed up the game common sense has flown out the window in some areas.
I have seen some fantastic games AFL games this year, but also some where flooding has just ruined any sort of enjoyment of the game.
I can honestly see more rules at AFL level in the future, not kicking backwards and limiting players numbers in the forward, defensive 50′s, limiting interchange is another one.
Redb said | June 1st 2010 @ 8:14am | Report comment
Don’t like the current intepretation at all. What happened to a tackled player who DROPS the ball getting penalised?
The ‘no prior opportunity’ rule is rubbish, the crowd want to yell ‘Baaalllllllll” when a player is tackled and they automatically lose possession as a result.
The crowd loves seeing a player being chased down and tackled. One of the sweetest sights in footy is to see the umpire bend down and sweep his arms to each side.
The AFL latest rule might make sense on a whiteboard trying to achieve other objectives, but they have not got this right.
Clayts said | June 1st 2010 @ 9:04am | Report comment
Totall agree with redb. There used to be 2-3 htb decisions a game. Now there’d be 20. The other rule that noone understands is the rushed behind farce. Poor players they have no idea whether they can do it or not!
George said | June 1st 2010 @ 11:00am | Report comment
On the money Ben. Redb also makes a good point; dropping the ball is totally ignored these days – in fact it appears encouraged – because the umps are probably told to ignore it as it “keeps the ball in play”. Never before has an administration taken it upon themselves to this extent, to change the game according to what THEY perceive as attractive football.
IMO the product is certainly inferior to what it once was and as a result, I get to watch more of my local suburban club every weekend. The custodians of the game suddenly decided they didn’t the like the game they fought so hard to have the chance to administer. Go piss-off and get the netball gig Vlad … footy doesn’t want your meddling anymore.
gazz said | June 1st 2010 @ 11:04am | Report comment
The umpires have got to be told not to always make decisions and calls. Its not in the spirit of the game, in terms of fairness. Let it go. Let them play.
Redb said | June 1st 2010 @ 3:12pm | Report comment
Thing is Gazz, the umps are letting it go when they should calling holding the ball, if a player gets mowed down and tackled and he drops the ball its called play on!
davelee said | June 1st 2010 @ 5:45pm | Report comment
it is ridiculous in AFL. the heart and soul of the game gets turned on its head by the AFL’s decisions, based on solving little problems. the fact the rushed behind rule worked pretty well last year has encouraged them to continue to tinker. but look at the rushed behind rule now, completely confusing! theyve got to these grey areas out of the game, otherrwise it WILL become impossible to umpire
Redb said | June 2nd 2010 @ 8:38am | Report comment
I beleive Karmichael Hunt was given some advice from a QLD radio station on the “prior opportunity” tackling rule in the AFL, which has effectvely changed the rules around ‘holding the ball’. God help the poor bloke, coz the rest of us are confused as are they umpires most of the time.
Jimmy Drama said | June 9th 2010 @ 5:43pm | Report comment
Umpires should umpire the game with the mindset of only paying blatant free kicks.
Free kicks interrupt the flow of the game are a constant frustration.