At half-time of the 1970 VFL Grand Final, then Carlton coach Ron Barassi told his players to handball and play on at every opportunity in the second half – a tactic which had never been attempted, or even thought of, until then.
Sixty minutes later, the Blues had overcome a 44-point deficit to defeat Collingwood by 10 points and win the premiership.
And who could forget the footage of Geelong legend Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer revolutionising the game during the 1960’s. He would courageously grab the ball out of the ruck and produce 30 plus metre handballs to teammates further afield. Farmer was one of the few men to singlehandedly change the way the game was played.
But like the old video cassette player and the Hawaiian shirt, the handball is on the verge of extinction.
Why?
A new form of hand disposal is invading the AFL – the throw.
An incredible amount of illegal throws have either not been detected or paid this season. The problem is, these throws are so blatantly obvious and umpires aren’t paying free kicks against the offending player.
It’s a big concern.
In Round 9, Brisbane champion Simon Black was under pressure and illegally tossed the footy to Todd Banfield at centre half-forward. No whistle. Banfield ran into goal uncontested and put the Lions eight points ahead of a stunned North Melbourne in the final term.
The following weekend, West Coast’s star ruckman Dean Cox went up uncontested at a stoppage against Gold Coast. He went to tap the ball with both hands, but once he realised he had no opponent, he was unsure whether to tap or handpass the footy. In the end he did neither, grabbing the ball and chest-passing it with both hands.
It would’ve made Australian Diamonds centre Natalie von Bertouch proud. Miraculously, the umpire deemed the disposal legal – or he just didn’t see it.
Then this past weekend, both the Roos and the Suns were involved in another throwing incident. North’s Leigh Adams produced an identical toss to Black’s, however this time the game wasn’t in the balance and the Roos were the throwers – not the throwees. But once again, the umpire deemed the disposal legal.
There have been numerous other cases throughout this season where players have been well tackled and incorrectly disposed of the ball. But instead of penalising players, umpires have let the play go.
It’s absurd. There is no place for throwing in AFL. There never has and there never should be.
Players who throw the ball need to be penalised. At the moment, they’re being praised. Soon throwing in the AFL could become an art.
If you wanted to see high quality throwing, you’d dig up some old footage of Andrew Johns’ passing during his zenith years in the NRL.
Or you would check out Brett Lee’s magnificent throwing technique when fielding on the boundary rope in a game of cricket. Or you would moan at the TV when Eddie McGuire ‘threw’ to another unnecessary commercial break during an episode of ‘Hot Seat’.
But now you can watch a game of AFL and see blatant throwing too. In fact there’s more throws in an AFL game than throw rugs in an Adairs shop.
Enough is enough. The throw must go.
Since the early 2000’s, handballing has become prevalent. Coaches have instructed and encouraged their team to dispose the ball by hand. By doing this, players avoid kicking to one-on-one contests and are more likely to break opposition defensive zones.
The definition of the handball has changed this season. Instead of holding the ball stationary in one hand and using the other to punch the ball with a clenched fist, players have been informally permitted to use one hand to dispose of the ball.
Have we missed something? Did we miss one of the AFL’s endless rule changes? Did the rules committee make throwing legal during the off-season? Surely not.
However it’s hard to know who to blame for this throwing phenomenon.
Certainly not the players. They never run out onto a field with the intention of throwing the ball when tackled.
Don’t blame the umpires too. It’s clear they have been briefed to move the play on as much as possible in contested situations. It doesn’t matter how players do it, as long as they dispose of the ball and keep the play continuous.
And don’t blame the rules committee either. It never created a rule that allowed players to throw the ball whenever they wanted.
Perhaps it’s time Jeff Gieschen and the umpires committee used some common sense.
Yes the game is at its best when it is continuous and free-flowing. But a throw is a throw. A throw is illegal and there’s no place for it in the AFL.
A throw should be ‘not on’, not ‘play on’.
dan
Guest
well as i write this its 2nd june 2013 and the problem has just become worse, the throws are now so obvious the umps would have to be blind not to see them. incorrect disposal of many kinds are now ignored with the umpires loud yell of 'play on' and players who are about to be tackled just bend at the knees to force the tackle high. changes that should be made are not and apparent changes that should not be made have been
captain nemo
Roar Guru
by defn "verb (used with object) 1. to propel or cast in any way, especially to project or propel from the hand by a sudden forward motion or straightening of the arm and wrist: to throw a ball. " Andrew Johns had to pass the ball backwards!! :)
Searly
Guest
But Ben, your whole argument seems to be based on the assumption that the umps are seeing these throws and then intentionally not blowing the whistle. I'm convinced that that just simply isn't the case, which leaves us with the situation that the umps are just missing some, just like they'll miss plenty of other infringements during the course of a match or season. There is no real solution to this other than to say very broadly that "the umps need to do a better job" which isn't really very constructive at the end of the day.
TheSlingTackle
Guest
A week is a long time in football. Chris is right. This is not an issue anymore. The teams have moved on. Flavor of the month is now the advantage rule.
Ben Waterworth
Roar Guru
Don't know how you can say that after the Simon Black incident a few weeks ago. When the game was up for grabs in the fourth term, he threw the ball to Banfield, Roos players stopped expecting a free kick to be paid because it was so obvious and Banfield runs into an open goal to put the Lions eight points ahead. Imagine the uproar if that was a GF. The throw is not a legitimate disposal in AFL. The handball is and it's a unique part of the game. Throws need to start being penalised.
Chris K
Guest
This is such a non issue
Aubrey
Guest
A throw should be ‘not on’, not ‘play on’. - nice
Tony
Guest
Searly, i think the umpiring fraternity and rules commitee are ruining a great game. Interpretations are all over the place and vary week to week. The advantage rule is chaotic and others leave you bewildered. I find it amazing that the attempt to even up free kicks after a significant advantage to one side (it happans far too often to be coincendence) look at fri night ( after 12-1 cats way in first quarter) the first 6 after break went to Hawks. Elite players seem to get the umpires awestruck. In one match I saw riewoldt out marked he held onto ball for a few seconds and then ran off downfield throwing it back over his shoulder where it bounced several metres awyy from recipient. 10 mins later a player was givem 50m for not returning the ball straight away. You see inconsistent, meddling, baffling and downright puerile decision making every week. I and many others find it incredibly frustrating.
Alfred Chan
Expert
The thing about throws which has always annoyed me is the behind the head handball which players never get pulled up on. The law of handballing is that the ball must be stationary on the palm when it is struck with the other hand. Anything else is a throw. So how on earth is the ball stationary on the palm when a player brings the ball next to his head to hand ball behind him? I watch Cyril do it more than any other player and when he does it, his palm is facing the ground. Pretty sure gravity has the ball on its way toward the ground, and therefore not stationary. There may be the occasional player who can grip the ball one handed (ie. Jared Brennan), but 95% of the time, a behind the head handball is classified as a throw under the laws of the game. I'm just being pedantic here because I will admit that it does speed up the game and make it more exciting, but black and white, it is a throw in the exact same manor as a one handed handball.
Searly
Guest
But GrantS, I don't understand what you're proposing instead? As "me, I like football" says, there is no directive from the Giesch/AFL so your point is just that the umps are missing the throws. How are you going to fix it? Make the umps better? How? My point is that the speed of the game (over the past few years, not weeks) makes it almost impossible to pick up these little throws without the benefit of a slo-mo replay. If they just start blowing a free kick every time they 'sense' it was a throw, then London to a brick your team will get penalised for a throw when in fact it was a proper/highly skillful handball and you'll be back on the Roar complaining about the umps getting that one wrong. The reality is that the umps won't get everything right, but in terms of throws I don't reckon they do such a bad job that it's making the game "a laughing stock".
Interesting theory Searly! So you believe the speed of the game in the last few weeks has increased so much that the umpires are no longer able to keep up. This is simply a case of a certain person not being able to see the horse for all the horseshit!
me, I like football
Guest
The umpires don't pay it because they don't see it. We have the advatage of a slo-mo replay, the umpires don't. There's no directive from the Giesch/AFL to let it play on. One thing I do find a football quirk with regard to throwing the ball. is that if a ball comes loose in a tackle than it's play on but if it comes loose and the player tackled can get his arm out to punch the ball than it's a throw.
Searly
Guest
"before our game becomes a laughing stock"....the umpires "struggle to grasp the basic rules"....are you blokes for real? Footy couldn't be stronger. The umps, all things considered, do an amazing job, and the odd throw (though frustrating at the time) is far from ruining the game. This is really just a case of footy fans having their heads buried so far into the minute details of everything that they can't see the wood for the trees. I agree that players are getting away with throws more often than they perhaps used to, but this is clearly a product of the speed of the game these days (which is a good thing). It is also a symptom of the players becoming unbelievably skillful with their hands. I actually don't reckon the umps miss that many big one-handed throws, but it's more the little ones where two hands are involved but in super slow-mo, the player can be seen to not have actually made contact with the other hand. The problem for the umps is that without the aid of super slow-mo, there's no way they can tell definitively and there have been quite a few examples where the ump has paid a free and the super slow-mo has shown it to have actually been an amazingly skillful handpass. I would argue that's even more frustrating than when they miss a throw. The umps can't win in these circumstances and I for one reckon that unless they see a clear throw, then they should just let it go. So should the fans who, judging by the article and some of the comments above, are getting way too carried away about it.
Redb
Roar Guru
This is not so much any change of ruling, the umpires are simply not paying incorrect disposal or not sighting. I agree the push to keep the ball moving means players are getting the ball out of tackle/contested situation by any means possible. the umps giving them too much latitude.
Ben Carter
Roar Guru
Hi Ben - I'd agree that single-handed scooping is probablly easier to spot than double-handers, and the line between tossing the ball and tapping/slapping is a fine one, but (and this is coming from someone who does watch footy, the world game, the occasional basketball match, cricket, etc, etc)...maybe, just maybe, there's too many match laws to interpret at any given time these days in footy? Or is it the sheer number of players on the large-size field? Possibly not - basketball has less players, smaller court and still has nit-picky rules at times. The world game has a large-ish field with less players yet the refs generally seem able to let play run, and the players themselves pick the ball up for throw-ins, free kicks with little fuss. Just a thought - and open to other Roarers to interpret... Is it a case of too many players (too busy for the umpires to see clearly), too big a field for them to cover? Too fast-moving with the ball for them to notice? Too much over-policing of various other rules as well, clouding their minds instead of allowing the players to deal with other stuff like out-of-bounds/free kicks?....
The Word
Guest
We have 3 umps out there and they seem to nit pick on ridiculous stuff all day long, but seem to struggle to grasp the basic rules. We need a change at umpiring, simple as that. They have lost their way for a generation. The AFL has to cop a lot of the blame, as they allow all these ridiculous law changes.
Ben I have been waiting for someone to write an article on this. I didn't want to do it myself as I have often been accused of "umpire bashing". "Don’t blame the umpires too. It’s clear they have been briefed to move the play on as much as possible in contested situations." "And don’t blame the rules committee either. " So who should we blame? You are quite correct in saying it has become prevalent and so blatant that "blind Freddy" could not miss it. Because it is happening in all games it's also clear that the umpires have been given instruction on the matter. The throw (and illegal disposal) seem to be rules that the AFL feel they can change whenever they wish yet there are definite instructions in the rule book to show what constitutes each. Some players (Motlop for one) seem to take great pleasure in throwing the ball and seem to do it even when they are not under pressure. Is this some sort of degrading joke they have to show how bad the umpires are? If the AFL is going to allow the rules to be broken without penalty then don't blame the players either because they will certainly take advantage of the situation. Let's hope the AFL management have enough nous to sit down at the end of this season (or before) and straighten out the many rules problems before our game becomes a laughing stock.
Mark Petrakis
Guest
Teddy Whitten would be laughing at all of this, the umpires and the AFL are at fault , they are turning the game into rugby union.
TomC
Guest
Yeah, this is something I've noticed as well, Ben. Umpires are still able to pick one handed throws, but whenever two hands are involved they seem to let it go. Although there've been a few scoops this season that have been deemed to be taps.
Onlooker
Guest
The Simon Black one set up a crucial goal at an important stage and the North players around him had basically stopped - - a reminder though, that just because it looks a clear free from one angle, it doesn't mean it will be clear to the umpire (who seriously, can not be everywhere at once). Ironically, on Saturday night, one of the North boys did a very fair facsimile of the Black handball, and got away with it. It was far less important in the context of the match - but, ironic that it again occurred in QLD and made the commentators suggest that there was a variant of the rules in operation in QLD. In general though, there's a lot of very, very quick and dubious handballs. It's hard to umpire. Given that, often, a handball is basically a throw with the fist used to impart spin but not necessarily the power. It then looks like a handball but is a glorified throw.