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Ducking, buckling at the knees, laziness, or sloppy technique. Whatever you call it, you aren’t allowed to make contact to your opponents head in a game of Aussie rules.
So why is it now being pushed onto the umpires to get this injustice in the free kick count sorted?
I umpire sport. It is also a pet hate of myself and other umpires agree, we hate when players “play up” for a penalty. From a personal standpoint, you have to make a split second decision whether the player has put themselves into a position where being infringed upon is the only outcome.
In hockey, there are rules that protect the non-ball carriers from being penalised when they are not at fault – AFL has these rules also.
A key difference though, in AFL especially, there are more players around the ball, and in front of the umpires. The controlling umpire will be around 10-15m away from a ball on most occasions, and will likely have at least two players somewhere in their primary vision other than the direct ball carrier. For the purpose of this article, I will limit the application of the rules to the head high contact, but it is worth stating the umpires have a lengthy rule book to process during play.
So, if I was umpiring and I saw the ball carrier get clotheslined by an opponent; I would likely say that is a breach of the rules. However, I would also have to consider whether the player buckled his knees to draw the free, was getting the ball legitimately, was falling legitimately due to stumbling in traffic, the tackler was pushed illegally in the back and in stumbling made the head high contact.
And the latest craze to hit the AFL is players throwing their heads back in any tackle, to simulate that they have been hit high.
Solving that problem is easy, but I doubt the AFL will pursue it. Quite simply, record the instance that the player does it, and if they are a repeat offender, send them to the tribunal.
I haven’t brushed up on the AFL tribunal rules recently, but most sports have a catch all for ‘conduct that is unsportsmanlike’. Fine the player, take the Brownlow eligibility away (they aren’t a “Fair” player) and consider sitting them out for a week.
Equally, players that perform the head down charge into an opponent to draw free kicks can be put in the same category. They are putting themselves in a needless risk of serious injury for nothing. Start suspending them for their own safety and the practice will likely reduce. With the number of television cameras at games the vision will likely be available to the AFL.
But, this does not solve the in match situation. What can the umpires do to stop this practice? Realistically, there isn’t much they can do. The umpires should be encouraged to ‘call it as they see it’ and there will be instances where they get it wrong.
The umpires ultimately are not the ones making the tackles, or dropping the knees. They have to make split second decisions, without the aid of replays and camera angles from different perspectives. And based on current stats, they don’t seem to be doing that bad of a job.
What does need to change however is the practice that coaches are training players to draw the free kicks. Exploiting a rule designed to protect players from serious injury isn’t meant to be a meal ticket to getting the ball.
The AFL should discourage the practice, and heavily fine clubs for repeat offences. Player safety should be paramount, and being able to walk off the ground and enjoy a normal life post football. Not getting severe head injuries, risking permanent injury for a free kick that likely in its standalone instance won’t influence the game.
Will it take a serious injury or a death for the AFL to act?
It’s ultimately not a simple problem, but the media personalities suggesting it should be the umpire stamping it out of the game is ludicrous. They should be part of the solution, not the whole solution.
Players will learn better tackling techniques; the game will evolve as it has for generations. But making sure everyone makes it home safely after the game should be at the top of the list – not just getting the four points.
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