Staging for frees to be scrutinisedCaroline Wilson | September 11, 2009
FOOTBALLERS staging for free kicks and 50-metre penalties could incur the wrath of the match review panel next season with the AFL set to penalise the time-honoured practice.
AFL football operations boss Adrian Anderson has revealed that players who exaggerate the impact of on-field incidents to gain an advantage could be reported for misconduct in 2010 following a number of strong recommendations from clubs.
''I think it's something we need to have a look at,'' Anderson told The Age. ''It can make it very difficult for umpires to officiate correctly if players start acting for free kicks.''
A review of the tribunal is set to take place at the end of the season and the staging penalty is expected to be recommended by the panel of Anderson, tribunal chairman David Jones and AFL bosses Mike Fitzpatrick and Andrew Demetriou.
Staging was high on the agenda two days ago when the laws of the game committee met to discuss a report put forward by match review panel chairman Andrew Mackay who visited all 16 clubs in August.
''The key message from the clubs is that the game is in as good a shape as they can remember,'' said Anderson, who gave his strongest hint yet that there would be no rule changes before the start of next season.
Anderson said key grievances, apart from staging, were the tendency to hold players at stoppages and cribbing on the mark.
No club had any issue with the officiating of the bump when a player executed a hip and shoulder into his opponent's head with other options were available, as Lance Franklin did to Ben Cousins.
The redefining of rules regarding the protection of the head was put into place at the behest of Sydney executive Andrew Ireland who requested clarification three years ago.
According to Anderson no club had an issue with the rule despite the outcry that followed Franklin's two-game suspension. Hawthorn football boss Mark Evans wrote to the AFL last week regarding the issue and has been asked to put forward a more detailed submission.
There was little interest in expanding the interchange bench despite lobbying from Richmond and Collingwood and Anderson said the kicking backwards penalty - trialled pre-season - would not be a part of the official season.
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