Hardwick calls for interchange summitBy Jennifer Phelan
afl.com.au
Thursday, March 7, 2013A SUMMIT to discuss the incoming interchange cap is required, Richmond coach Damien Hardwick argues.
The cap, being trialled in the NAB Cup with a figure of 80 rotations, will start next season but the number of interchanges is yet to be determined.
Hardwick said the cap and the tightening of rules including one that awards a free kick against a player for sitting or lying on top of a tackled opponent had already helped reduce congestion.
But he wants a summit involving coaches, the Laws of the Game Committee and the AFL so all parties can voice their concerns and help maintain the game's best interests.
"Probably a thing we haven't done as a group of coaches, as a group of laws committee, commissioners, whatever it may be … we haven't sat down and talked about it from an overall perspective," Hardwick said.
"We're sitting here and you've got one side and the other side.
"Realistically, we've all got the best interests of the game at heart and I think it would actually do wonders if we sat down and talked about it as a group and figured out exactly what we're both after.
"I know we speak about the love of the game and there's no doubt as coaches and administrators we've all got the best interests at heart.
"But we actually need to sit down and figure out how we want the game to look as a whole."
Hardwick said the game wouldn't dramatically change from what it had looked like in recent years if the cap came in at 80.
"I think back in 2008 the average rotations was about 80 and a couple of years later it was about 90," he said.
"We've sort of got a picture of what it's looked like."
Hardwick said there was a notable reduction in the number of ball-ups the Tigers had in their win over Essendon last weekend, with the final number "nine or 10".
He added it was important to ensure there wasn't a "knee-jerk reaction" when the game was generally in good shape.
"I think the last five or six years of Grand Finals have been outstanding," he said.
"There's always going to be bad games of football. We've been a part of them and other teams have as well.
"If you get two really good sides playing the game it is generally great so we've just got to make sure we look at all of the factors and don't make a knee-jerk reaction … I'm not sure how dire it is."
SEN commentator and Laws of the Game Committee member Kevin Bartlett said this week the coaches couldn't be allowed to "run roughshod over the game" and they didn't have "one single thought, when they are coaching, about what is good for the game".
Hardwick said the Richmond legend had gone "probably a little bit over the top", and that coaches did care about the game as a spectacle.
"It's very, very hard. You've got a guy who's got a radio station that's trying to develop ratings and he's on the Laws of the Game Committee," he said.
"We've just got to work our way through it and find out what's best for the game.
"We all want to win, no doubt about it, but there's also pride about how you coach and how your team plays.
"I love it when our guys play attacking, they take the game on as much as they can and that's something I take pride in as a coach.
"I've got no doubt 17 other coaches are the same."
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-03-07/interchange-summit-required
