Should the AFL have a send-off rule?Author: Ben Hocking
Source: SportsFan
Thursday, May 26, 2016
The big questionAFL is usually devoid of the sort of blatant thuggery that warrants sending a player from the ground, but two acts this year have some people questioning whether it might be time for a change. Steven May's hit on Brisbane Lions ruckman Stefan Martin and last weekend's cheap shot by Tom Jonas on West Coast's Andrew Gaff were both penalised heavily by the tribunal. But while everyone was satisfied with the length of the suspensions, should players be held accountable during the game with the introduction of a send-off rule?
ForThe current system of penalising a player after the event rewards on-field violence in the short-term. In both of the two incidents that have been sent straight to the tribunal this year, the player that was taken out of action was a key component of their side. Martin is one of Brisbane's best players, while Gaff won West Coast's best-and-fairest last year and was having a night out against Port Adelaide before being taken out of action. The offending player in each instance was able to carry on playing, while the other side was not only down at least one rotation, but they had lost the services of a quality player.
Most lower levels of Australian Rules football have send-off rules for serious incidents, and these take place with little controversy. If it is good enough for players as they are beginning to play the game, why should the top level of the sport be any different? The practice is also well established in other sports like soccer, rugby union, rugby league and basketball, which are competing with the AFL for the hearts and minds of parents who want their children to play a safe sport.
AgainstOne of the biggest problems with send offs in other sports is that it encourages diving and staging. The practice is rife in soccer and is increasingly becoming a part of the rugby league scene. With the reward on offer being as high as a player being sent from the field, it could encourage AFL players to try to fool the umpires.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has already ruled out introducing a send-off rule and said part of his reasoning was around legislating around the muddy waters of what would constitute a severe enough incident to warrant a send-off. There is already enough scrutiny on umpires and the perceived influence they have on the game, and putting these sorts of decisions into the mix could only make things worse.
Our verdictWe can't help thinking that the major issue people have with the send-off rule is the fact that it hasn't been a part of the sport before. That really should have very little impact on the decision. Any concerns about when the rule should be applied should be pretty clear cut - it should only be for severe impacts. This will rule out the prospect of player's staging to see an opponent sent off. It would not have been hard for the on-field umpire to adjudge Jonas's hit as severe, or May's hit on Martin, or Barry Hall's hit on Brent Staker. At present the victim of any severe and illegal hit and their club are the ones most punished by an illegal action. At the very least they lose a rotation and quite often a very good player for the remainder of the game. Then they watch the following weeks (when their star player may still be out of action) as their rivals capitalise on whatever suspension is served up to the offending player. Seeing as staging won't be an issue, we can see no good reason for the AFL not to introduce a send-off rule.
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