Hardwick: Umpire interpretation contributing to dangerous tacklesAndrew Wu
The Age
23 April 2023Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says umpires’ interpretation of prior opportunity is contributing to the spate of injuries and suspensions from dangerous tackles, as Fremantle star Andrew Brayshaw avoided suspension for his involvement in a clash that left Tom Liberatore concussed.
Hardwick received support on Saturday night from suspended Collingwood vice-captain Taylor Adams after an incident where Greater Western Sydney veteran Callan Ward was penalised for bringing down Brisbane’s Lachie Neale in a tackle.
“Blow the whistle earlier,” Adams tweeted.
Former Melbourne legend Garry Lyon was critical of Neale, who did not appear to fight against Ward’s tackle and allowed himself to be brought down.
“This is one we can look at, I think Lachie Neale contributed to that,” Lyon said on the Fox Footy broadcast. “This is where we don’t want to get to.”
Hardwick put the umpires’ interpretation on the agenda on Saturday morning. While he welcomed the memo sent to clubs by the AFL explaining what constituted a dangerous tackle, he said players, coaches and umpires could do more to reduce the risk of injury.
Though ultimate responsibility rested with players, Hardwick said coaches contributed by asking players to take on the tackle, and umpires are letting play go on.
“It’s like a bigger conversation needs to be had because the reality is with the prior opportunity rule and as coaches we teach our players to take on the tackle and the umpire’s holding their whistle because of a fear of creating a stoppage,” Hardwick said.
“It’s like there’s a combination of factors that we need to sit down and figure out, if that makes sense.
“The players absolutely have got a responsibility to look after the head when they tackle, but there’s other factors at play.
“One, coaching for us, and I think also the administration from the AFL with regards to holding the whistle, I think, needs to be a little bit clarified also.
“We don’t want players getting hurt, but we want to make sure we understand the players have got a really, really tough job to do.”
Eight players were suspended for a combined total of 13 games in the first five rounds for dangerous tackles.
There is sympathy for players, who are taught to pin the arms in tackles to prevent their opponent from disposing of the ball but that action is one of the factors that constitutes rough conduct if the ball-carrier is brought to ground.
If umpires stop play earlier, it may minimise the need for players to complete the tackle, thereby reducing the risk of injury, but would also lead to more stoppages, which can lead to congestion and slow play.
https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/afl/combination-of-factors-how-holding-the-ball-ruling-is-leading-to-dangerous-tackles-20230422-p5d2hq.html
