Big brother watching
22 June 2007 Herald-Sun
Mark Stevens
YOU can run, but you can't hide.
The AFL is considering introducing fixed cameras at grounds to cover every blade of grass.
Up to 16 cameras would be able to track every player, theoretically picking up off-the-ball incidents missed by the TV coverage.
But it's the use of the cameras as coaching aids that has excited three MCG tenants - Melbourne, Richmond and Hawthorn.
The cameras are capable of tracking the distance covered by all players during a game, producing detailed graphs of their running patterns.
"It is quite unbelievable," Richmond director of coaching Brian Royal said last night.
The system, devised by Leeds company ProZone, has revolutionised the English Premier League.
ProZone staff yesterday left the AFL wide-eyed about the possibilities of the system.
Richmond, Melbourne and Hawthorn have this week viewed hi-tech presentations of the "Big Brother" system.
It seems the introduction of the fixed cameras at some grounds is inevitable, with a trial possible later this year.
Although talks have to take place with TV rights holders, it could be in place in time for next season.
The AFL believes the system could aid umpires, giving whistle-blowers more accurate feedback on their movements.
Not only do clubs in the Premier League use it to gauge the workrate of players, but the cameras are used to coach referees.
Standard TV cameras capture what AFL players do when they have the ball, but measuring their actions away from contests is still the great unknown.
It is understood it would cost $60,000 to fit out a venue with the 12-16 cameras needed to cover the surface.
It is believed it would cost clubs about $80,000 a year to use the state-of-the-art surveillance system.
The system is so highly regarded in England that Tottenham Hotspur used ProZone stats last year to prove its players were badly affected by food poisoning in a game against West Ham.
ProZone revealed players' workrates were not matching their usual levels.
AFL ground operations manager Jill Lindsay was not available for comment last night.
It's unclear if the league would use footage from the cameras to help the match review panel.
The quality of the footage may not be clear enough to be used as evidence, but it could broaden the options of the AFL to stamp out behind-the-play incidents.
Richmond football director Greg Miller, who attended yesterday's meeting, said there was no mention of using ProZone as a match review panel tool.
But Miller left the meeting in no doubt about its benefits. "It is a great coaching and fitness measurement tool," he said.
Royal said it was obviously easier to use the system on the smaller, rectangular field used for soccer, but he said the system would have clear advantages in the AFL.
"At the moment we can track players once they win possession, but we don't know exactly what they're doing when they haven't got possession," Royal said.
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