Eagles would be playing in SANFL grand final if AFL rules had been in place for 19th man controversy
THE Eagles would be lining up in Sunday’s SANFL grand final at Adelaide Oval if the “19th-man” match was played under AFL rules.
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THE Eagles would be lining up in Sunday’s SANFL grand final at Adelaide Oval if the “19th-man” match was played under AFL rules.
The AFL said it would have considered a different range of options than those discussed at the SANFL’s tribunal hearing on Monday night.
On top of its list would have been the level of impact — having an extra player on the field — had on the result of the game.
Eagles’ coach Michael Godden and officials said North Adelaide had a significant advantage in their preliminary final five-point win.
League spokesman Patrick Keane said a match between Sydney and North Melbourne became a test case for the AFL.
“In 2008, before we altered our rules, we didn’t change the result of the Swans-North game because there was no change to the score and the extra player on the ground didn’t impact play.
“We used the basis that any impact on play would give us a reason to consider a change.”
Swans’ player Jesse White had been on the ground for about 30 seconds before teammate Darren Jolly — the players closest to the interchange — left the ground.
The Swans did not lodge an interchange notice for White, which was required under the laws of the game.
At the time, Anderson said the AFL viewed the matter extremely seriously.
“Under both AFL regulations and the laws of the game, a club can face a range of sanctions for having extra players on the ground, including financial sanctions and the loss of premiership points,” he said.
The main reason for a $50,000 fine — rather than a loss of premiership points — in the White case was he did not go near where the play was taking place and involve himself in the contest for the ball.
North Adelaide was handed a reprieve on Monday night when the league upheld the club’s contentious preliminary final victory over Woodville-West Torrens.
SANFL chief executive Jake Parkinson said he had spoken to the AFL about tweaking the rules regarding additional players being illegally on the field.
As it stands, a captain needs to ask the field umpire for a headcount if they suspect their opponent has more than 18 players on the field.
“We’ve already spoken with the AFL,” Parkinson said.
“They are obviously the custodians of the laws of the game and we’ll work out what we can do from there.”