Room in footy for the bump but keep away from the head, writes Kym Morgan

ADVOCATES of the bump in footy saw their chance to miseducate the public last week and they pounced beautifully, writes Kym Morgan.

Melbourne’s Jack Viney was at the centre of the bump debate last week. Picture: Sarah Ree

ADVOCATES of the bump in footy saw their chance to miseducate the public last week and they pounced beautifully.

Former Prince Alfred College student Jack Viney became their pawn.

The overturning of Viney’s suspension for a collision that left Adelaide’s Tom Lynch with a broken jaw was described as a victory for the bump.

What bump?

As I saw it, Viney attacked the ball hard and, as he got to it, he found himself in an unavoidable collision.

He reacted by turning his body side-on and bracing in a collision between two players attacking the ball, not a deliberate bump.

Viney’s only other option was to take a short step or come off the line of the ball and modern players almost never do that.

The game today is tougher than ever because players attack the ball and tackle harder than ever before.

An AFL mandate to protect the head has created a grey area around legitimate football contests.

This, and not the future of the bump, should be of concern for football lovers.

I see little grey area around the current interpretation of the bump.

In fact the rules seem crystal clear to me and I support them.

As I understand it, a ­player can still lay a bump, or shepherd, but must not make forceful contact with his opponent’s head.

If he makes forceful contact with the head during a deliberate bump — as Adelaide Crows player Richard Douglass did during another recent controversy — he faces suspension.

Personally, I don’t quite get the anger over the ­elimination of this part of the game.

The Byron Pickett-style “picking off” of opponents was spectacular but you could ask whether it took courage.

Former Central District, Crows and Power player Brad Symes last week retired at age 29 and revealed he suffered 11 concussions during his career.

The AFL must lessen the risk of KOs by discouraging bumps to the head.