Patrick Dangerfield and former umpires boss Peter Schwab have urged the league to abolish the bounce

Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield disagrees with Richard Goyder about the long-held tradition the AFL commission boss describes as ‘iconic’ – and he’s not the only one.

AFL commission boss Richard Goyder has emerged as the chief defender of the bounce as former umpires boss Peter Schwab and Cats star Patrick Dangerfield urged the league to abolish the long-held AFL tradition.

The Herald Sun on Monday revealed new football boss Greg Swann is likely to consider the bounce’s future given he has long felt it makes umpiring more challenging.

Dangerfield told the Herald Sun on Tuesday that the “game has moved on” from the bounce, adamant it was time for umpires to throw the ball up.

“Get rid of it. You could have one umpire per game do the first bounce right for a little bit of history and then you move on, because the game has moved on,” he said.

“You talk to the umpires and it’s really stressful for them. They put so much time into it. Why are we so hellbent in trying to keep it in the game? I don’t think it’s important enough. Does anyone say, ‘That’s a nice bounce’. Does it materially improve the game.”

Patrick Dangerfield says the game has moved on from the bounce. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/AFL Photos

Schwab was at the AFL as umpires boss in two separate stints, including in the 2017 season in which a detailed submission was presented to the AFL Commission.

That submission was considered especially compelling given the injury risk to umpires but instead the AFL Commission voted to retain the bounce on the grounds of tradition.

Goyder triumphantly announced the bounce would remain, labelling it “iconic” and “unique”.

“There’s nothing like the roar of the crowd and the expectation that the bounce will start our great game,” Goyder said at the time.

On Tuesday, Schwab compared the bounce to the drop-kick – an AFL tradition that once gone was never considered again.

Schwab said it was time to move on from the bounce given the objections of umpires.

“I am of the view you should throw it up. It is more consistent, it helps the umpires (avoid collisions) when they are backing out. It’s in Swanny’s hands now as part of his brief but traditionally what I found was it never got legs. Every time someone discusses it, it never got put up to the Commission or the Commission defeated it.”

“It was seen as a tradition of the game. It is a bit like the dropkick. It went out because it wasn’t efficient. It was hard to do and wasn’t as accurate. It went away and if someone brought it back now you would say what the hell is happening? I watch a lot of community footy and no one bounces it there and it doesn’t impact the game.”

Is it time for the bounce to go?

AFL umpires boss Steve McBurney told the Herald Sun this year that umpires were prepared to continue bouncing as long as the AFL wanted.

“In AFLW, we don’t bounce. In the state league competitions the WAFL has brought back the bounce, as has SA (the SANFL), because they want their aspiring umpires to have the opportunity to do AFL footy.

“We are missing one in 20. So it’s a skill we practice. We are never going to be perfect because the ball is not round. I often felt like I was holding a hand grenade and it was going to go off in any direction but the more you practice the better you get.

“And we do think we’ve got the opportunity in the four umpire system. It’s a really important question about a female. If we have an umpire from a state league who’s an outstanding decision maker that struggles with their bounce within the four umpire system, they don’t have to bounce.

“We had Ray (Chamberlain) in his last year not having to bounce (due to a back injury), so we can manage that. But the expectation is our umpires bounce.”

What will Greg Swann tackle first?

Incoming AFL football boss Greg Swann is likely to consider changes to the stand rule and ponder the centre bounce’s role in football as part of his agenda when he starts at AFL House next Monday.

Swann could also consider how to reduce delays in the game including umpires waiting for ruckmen at ball ups given game time often ballooning to 130 minutes across AFL contests.

AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon hired the Lions chief executive last month in an announcement that saw a chorus of goodwill given Swann’s popularity and experience in the AFL across a trio of clubs.

Swann has a huge role that takes in the MRO, umpiring, game analysis, player movement, laws of the game and innovation, which basically gives him open slather to consider most of football’s most important topics.

Andrew Dillon and Greg Swann in May. Picture: Michael Klein

Swann would be limited in any changes he can make in this season given the league will have a series of annual end-of-year reviews around rule changes and the MRO.

But those who know Swann well believe that he has strong ideas on how to make tweaks that will improve the look of the game.

Rival chief executives believe that Swann has never been a strong advocate of the bounce in football during club meetings with the league.

He has suggested that umpires who are judged by their decision making accuracy should not need to learn an extremely complicated skill to become an AFL umpire.

Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick has been adamant that scrapping the bounce would help players avoid umpires given bouncing the ball provides such inconsistent results as players chase the football.

Clubs have consistently complained that the stand rule has been bastardised by clubs who now creep back outside the 5m protected zone to cut off 45 degree kicks.

So the AFL could consider a hard-line stance that requires a player who was in the contest when a mark was taken to remain in their standing position.

The AFL is also likely to look at game length over the summer given a series of delays that regularly balloon quarter lengths well over 30 minutes.

The AFL now stops the game if there is an injured player within a kick of play and also has regular goal reviews which take up time.

But the AFL could also look at smaller changes like throwing the ball up more quickly at a stoppage instead of waiting 20 seconds for two ruckmen to get to the ball.

Could the AFL speed up ruck contests? Picture: Michael Klein

There were only 10 goals in the 114 minutes of game time in the abysmal Essendon-Richmond contest.

But every other game this weekend went for at least 125 minutes, with three going over 130 minutes and the Dogs-Adelaide game going for 129 minutes of game time.

The SANFL’s last-disposal rule, which penalises a player if they kick or handball the ball over the boundary line, has also drawn strong support from within the AFL.

Swann is likely to assess how that rule has worked in the SANFL to ensure the ball stays in play more with more corridor use given players are no longer allowed to kick to “touch” to force a stoppage.

As the boss in charge of player movement Swann will also consider whether measures like the mid-season trade period are implemented over summer for the 2026 season.

Interstate clubs like Brisbane have customarily railed against the mid-season trade period because it would disadvantage non-Victorian clubs who struggle to get players moving interstate.

Originally published as Patrick Dangerfield and former umpires boss Peter Schwab have urged the league to abolish the bounce