Holding the ball free kick count continues to diminish as frustration grows across AFL

As debate rages over the interpretation of the holding-the-ball rule, Gold Coast young gun Mac Andrew says the confusion has forced players to change how they tackle their opponents.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – MAY 25: Charlie Curnow of the Blues kicks whilst being tackled by Mac Andrew of the Suns during the round 11 AFL match between Carlton Blues and Gold Coast Suns at Marvel Stadium, on May 25, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

Gold Coast defender Mac Andrew says his approach to tackling an opponent is now “to protect them at all costs” as debate rages about the holding the ball free kick interpretation that has players and coaches seeking answers from the AFL.

Andrew’s tackle on Carlton spearhead Charlie Curnow in the first quarter of Saturday’s clash at Marvel Stadium has been used as a reference point for criticism over the current holding the ball interpretation.

A frustrated Damien Hardwick pointed to Andrew’s tackle on Curnow, in which he pinned one arm and spun the Blues forward around before Curnow was able to use his free hand to get a kick away, as an example of why umpires have “got to blow the whistle earlier”.

The Suns coach labelled it a “very, very dangerous situation for both players” with Andrew forced to make a choice between completing the tackle and potentially injuring the fighting Curnow, or conceding and giving his opponent an easy opportunity to release the ball.

Andrew’s tackle on Curnow early . (Photo by Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

On Monday, AFL umpires boss Stephen McBurney said his umpires had a good understanding of what constituted holding the ball and declared the Curnow decision was correct because he did not have an arm pinned in the tackle.

However, Andrew believes if he had pinned the arm of Curnow and completed the tackle, he could have come under MRO scrutiny.

Like his coach, Andrew said he did not have a simple solution to the scenario but urged the AFL to “do something about it” because it was creating confusion and forcing players to change the way they play the game.

“Obviously there’s been a lot of suspensions given out for dangerous tackles and stuff like that so it’s always in the back of your head when you tackle someone,” Andrew told this masthead.

“And when you have them for that long you try not to take them to ground because of what might happen.

“You want to protect the other player but also yourself – not from getting injured, but costing yourself games (through suspension).

“I don’t know if there’s something the umpires can change or something we (players) can change, but at the end of the day we want to protect the players at all costs. Maybe that means the umpires have to blow the whistle a little earlier.”

The uber-athletic 20-year-old, who has burst onto the scene this season as one of the best intercept defenders in the competition, said he empathised with players who are regularly put in such situations.

“I don’t know how guys like Rowelly (Matt Rowell) manage it while making 10-12 tackles per game,” Andrew said.

“It feels like it’s out of our hands now. We can only do what we can control and keep going the way we’re going about it.”

DAMNING STATS SHOWCASE CLUBS’ ANGER AT ‘DANGEROUS’ UMPIRING CALLS

– Jon Ralph

The AFL’s umpires boss has strongly defended its holding the ball rule, but will “catalogue” potentially dangerous incidents amid a drop in freekicks from legal tackles this season.

Following accusations the league’s holding-the-ball rule is broken, Brisbane Lions star Dayne Zorko said multiple clubs would be contacting the AFL to clarify the rule.

In Round 11 St Kilda failed to secure a holding-the-ball free kick from 41 tackles, while Richmond won only one free kick on Saturday night from 37 tackles.

Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick urged the league’s umpires to blow the whistle more quickly, given players were often given an eternity to dispose of the ball.

The Suns won only two holding-the-ball free kicks from 73 tackles in a weekend where players were spun in 540 degree and 720 degree tackles without being penalised.

This year to round 11 only seven per cent of tackles have been rewarded with a free kick (812 free kicks from 12,017 tackles), down from eight per cent last year (885 from 11,718) and nine per cent in 2022 (945 from 11,024) to this stage of the season.

Hardwick had his say on the matter after the Suns’ loss to Carlton. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

AFL umpires boss Stephen McBurney said on Monday his umpires had a good handle on what holding the ball was.

He said Carlton’s Charlie Curnow was not penalised for holding the ball when tackled by Gold Coast’s Mac Andrew because he did not have an arm pinned. It allowed him to eventually kick the ball free after being handed a “reasonable” amount of time to get rid of the Sherrin. But McBurney said the AFL would assess whether incidents of that kind could lead to dangerous outcomes after Hardwick’s fierce criticism of the rule.

“We’ve spent a lot of time with the umpires, and they have a very good understanding of what holding the ball is,” he said.

“Curnow was being stood-up in the tackle and had reasonable time to then have the free arm with the ball dropped onto his boot and kick the ball away after what the umpire deemed was still a reasonable time.

“The issue or question going forward is the tackler is in an invidious position because if he takes the player to ground and does so dangerously, he risks a free kick or a report.

“We are monitoring that and we are continuing to catalogue examples of where this occurs so we can judge whether we’ve got reasonable time right or whether we need to address that.

“The critical thing is the umpire cannot blow his whistle for a ball up if the ball has not been pinned. When we see the arm free, we will hold the whistle and see whether the player can dispose.”

McBurney said he was in open dialogue with the AFL’s 18 clubs and encouraged them to send in vision of incidents they wanted clarified.

Zorko said on SEN Radio on Monday morning he didn’t want to make comments about umpiring that would see him fined but admitted there was “frustration” from clubs.

“If you watched the first quarter yesterday you would get a fair indication of what my opinion was. There were incidents throughout the game where its really hard to word this without getting a $100,000 fine or even more,” he told SEN.

“It’s really hard as a player if you do lay the tackle and it’s holding the ball and you know the player has incorrectly disposed of it or you are waiting for a whistle to be blown and they pick up the ball and run off with it. It’s frustrating. That’s pretty much all I can say without getting myself into trouble.

“There is no doubt a range of clubs this week will be asking and seeking clarification from the AFL as to what is going on, but we don’t want to see an over-reaction where every single tackle is holding the ball. As a player you generally know when it’s holding the ball and if it’s not. That is where the frustration lies from all the clubs at the moment.”

Collingwood secured eight holding the ball free kicks from 73 tackles on Friday night, while the Bulldogs won seven free kicks from 54 tackles. The Eagles had a spectacular strike rate from their 44 tackles, winning seven free kicks in their 99-point loss to Adelaide.

Originally published as Holding the ball free kick count continues to diminish as frustration grows across AFL