Brownlow Medal winner Adam Cooney says AFL should scrap score review for rest of season as AFL prepares to introduce bunker

As the AFL prepares to introduce a NRL-style score review bunker, Brownlow Medal winner Adam Cooney says the system should be scrapped until it is foolproof.

Did it hit the post?

Brownlow Medal winner Adam Cooney says the AFL should scrap the score review for the rest of the season after a series of errors in recent weeks.

The system has been under the spotlight again this weekend after a late goal from Essendon’s Shaun McKernan was given the green light despite appearing to be touched by GWS defender Adam Kennedy.

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Adelaide forward Elliott Himmelberg was then awarded a goal during Friday night’s game against Geelong after ‘The Edge’ technology was used to assess whether his shot struck the post.

“I think until it improves, scrap it,” Cooney said on Channel 7.

“I’m happy for the goal line technology to stay in to avoid the howlers, but I’m happy to let the umpire adjudicate those ones from 40m out.

“If the umpire hears it or sees it hit the fingers, then call it.

“If not, because there’s so much grey area. They got the one right yesterday, Sydney and Gold Coast, but to the (GWS-Essendon) one wrong … it could have cost you the game and probably did in the end.

“If it’s not perfect then scrap it.”

AFL football boss Steve Hocking said yesterday the introduction of a review centre, which the league hopes will be in place by finals, would allow for “greater consistency” among its decision-makers.

“We could actually just have the one or two score reviewers actually involved in multiple games as well,” he said.

“What you get is you get a greater efficiency and an elite training environment off the back of that as well.”

The AFL’s dedicated review centre could be ready for this year’s finals. Picture: Christopher Chan.

Hocking, who has studied the NRL and A-League’s bunkers in preparation for the system’s implementation by the AFL, conceded some of the errors this year had been embarrassing.

He backed the decision to by the score review to tick off McKernan’s goal, despite acknowledging many fans felt footage showed Kennedy’s finger being bent back.

“Gill (AFL boss Gillon McLachlan) has given me the green light to go as hard as we possibly can,” he said.

“I think the important thing for fans to recognise and know, this is not just something that has happened the last couple of weeks.

“I have been looking at this since the start of the season and understanding this was going to be a problem for us.”

GWS co-captain Phil Davis said he felt Thursday’s decision to award Essendon a goal had been rushed.

“The thing is not so much the outcome, it’s the process,” Davis said.

“When you have only got a short period of time between the goal being signalled and the ball going to bounce, to make a decision of such significance with such ambiguity around it, I would have liked a bit more time for them to look at it.

“I don’t mind the umpire’s call if there’s any lack of clarity, but that just felt like it was maybe a little bit rushed.”

‘THE EDGE’ USED TO DECIDE HIMMELBERG GOAL

The AFL has confirmed ‘The Edge’ technology — footy’s version of snicko — was used by the score review officer amid more controversy over a goal line decision in the clash between Geelong and Adelaide.

A night after the score review officer failed to detect a touched ball that tied the scores up with two minutes to go in the Essendon GWS game, Adelaide’s Elliott Himmelberg booted the ball off the ground, leaving the goal umpire concerned it may have hit the padding around the goalpost on the way through.

Did it hit the post?

Three separate camera angles were shown to fans, but it was almost impossible to tell if the ball kissed the post, with the score review officer leaving it up to the umpire to make the decision.

An AFL spokeswoman confirmed ‘The Edge’ was used and showed a flat line. The score review officer did not signal a goal, but left the decision up to the umpire.

But this was not shown on the Seven coverage, and the footage was not accompanied by audio from the score review officer, leading to calls for change from Richmond champion Matthew Richardson.

“Tell the public and the people watching — talk them through what they’re doing, the process, like they do in the cricket,” Richardson said on the Channel 7 commentary.

Geelong coach Chris Scott leapt to the defence of the troubled system, saying it is “never going to be perfect”.

Scott said he felt he was in the “minority” but did not think the review system should be scrapped or needed urgent change.

“I cannot understand some people saying, ‘Just get rid of it because it was better before’,” Scott said.

“It’s giving us a little bit more information. It’s never going to be perfect and there’s always going to be an element of human error.

“I think there’s been one or two occasions where the technology has been misinterpreted but most of the time it actually helps the decision making process.

“It was (brought in) to stop the really bad error that everyone knew that was there and I think it’s achieved that goal in spades. Some people seem to think it should be perfect.

“Both (decisions) went against us tonight so hopefully I’m being balanced about this. Both of them went against us and both of them were correctly interpreted.”

Later in the match, a second score review overturned a Tim Kelly goal.

The ball had made it all the way back to the middle and the players had set up, but replays showed it caught a tiny part of the padding around the goalpost as it went through.

‘The Edge’ was this time shown on the screen, with a noticeable spike, and the decision was changed to a behind.

“With ‘The Edge’ technology, you could see it with the naked eye, but ‘The Edge’ confirmed it as well in the soft review,” Richardson said.

Commentator James Brayshaw suggested perhaps the AFL would be better going back to basics.

“Don’t things come in waves,” Brayshaw said.

“We have had so many score review issues in the last little while It’s quite amazing.

“Almost better off going back to how it was, just naked eyeing it.”