Three senior coaches applaud in-game direction for umpires with more rule tweaks to adjudicate

AFL umpires are in the spotlight this week in more ways than one but a trio of senior coaches have thrown their support behind moves to help the whistle-blowers.

AFL umpiring is in the spotlight (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Both Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell and his Melbourne counterpart Simon Goodwin support in-game umpiring coaching, confident it didn’t involve decision-making, adamant all measures to make umpiring better had to be explored.

Essendon coach Brad Scott, who had umpiring in his portfolio during his time at the AFL, also confirmed that “communication” from umpiring coaches was a crucial tool but was “never about decision making” amid concerns about what was being said via umpire earpieces with St Kilda coach Ross Lyon confirming he sought clarity from umpires boss Stephen McBurney.

The quality of umpiring has been in the spotlight this week after the league moved to confirm a tweak to the holding-the-ball rule in the wake of an outcry from several coaches concerned tackled players were getting too long to dispose of the ball.

AFL Umpiring boss Stephen McBurney discusses how the AFL's umpiring rule change would've impacted these controversial tackles.

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That move from the AFL, which was lauded by Scott as being “proactive” came as it was also reported that at least three coaches had approached the league seeking clarity over what feedback was given to umpires during games concerned it could “throw the purity of the game into real jeopardy”.

Scott was not one of those concerned, nor were Goodwin or Mitchell who said anything which makes umpiring easier would benefit the game.

“I probably have a different take on it. I think everyone acknowledges and recognises umpiring is really difficult, so anything that makes their job easier I think is a positive,” he said on Thursday

“If they are talking to each other, if they are getting advice on different aspects of the game and that makes their job easier, I think they should be doing that. Anything that helps umpires with decision-making is what we should be doing. If we have that technology I don’t know why we wouldn’t use it?”

Goodwin issued a similar thought and said he had “always assumed” umpires were getting help from the umpiring coaches who were at every game.

“No different than a team and a playing group wanting to get better. Sometimes the best chance to improve what you are doing is on the job,” he said.

“It’s one of the toughest games to umpire, and if we can make that better, why wouldn’t they get coaching, be it in the breaks or around their positioning to improve the quality. We all want it to be the best level possible. I’d embrace that.”

Lyon said he was “surprised” to learn about the frequency of in-game coaching and while satisfied it was only at breaks saud “transparency” would help.

“It’s just different. It’s a tough job and I think anything we can do to help [we should do]. I think some transparency around it would probably help,” he said

“It would be interesting what the umpires are saying. The game is precious. We all value it. The umpires are incredibly valued and under a lot of pressure.

Worth a watch: Chris Scott goes in-depth talking about umpiring, rules, interpretations, and everything in between.

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Scott also revealed that the Bombers had two umpires at their training session on Thursday to help provide even more “clarity” on the expected shift in the adjudication of holding the ball from this weekend’s games, declaring he would be watching all those before his team’s Sunday clash with the Suns closely.

“It’s one of the good weeks to be playing on Sunday,” he said.

“The easy thing for the AFL to do would be to say the umpires umpire the rules and we’re just going to keen adjudicating it the way we see it. I think the fans, the coaches, the players always seek clarity, and when the AFL can provide clarity, that really helps.

“All we want to know is what the umpires are being coached on, and what they look for. More communication is better when it comes to these things.”