Clarkson savages AFL as McLachlan concedes on holding ball

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan believes football is in good shape but agrees there is room for improvement around the holding the ball rule.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has criticised the way games are unfolding

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has conceded Alastair Clarkson had a point after the four-time premiership coach savaged the defensive manner in which matches are being played this season.

McLachlan declared on Monday the AFL umpiring department needed to take a tougher stance when it came to paying free kicks for holding the ball to enable the game to be more open.

“I do agree with Clarko to an extent on holding the ball and I am probably going to get myself in trouble here,” McLachlan said.

“I think we need to be tougher on holding the ball. I think the prior opportunity needs to be tighter because our players are so skilled they are assessing it and taking the tackle.

“You can’t have guys taking the ball and not having prior opportunity but our players these days are so skilled and so quick, they can take the ball and assess the options so quickly and if they don’t like it, they will take the tackle. Well, they have had prior and they should be pinged. That is my view.”

In a broadside after Hawthorn’s four-point win over North Melbourne on Sunday night, Clarkson described it as a “terrible spectacle” and said he was “sorry for shitcanning our own brand”.

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The Hawthorn coach was staggered his side had laid 69 tackles yet not one earned a free kick for holding the ball, claiming this was leading to further congestion in the game.

“At the moment, the seagulls are all going after the chip. If there’s (an) incorrect disposal (free kick paid), you watch the seagulls spread,” he said.

Clarkson noted the earlier game on Sunday between Geelong and Melbourne, sides that boast players capable of playing exciting football, had been dour and low-scoring.

McLachlan said he planned to speak to the AFL’s football operations manager Steve Hocking about the interpretation of the holding the ball rule.

But the AFL chief executive disputed criticism related to the overall style of the game, saying the football played since the resumption of the 2020 season three weeks ago had largely been positive.

“I don’t agree with Clarko on the state of the game. There were some cracking games on the weekend and there were some average games. That is football,” McLachlan said.

North Melbourne coach Rhyce Shaw was among those who believed players would be “faster and stronger” leading into the restart but not every game would be great.

Brownlow Medallist and GWS board member Jimmy Bartel agreed, saying it was rare for a perfect game of football to unfold.

“There are good games and there are bad games of footy. You can find fault, if you want, in a game but football today is now a defensive struggle,” he said on RSN 927.

“Everyone is expecting the perfect game of football. They want to see football utopia. They want the 1989 grand final between Geelong and Hawthorn every time we come out to play footy.

“We need to take the game for what it is this year. It is unique. It is something we have never seen before and we are playing Rd 4 in the middle of winter.”

1/2. I have said for many years the game as a spectacle and full of highlights is in serious trouble . Use the cats as a typical example on the weekend with some of the games greatest ever players, they kicked 1 goal 2 behinds in half a game and that took 150 disposals. Kb

— Kevin Bartlett (@KevinBartlett29) June 28, 2020

But AFL legend Kevin Bartlett, a former member of the league’s Laws of the Game committee, has been a regular critic of the style of football in recent years and his view has not changed.

“I have said for many years the game as a spectacle, once full of highlights, is in serious trouble,” he said.

“Use the Cats as an example on the weekend with some of the games greatest players, they kicked 1.2 in half a game and that took 150 disposals. That is not football. That is keepings off.

“In (the) 1989 grand final, for example, Geelong and Hawthorn kicked a goal every 11 possessions because scoring was a priority. Now you tell me which style of game entertains and thrills.”