Fear AFL tackle rule has gone too far

The AFL holding the ball rule remains a matter of contention after the clash between St Kilda and the Crows in Adelaide on Monday night raised questions about umpiring.

Adelaide’s Andrew McPherson is tackled by three St Kilda players at Adelaide Oval

A player who wins the football has always been prized in the AFL. However, former Adelaide captain Taylor Walker is among those bewildered by the mid-season tightening of the holding-the-ball rule that threatens a key tenet of the game.

Walker watched from the forward line with alarm during Monday night’s clash between St Kilda and Adelaide as he sensed players did not want to win the ball for fear of getting caught in possession.

“You can clearly see that blokes are now thinking twice about, ‘Do I get the ball and then get tackled, or do I let someone else get it and I’ll tackle them?’” he said.

“It certainly played a part in the way people are playing.”

The uncertainty stems from an apparent change of interpretation in the way the holding the ball rule has been umpired following criticism from Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson.

The four-time premiership coach’s solution to congestion-clogging football was for umpires to be sharper in penalising players failing to dispose of the ball either quickly enough or correctly.

AFL football operations manager Steve Hocking confirmed on Tuesday there was concern about the umpiring in Monday night’s match at Adelaide Oval. Umpires boss Hayden Kennedy contacted Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks and his St Kilda counterpart Brett Ratten on Tuesday.

There were 12 holding the ball free kicks paid on Monday night, well above the season average.

“We acknowledge there were decisions in last night’s game that were either missed or unwarranted free kicks and we will continue to work towards ensuring stronger consistency,” Hocking said.

Clarkson’s criticism came after the Hawks laid 69 tackles against North Melbourne in Round 4 without earning a single tackle-related free kick.

“You wonder why the game is an arm-wrestle and you can’t get any open footy? If that’s the spectacle that we’re trying to search for in our game, then our game’s in a dreadful space,” Clarkson said.

Kennedy said the week after Clarkson’s criticism the rule would be adjudicated within the current guidelines.

There has clearly been a reaction. Now the concern is that it has been over-the-top, with players scarcely having time to even consider an option before being tackled and penalised. The game between the Saints and Adelaide seemed a case in point.

Players and commentators were left puzzled by calls from umpires, while Brett Ratten remains confused over the holding the ball interpretations.

FULL REACTION 👉 https://t.co/N01v9BSDjx #AFLCrowsSaints pic.twitter.com/grdXx7Fd6s

— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) July 20, 2020

Since Clarkson declared the AFL was “shit-canning its brand”, the average free kicks for holding the ball per game has increased.

The season average is 4.1 per game. The Round 5 average was 5.1. In Round 6, it dipped slightly to 4.7. In the round just completed, it was back to five per game.

Other coaches have expressed concern about the response. Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge was bewildered, saying the AFL “flinched” when there was no need to respond.

Ratten said after the Saints reclaimed a spot in the eight with their first ever win at Adelaide Oval that no one wanted to see a player not pursuing the ball receive the advantage.

“That’s not how we want to play the game. It’s a fine line and you have to be given some chance to get rid of it,” he said.

“We have to be careful that we haven’t got players just sitting there waiting to tackle players. That’s not how we want to play the game. “