Sheedy’s call to halve 50m penalties

“I would hate to be the umpire who does that,” Kevin Sheedy fears a dubious 50m penalty could one day influence an AFL Grand Final, and that’s why he has called for change.

Why Sheedy wants the AFL to cut the 50m penalty​ in half

Kevin Sheedy, the coaching legend whose tactics brought about the introduction of the 50m penalty, has urged the AFL to halve the distance to 25m to ensure a team doesn’t one day lose a Grand Final due to a questionable or harsh adjudication.

The focus was back on the fairness of the 50m penalty – which was introduced in 1988 – when a penalty against Essendon’s Tom Bellchambers to Richmond’s Nick Vlastuin resulted in a crucial goal in last Saturday night’s Dreamtime clash in Darwin.

Vlastuin was fined $750 for staging. The Tiger defender later made a written submission and successfully challenged the fine.

But Sheedy said it was time to get rid of the 50m penalty, insisting it was too onerous a judgment given how minor some of the transgressions can be.

Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Watch every match of every round Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

“I don’t agree with 50m penalties, full stop,” Sheedy told The Australian.

“It is just too big a penalty; it’s ridiculous.

“It has always been too big a penalty. I would change it to 25 metres. That would be absolutely spot on.”

Sheedy famously instructed his Essendon players to hold onto or scrag opponents after taking marks during the mid-1980s, giving up a 15m penalty which allowed time for his team to reset and get numbers back.

The Bombers went on to win back-to-back flags in 1984 and ‘85.

Sheedy’s tactic frustrated the then-VFL to the point that they deemed a 15m penalty no longer proved a deterrent to the time-wasting or scragging. Accordingly, they increased the distance to 50m in 1988.

While Sheedy said staging would always remain part of the game – acknowledging he was one of the best proponents during his playing career at Richmond – he believed it was time for the AFL to reduce the penalty so that games are not influenced.

He feared it would influence a Grand Final one day.

“I would hate to be the umpire who does that,” Sheedy said.

Sheedy has an ally in South Australian football great Graham Cornes, who said recently the AFL should follow the SANFL and make it a 25m penalty.

Cornes tweeted this week: “Players staging, umpires with no feel for the game and a ridiculously outdated 50 metre penalty that no longer fits the transgression are all conspiring to destroy the spirit of a great game.”

“Time to adopt the SANFL’s 25 metre penalty.”

Herald Sun