The AFL wrote to Clubs yesterday following feedback received over a few weeks regarding the interpretation of holding the ball and how it is being officiated.
The AFL Football Department and Head of Officiating Steve McBurney continue to have open dialogue and visits with Clubs and Coaches.
These discussions assist the coaches in understanding how the umpires officiating the rules, whilst also give our umpiring department an insight into how players are being coached.
It has become clearer throughout the season that in discharging their duty of care whilst executing a tackle, tacklers are positively electing not to take tackled players to ground in the tackle or are generally doing so in a reasonable way including by not using excessive force. As a consequence, we are seeing players hold onto the ball slightly longer and challenging the definition of “reasonable time”.
Our umpires are clear on the interpretation of holding the ball and it continues to be a focus of umpire coaching each week. We want to ensure our Clubs, Coaches and Players understand the rules and how they are being officiated.
Examples were provided to Clubs clarifying one aspect of holding the ball - reasonable time.
The five examples in the clips were the subject of umpire training last night and were shared with Football Departments and Senior Coaches.
