BANNING the contentious third-man up at ruck contests would make the game easier to officiate, umpires boss Wayne Campbell says.
The practice of players jumping over wrestling ruckmen at stoppages is in the spotlight again after Fremantle's Aaron Sandilands was suspended for round one for a high bump on Richmond's third-man up Ben Griffiths.
The incident sparked more controversy over an already hot topic, with Dockers coach Ross Lyon questioning how ruckmen could protect themselves.
Speaking on AFL.com.au's First Bounce, national head of umpiring Campbell said the simplest solution for umpires would be for the League to outlaw the third-man up.
"If I go from an umpiring perspective now, the best-case scenario for us would be to ban third-man up," Campbell said.
"But we're at the very end of the chain as to whether it's good for footy, is it better for clearances and all that sort of stuff.
"But in terms of pure umpiring, it would be so much easier if you just had the two ruckmen there because you not only have to worry about the guy coming to the ruckman, you have to worry about whether he's being blocked as well after you've thrown the ball up."
Senior coaches and club football managers gave their opinions on the topic at a laws of the game summit in Adelaide last year, but a consensus couldn't be reached.
"There's just mixed feedback," Campbell said.
"Even Ross Lyon said yesterday, Fremantle don't like it when Sandilands is in the ruck, but when Sandilands goes out you see (Nat) Fyfe, (David) Mundy and these sort of guys going third-man up.
"So there's no concrete view either way from a laws perspective.
"If it leads to three more clearances a game there would be a strong push to keep it in. I think it leads to a bit more scoring, but it's only very marginal."
Meanwhile, Campbell was positive about the tighter officiating of the deliberate out of bounds rule after six NAB Challenge matches.
"I thought the deliberate out of bounds was pretty good. We probably paid 12 for the weekend and I don't think any of those were unwarranted," he said.
"Throw-ins were at an all-time record level last year, so there's a tightening of the laws of the game around that."
The profile of umpiring has received a boost this week with Eleni Glouftsis set to make history by becoming the first female umpire to officiate an AFL game when Carlton and Essendon clash at Ikon Park on Sunday.
Glouftsis took charge of the Bombers' intraclub last Friday and Campbell said her rise up the ranks was already having a positive impact.
"We had a report through today that there's a couple of girls' colleges in Adelaide that are already wanting to start women's academies and that's why we've put Eleni out there a fair bit," Campbell said.
Andrew Carrazzo is also on the umpiring pathway and the ex-Blues midfielder shadowed experienced official Matt Stevic in the Dons' intraclub.
"He's coming along well," Campbell said. "He'll be a long term project, he'll be a couple of years, but good signs so far."
