CROWS forward Brett Burton says the AFL Players Association is faced with a “Catch-22” situation when it comes to questioning the AFL’s head-high contact rule, which saw him and two other players, Robert Murphy and Beau Waters, suspended over the weekend.
Burton, who was banned for two matches after making high contact with Essendon’s Henry Slattery, says the interpretation of the head-high rule is likely to be one issue raised by the AFLPA at the end of the season.
“We have a representative, I think it’s Luke Darcy at the moment, who sits on the Laws committee board and he voices the opinion of the players,” Burton told RADIO 5aa.
“The Players Association will put a mandate to Luke Darcy about some issues we want to have tackled at the end of the year.
“We will certainly do that, but the Catch-22 is that the AFLPA is also behind protecting the players’ heads. That is the most important thing and that’s why I’m willing to say, ‘Hey, I’ve done the wrong thing here’.
“The [current interpretation] is not the exact interpretation of how we want the game to go and it’s different to what I’ve been used to in the past, but foremost, you’ve got to look after the guy with his head over the ball and Slattery had his head over the ball, so I’ve got to learn to do it a different way and move on.”
A frustrated Burton said he had not intended to make contact with Slattery’s head, but the slippery conditions and speed of the game prevented him from changing course.
“What I was trying to do was get down low, come in side on, bump him, make contact with him and then go back at the ball,” Burton said.
“I was assuming that’s what he’d do too, because that’s what you’re taught, you protect your body by turning to the side, but unfortunately he got there a bit quicker than I’d anticipated and put his head there.
“In those conditions it’s just so hard to stop and I followed through with the motion and unfortunately, as the rules stipulate now, when a guy has his head over the ball, you just have to stay away from him.
“I have to take the two weeks on the chin and try not to do it again.”
The AFLPA vice-president also expressed concern at what he described as a deliberate ploy by some players to go into contests head first.
“Looking back on it now, I’d probably say I’d be reluctant to hip and shoulder anyone now when they’ve got their head over the ball,” he said.
“You basically have to wait for him to pick it up and then tackle him, which is hard because as a coach you encourage your players to be committed at the ball and we really pump up contested footy at the club.
“That’s where the game starts, with the 50-50 ball, and you don’t want to be reluctant going for them, but you certainly have to go with a bit of caution now.
“I think the hip and shoulder can still be used to block guys and push guys away from the ball, but not when they’re bending over to get it. It’s just too dangerous.
“What happens now is that players lead with their head a bit more because they know they’ll get a free kick. That’s kind of an art in itself, which probably wasn’t the way we wanted to set out the rule, but that’s what’s been made of it.”
