THE FOUR-UMPIRE experiment was "successful" and the men in green were less fatigued after the match, umpires boss Wayne Campbell says.
The four-man system was trialled for the first time in a home and away match in Saturday's Brisbane Lions-Gold Coast QClash at the Gabba, following a pre-season trial in the early rounds of the NAB Challenge.
Campbell and umpires' coach Michael Vozzo reviewed the performance of the umpiring group in Brisbane on Saturday night.
Campbell told AFL.com.au the additional set of eyes allowed the field umpires to adjudicate contests from better angles.
"We thought it was a pretty successful initial trial. We've picked up at least three free kicks that we may not have got if the fourth umpire hadn't have been there on the other side of the contest," Campbell said on Sunday.
"There was a throw in the middle of the ground where the umpire who was controlling it was unsighted, so just having that extra mid-zone umpire on the other side; he got his positioning just right to be able to see it.
"There was a high tackle that was paid as well from, again, the other side of the contest."
The four field umpires went largely unnoticed in the game and paid a total of 46 free kicks. The most noticeable difference was at centre bounces where the additional umpire stood inside the centre square.
Campbell said despite the "positive outcome", the umpiring department would now assess GPS tracking devices to "verify" how much distance the umpires had covered, and how that compared to previous weeks under the current three-man structure.
"It was reasonably high scoring so it was up and back, and in those sort of games the umpires tend to be quite physically fatigued after the game and after this one they certainly weren't as tired," he said.
"That [GPS data] will form an important part on how we review that part of it, whether we need them to run less, or run more, or getting a better angle or starting positions."
Campbell said the four umpires who officiated the Lions-Suns clash would again umpire together in future rounds, with a decision on the next game to feature the additional field umpire to be confirmed on Monday.
"We'll do a more thorough coaching session with them on Tuesday based around their positioning," he said.
"There were certainly some areas for improvement with that just because they're not accustomed to being in certain spots at stoppages."
Campbell said the four-man set-up ensured the boundary side of the ground was not exposed during the match and allowed for those in charge to share bouncing duties.
The match also helped the umpires to make decisions under less fatigue without the need to continually sprint towards the vicinity of the ball and adjust their position.
"There was a really good free kick paid on the goal line and the umpire who was paying it in a three-umpire system would've had to have been running fairly flat out to be able to get there and see it, whereas he was stationary to be able to see it," Campbell said.
"You're less fatigued when you're there and you're in a more stationary (position), or at least jogging as opposed to sprinting and trying to really get to a certain position to get a certain angle.
"Given they don't have to run as far, the cumulative fatigue won't be as great and we'll be able to keep the more experienced umpires in the game for longer."
