Players launch into AFL over mid-season move that could change Brownlow winner

Yahoo

10 hours ago

The AFL Players' Association has launched into league officials over a mid-season change to penalties for contact with umpires, which places a number of players at risk of suspension. And it could dramatically change who walks away with the Brownlow Medal this year.
Starting on Thursday night, a player charged with careless umpire contact for a fourth time or more during the past two seasons can be referred directly to the tribunal and face possible suspension. It comes after a significant increase in fines for such incidents, with the total amount to exceed a record $1 million over the past 24 months by the end of this season.
There's no doubt the umpires need to be protected, but the players' association has called the move "disappointing" and revealed it wasn't consulted before the sudden change. Interim AFLPA boss Ben Smith declared on Wednesday the match review officer and tribunal system is "not working and needs to be reviewed and revised".
Smith said: "The safety of umpires is a critical component for the game, and it's one the players wholeheartedly agree with. However, unilaterally deciding to increase the penalties on the playing group to greater extremes without consultation is disappointing.
"The AFLPA wrote to the AFL weeks ago to request a forum where the players can sit down and genuinely discuss these issues holistically with the AFL. There are multiple factors that go into the number of fines increasing for careless contact with an umpire, such as additional umpires on the field and greater congestion around the ball, and the players feel the threshold of what constitutes incidental or accidental contact between players and umpires continues to shift. They ultimately believe these fines aren't proportionate to the acts committed."
Gold Coast star Matt Rowell is among the players most affected, as he's already been fined three times this season for umpire contact. A fourth offence would likely send him straight to the tribunal for the first time in his career.
There have been 63 careless contact fines so far this season - up from 56 last year and only 20 in 2023. But the mid-season change could have an impact on the Brownlow Medal, with Rowell expected to poll well. Any player suspended throughout the season is ineligible for the prestigious gong.
Essendon coach Brad Scott said the AFL is already asking a lot of the playing group. "I just hope there's a deep dive being done into umpire positioning for umpires on the ground," he said on Wednesday. "Player fines are getting out of control at the moment. I understand the reasoning for it. The AFL has had their hand forced on this one ... everyone's got to take some responsibility for this, not just the players."
RELATED:
Vision emerges of sneaky Zak Butters act he copied from Nick Daicos
AFL responds to rival coach's concerns over 'unsafe' surface at SCG
Discussing the situation on Channel 7 on Tuesday night, Dale Thomas said: 'By no means is that dismissing the seriousness of some of those injuries, with the whiplash, the concussions - that's not a part of that. The players are talking (about) purely how they're going to be fined for this contact and what constitutes being fined.
'They got to the point where they went to the body, the AFLPA, and said, 'Alright, we want you to organise a sit-down with the AFL and we want to have a seat at the table to work through all these issues, because at the minute, we have no clarity on any of it, and it seems the goal posts are moving week in, week out'. It'll be, by the end of this year, over the 24-month period, $1m the players have given back in fines to the AFL through various sanctions.'