AFL gamers and followers are nonetheless coming to phrases with the time losing rule after it price Collingwood badly final weekend, however wasn’t paid in Carlton’s win over Port Adelaide on Thursday evening.
The Blues ran away from Port within the fourth quarter to say a 16.11 (107) to 10.11 (71) victory, breaking their Adelaide hoodoo and making the Energy appear to be a “faux high 4 workforce”, as Fox Footy’s Jason Dunstall labelled them.
After the AFL despatched a midweek memo to golf equipment, the holding the ball rule was noticeably tightened up within the first sport of Spherical 12, with gamers penalised on a number of events.
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Eagle-eyed followers additionally noticed a second late within the fourth quarter of Thursday evening’s sport when the umpire selected to not award a free kick for time losing.
When Carlton Jack Carroll was tackled within the centre sq. and a ball up was known as, he tossed the ball on the bottom, removed from the controlling umpire.
Port Adelaide’s Jason Horne-Francis seen appealed for a free kick, however his efforts fell on deaf ears as a special umpire got here in to do the ball-up on the stoppage.
The second got here every week after Collingwood’s Lachie Sullivan was pinged for time losing within the dying levels of his facet’s conflict with Fremantle, which led to a draw.
Thursday evening’s incident may have been a a lot greater drama if not for the very fact Carlton was main by 36 factors on the time.
At a stoppage for a ball-up, Sullivan was penalised for handing the ball to teammate Nick Daicos as a substitute of umpire Matthew Nicholls, and Freo’s Sean Darcy was gifted a objective from the free kick.
“I didn’t love the Fremantle-Collingwood name on Sullivan,” Fox Footy’s Nick Dal Santo advised information.com.au.
“To the letter of the regulation, the umpire truly known as it accurately. I simply don’t just like the rule. I don’t assume that’s how that second or any second of a sport ought to be adjudicated.
“If that’s within the first minute of the sport, I don’t need to see that as a free kick in opposition to. I simply don’t like that for our sport.”
The AFL has clarified that it’s deemed time losing if a participant doesn’t give the ball on to an umpire at a stoppage. Gamers are allowed to throw the ball on the bottom, however handing the ball to a different participant is deemed time losing.
Footy followers, particularly Collingwood supporters, have been perplexed a time losing free kick wasn’t known as after the Sullivan choice final spherical.
One fan wrote on X: “What’s the rule once more? It’s essential to hand the ball again on to the umpire? Lol what a load of garbage…. JHF even pointed it out to the ump and he did nothing…” one Collingwood diehard stated.
A Magpies fan account stated: “The place was the time-wasting free right here.”
In the meantime, the umpiring of the holding the ball rule had change into as clear as mud, with actions resembling a participant turning 360-degrees when in possession typically failing to be pinged this season, the place that had lengthy been accepted as an prompt holding the ball penalty.
Halfway by means of the opening time period, Carlton’s Charlie Curnow took possession after which had one arm held by Port defender Aliir Aliir.
Curnow fell to the bottom and turned earlier than belatedly throwing the Sherrin at his boot, with the umpire shortly blowing for holding the ball.
One individual watching intently was former Collingwood skipper and coach Buckley, who fired off a tweet on X dripping with sarcasm.
“Who would have thought that forcing the ball service to make faster selections would end in a extra up tempo, open sport of footy?” he wrote. ️
“Nice adjustment.”
There have been a sequence of faster whistles in the course of the sport because the umpires carried out the instruction from AFL HQ.
Early within the closing time period, as you’ll be able to see within the video participant above, Sam Walsh grabbed a unfastened footy after a ball up and was shortly wrapped up by two Port gamers, with the umpire once more swiftly paying the free kick.
On this occasion, Walsh had zero prior alternative to get rid of the ball, however the choice negated one other stoppage and allowed play to proceed far faster.
“That’ll be ball,” Dale Thomas stated.
“It’s going to be,” Brayshaw added.
“Is that the way in which you wish to see holding the ball adjudicated?” Nicholson requested Joel Selwood.
“You’ve simply acquired to look to make an try from there,” the Geelong nice replied.
“So even simply throwing your boot at it, give it an opportunity.”
Later within the sport, Buckley once more took to the social media platform with one other take.
“And kudos to the sector umpires tonight,” he wrote.
“Nick Foot, Matt Stevic, Jamie Broadbent and Craig Fleer have executed brilliantly.
“An interpretation change is one factor but it surely nonetheless must be put in (to) observe…. nice work.”
