One of the major focal points out of Thursday night’s Carlton v Melbourne AAMI Community Series clash has been the amount of 50-metre penalties paid.
In their eventual five-point loss to the Blues at Marvel Stadium, the Demons gave away eight 50s, with six of those resulting in goals.
It came in the wake of the AFL’s crackdown on umpire abuse.
Some of the 50s seemed contentious with Dees players appearing to simply question the decision of the umpire or show frustration at their own actions in the contest.
It is human nature to feel frustrated or disappointed after something goes against you or if you make a mistake, which is presumably the mindset of those players who gave away the penalties.
In the aftermath of the chaos, Kane Cornes and David King discussed the clampdown, both suggesting 50 metres for a minor indiscretion is far too harsh.
“It’s too big a penalty,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.
“The 50-metre penalty is too big and if you’re going to concede six goals from 50s in a game of footy, game over and potentially a final over.
“I think we would all be in agreeance that if you directly abuse an umpire it should be paid a 50-metre penalty.
“But what happens if you’re frustrated in yourself or if the emotion is frustration.
“Christian Petracca gave away a free kick against Patty Cripps. Petracca clearly thought Cripps ducked into it and it was a 50-50. He just sort of grimaced within himself and clenched his fist, he was more disappointed with himself. 50, goal against.
“If that’s a final, are we going to cop that? I’m not, you can’t cop that.”
King weighed in, referencing a free kick Adam Tomlinson gave away to Harry McKay in the forward pocket for a slight nudge on the Blues forward.
“Define abuse. That is not abuse,” King said.
“If you look at an umpire, that shouldn’t be deemed abuse. Even what (Adam) Tomlinson did, ‘Oh, you can’t be paying that’. He’s thinking, ‘I’ve done everything right as a defender, ok I’ve nudged Harry McKay under the ball and I’ve given away a free kick. I’m looking at the screen, what did I get wrong?’ He’s frustrated with himself and he was frustrated with the umpire, but he’s not abusing him.
“Petracca looked at the umpire, he looked at him.”
Cornes fears that this could end any type of communication between players and umpires.
“In that instance with Tomlinson, you’re not ever thinking the umpire is going to change his decision, but you’re looking for a bit of guidance,” Cornes added.
“‘So umpie, if this happens next time and I just do that, is that allowed?’ But you can’t have the interaction.
“Essentially what you’re saying is there is no interaction. If I was a coach, I’d say do not look, do not talk, do not interact with an umpire.
“That’s a nice nuance in the game that we’ve lost. ‘Razor’ Ray (Chamberlain) gives back as good as he gets. Is he not allowed to talk to the players?”
King added: “I don’t want to hear from him. If you’re not allowed to talk to the umpire or even look at them, if you can’t do that, don’t get involved in conversations.
“The conversation between player and umpire is over.”
King believes the new stance from the AFL has simply created another “grey area” in a game which is already too hard to adjudicate.
“This is just creating another great area,” he said.
“This is what worries me. The job is hard enough for the umpires and we say, ‘Listen, by the way, now you’re going to have to judge whether it’s dissent, whether it’s abuse and pay a 50-metre penalty’.
“So if they get it wrong, if they get two of them wrong in a game or in a round, it’s going to cause chaos.”
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks joined Cornes and King on SEN Breakfast with the game fresh in his mind.
He can see both sides of the story, and is happy umpire abuse is being addressed, but was careful not to delve too far into the topic.
“It’s a really tough one, because I completely understand what we’re trying to do as a code and what the AFL is doing here,” Nicks said.
“What they’re trying to do is right. Abuse to umpires or throwing hands around, what we’ve seen over the years, it’s probably got to the point where we can ask some questions about it. Which we’re doing.
“What we do with these players, and this is the toughest part with all of it, is we amp these guys up, we get the blood pumping, we ask them to compete, we ask them to crash in harder for longer. The game is a physical game and emotions are high.
“You even see it in the stands, people come to the footy to release emotion, it’s entertainment.
“I sit on the fence only because it’s going to be so tough to switch their emotion on and off.
“I watched a few last night where I didn’t think there was a lot in it, but I also understand it’s not a good look for our game when umpires are being abused.
“It’s a tough one where I can’t give you something one way or the other so I’m mindful of what I do say.”
Will penalties for providing feedback for the umpires carry on into the season proper? Or is it just a stern message being sent to get things into line early?
We will know more as the AAMI Community Series continues this weekend and Round 1 approaches.
