Is there an issue with the current crop of AFL umpires?
Is it that we’ve had a significant increase in poor umpiring? Or is it that some decisions that are being made are having a significant impact on the end result?
The AFL introduced a fourth umpire at the start of the 2023 season, a decision many were in favour of due to the expectation that the umpiring would be better.
Speaking nine months ago, the AFL’s general manager of competition management, Laura Kane, outlined why four umpires will be introduced next season.
Kane said one of the key reasons was to prolong the careers of the league’s best umpires, while helping create further clarity when making decisions.
Saturday night’s clash between Gold Coast and Adelaide was a great game, with both sides sharing the lead during the game with the Suns eventually running away victors by 25 points.
But headlines were made following what can only be described as a controversial 50 metre penalty against Crows midfielder Chayce Jones for going over the mark which led Bailey Humphrey to the top of the goal square, where he put the Suns 16 points ahead.
This call tipped Kane Cornes over the mark, saying he’s growing increasingly frustrated by the quality of umpiring and the lack of game awareness shown by our officials.
“I’ve been quite frustrated by the umpiring for the last month, I don’t think the standard has been great,” Cornes told SEN’s Sportsday.
“I did note that there was an umpire that lost their place in the side for that Gold Coast versus Adelaide game but then the same issue happened again with Chayce Jones not going over the mark and being penalised 50m.
“Having four umpires does have its advantages but you do feel like they’re missing a lot of decisions.
“Can we warn players back off the mark? The 50m to Jones was farcical and I get if you’re not in the marking contest and all of that, but the umpire has just got to say ‘hey Chase, come back two metres’ like they usually would and like we’ve expected them to do.
“I hope the AFL can clarify that because it’s the second week in a row that it has cost a goal.”
Hawthorn great Luke Hodges concurs.
“It’s an understanding of the game, even for the umpires to have common sense and go ‘they're 60 metres out and you bring it to within 10 metres, this is the understanding of the game,” he said.
“This is a big punishment for one centimetre.
“We agree, this is a hard game to umpire, there’s no doubt about that but this is where the umpires got to have that common sense approach that if he’s 1cm over or half a metre over, just give him some lead way.
“If he’s taking the micky and goes two or three metres over, yes, pull him back and give him 50 metres, but that was a joke.”