Hardwick lashes out at AFL’s newest umpiring legislation

Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick has lashed out against the AFL’s new rule surrounding umpire contact.

On Tuesday, the AFL introduced new laws in attempt to eliminate umpire/player contact, stating that players who engage in umpire contact four or more times within a two-year period can now be sent directly to the Tribunal, facing potential suspensions for the repeated offence.

The controversy surrounding the introduction of the rule comes as the league decided not to wipe prior citations, meaning players who have had three or more collisions with umpires over the last two seasons are now just one incident away from facing suspension.

One of those players is Gold Coast’s Matt Rowell, who has received a fine four times in two years for umpire contact. If the star Sun was to make contact with an umpire on one further occasion, the midfielder could be facing the Tribunal.

Speaking to the press ahead of the Suns’ Round 17 clash with Essendon, Hardwick expressed his extreme dislike of the newest change at AFL Headquarters.

“If it leads to a suspension, look out from our point of view,” Hardwick said.

“I know we’re the Gold Coast Suns, and don’t get me wrong, Matt Rowell is a superstar, but if this was spoken about with Nick Daicos, Collingwood would tear the place down.”

With the rule’s sudden and rapid introduction, Hardwick questioned why the AFL are able to make such immediate changes to some rules and not others, citing his disapproval of the state of centre bounces.

“We can make changes about umpire adjudication, but we’ve been calling out for change to the tribunal for a period of time. Why can we, with the swipe of a pen, change one and not the other?” he continued.

“What can you tell me about the centre bounce of the ball? It goes anywhere, so it’s really hard for the players. If the ball bounces sideways, they’re going to move.

“Have the AFL spoken to the AFL Commission and asked, ‘Can we, for the remainder of the year, take away the centre bounce and throw it up and see if there’s any significant change in the data?’.

“Some of those ones against Rowelly, what he’s getting fined for, are quite laughable, to be perfectly honest.

“We understand the health and safety of the umpires is important, but I think we can look at speaking to the commission about getting rid of the bounce and throwing it up.”

The Suns take on the Bombers on Saturday afternoon in a bid to hold their place in the top eight.