New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.<\/a><\/p>\nShould Toby Greene have been fined for attempted kicking?<\/p>\n
\u201cI spoke to Michael Christian around that,\u201d Swann said. \u201cProbably what saved him is there was no contact. Obviously it was intentional, but he doesn\u2019t touch him or he doesn\u2019t make any contact, so there\u2019s no penalty on that basis. Under the rules that they are, that\u2019s the right decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tables that are there, they\u2019re very prescriptive. That allows consistency, but every now and then there\u2019s a bit of an outlier and it doesn\u2019t quite fit in the boxes. We might have a look at that in the off-season and whether we can tighten that up and even bring a little bit more flexibility to cope with the outliers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greene’s groin kick raises eyebrows | 00:26<\/p>\n
Did Channel 9 breach the TV rights agreement by airing behind the goals footage of the Greene incident?<\/p>\n
\u201cI only heard about that late this afternoon. I think that\u2019s right,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cVision with things like that should be with you guys at Fox and Channel 7, so I\u2019m not sure how 9 got that. I do know from my brief chats that there\u2019s going to be a review of how that\u2019s happened, but it shouldn\u2019t have happened.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a bit of a fault from head office.\u201d<\/p>\n
Can the MRO be stricter and harsher on players who perform \u2018gut punches\u2019?<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see why that isn\u2019t a penalty, to be honest. I think if you do penalise it, it\u2019ll stop. The fines aren\u2019t doing it,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that I\u2019ve got this job \u2026 you\u2019ve got to project what happens at the junior levels as well. So you don\u2019t want that happening, you don\u2019t want other people and kids running around and whacking guys in the guts when that\u2019s what they see at the AFL level.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll look at that as a more serious charge so that does get to a level of a week, rather than a fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gaz calls out ‘dangerous’ pushing action | 01:38<\/p>\n
Can there be more flexibility in the MRO matrix, depending on the level of culpability?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s right. At the moment, the rule is it can only go up, it can\u2019t come down, so there\u2019s no flexibility to come back. Again, we\u2019d have a look at that,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you speak to \u2018Chrisso\u2019 (MRO Michael Christian), he\u2019s super experienced in this. There\u2019s nothing he hasn\u2019t\u2019 seen. So I think that\u2019ll allow him to give him some flexibilities in the penalties.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to also factor in the legalities of it, too. But in the end, if you don\u2019t have the flexibility, it\u2019s too rigid. There\u2019s always an outlier, there\u2019s always things that happen that are a bit different that you might be able to make a bit more discretionary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Will the sub rule be scrapped?<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s too many coaches who want the sub! Yep, we\u2019ll have a look at that one, definitely,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere might be other reasons that it was brought in in the first place that I don\u2019t know about, there might be some stats around it to change it. But I don\u2019t think it\u2019s 17 (coaches), I think it\u2019s 18-0. I don\u2019t think anybody wants the sub from what I\u2019ve heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Will the stand rule be better policed or even scrapped?<\/p>\n
\u201cAgree with that. I\u2019m onto that,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe stand rule is a problem for the umpires and we want to make it a bit easier.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably retaining (the rule), but \u2018a stand is a stand\u2019. You can\u2019t run off \u2026 it sort of defeated the purpose because the stand rules was to help open the play. But now that player gets back and clogs up again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Swann hoping to speed up games | 01:27<\/p>\n
Can holding the ball be simplified?<\/p>\n
\u201cI reckon that\u2019s the hardest one in the book,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalking to the umpires, prior opportunity, all those things that come with it \u2013 it\u2019s something that\u2019s always front of mind. That\u2019s a tough one, I think.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s always those ones where someone gets tackled and they don\u2019t even get a boot to it and it\u2019s \u2018he tried, play on\u2019. Or there\u2019s a handball that\u2019s not really a handball but it gets out.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a discussion piece, but it\u2019s a difficult rule to get 100 per cent right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Will the centre bounce be scrapped?<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah I\u2019m a fan of that, I don\u2019t like the bounce,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see why the umpires need a party trick, which is to bounce it. It\u2019s more important they get the decisions right, so let\u2019s just make it easier, throw it up and concentrate on getting more decisions right than wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Is the prospect of full-time umpires a genuine possibility?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure about that. I\u2019ve spoken to the umpire group and fraternity and they\u2019re not all that thrilled about going full-time,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
With the number of ruck free kicks being paid, has it turned into \u2018ruck lotto\u2019?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt probably morphs into another discussion that the rucks now, in that centre bounce, only one in five jump and four in five walk across the line and wrestle. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s good for the game, either, so let\u2019s see if we can get them back jumping, which then hopefully avoids the \u2018who grabbed who\u2019,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bit like watching rugby union at the scrum and they point and no one\u2019s got any idea who\u2019s free it is. We want to try and avoid that if we can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott: “The games too long, full stop” | 05:32<\/p>\n
Will hurrying rucks up reduce the length of games?<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of support for that,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a bit keen to get in and do some stuff straight away. But we\u2019ve already had most of the season and it\u2019s probably unfair to change the rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people with their rucks, it\u2019s an advantage that they\u2019re more mobile and things. So we\u2019ll look at that. But again all the clubs are in favour. There\u2019s been a lot of work done before I got there around the waiting and things.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can get it up quicker \u2026 and if the ruckman aren\u2019t there, bad luck. I\u2019ve seen some clips where he\u2019s on the bench and nominates and runs across and takes 22 seconds to get there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things. Even when you\u2019re doing the set-up for 6-6-6 \u2026 you\u2019ve got to get two players into the goalsquare. When you talk to the umpires, that\u2019s always taking 10 to 12 seconds per bounce because they\u2019re meandering around and not in there. One option is you just get into the arc, don\u2019t worry about coming down to the square and if the six are in the 50m arc, you just bounce the ball and go.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re really keen to preserve the 80 minutes that we play and lessen the bits that we don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Should players be able to see a countdown clock?<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really have a strong view on that one,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the other things in that is that I don\u2019t think runners are allowed out in the last minute or two. I\u2019m not sure why. Maybe the runners can go out and then you don\u2019t have to worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Could we introduce last-touch out of bounds?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s something that will definitely be looked at, because it\u2019s almost morphed into that now anyway,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s easier for the umpires \u2026 If it\u2019s just last touch as in kicking \u2013 as they do in the SANFL only between the arcs \u2013 people will get used to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘The AFL hates that!’ | 00:19<\/p>\n
What can you do about players leading with their heads?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been discussed already that a shrug is like a fend, it will be prior opportunity. I like that, but again we\u2019ve got to confer around with everybody else,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think anybody likes it. You always take a little bit from the players as well, because when someone does that and give a free away, the players get pretty antsy around it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see they\u2019re not happy with it as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
How can score review technology be improved?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d all like that \u2026 it\u2019s not my speciality, but there are some people that are coming in to present some upgrades on what we\u2019ve already got. Hopefully that can happen,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m only going on what you see at home \u2013 and I went to the ARC on Friday night and how they worked it and there were a couple of score reviews \u2013 you\u2019d like to be definitive and really clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cSupposedly there is some technology out there where you can definitely see if it hit the finger or it definitely misses. If we can do that, obviously it\u2019s a plus. At the moment it\u2019s good, but you\u2019d want \u2026 and technology will improve, so hopefully it will get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Is there any chance of an AFL conference system?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo \u2026 well I don\u2019t think so, I haven\u2019t heard that,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI doubt that\u2019ll happen. We\u2019ll get through 19 (clubs) first and then see what happens.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe if 20 came along, it might be a different discussion. But certainly 19 it won\u2019t change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Would the AFL entertain a \u2018wildcard round\u2019 once there are 19 clubs in the competition?<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably, yeah. It might be a final 10, for example, instead of a final eight,\u201d Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some of the things we\u2019ll work through, but others as well will decide that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New AFL football operations boss Greg Swann last week said he had \u201cabout 43 pages\u201d of inquiries from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29765,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,3423,28266,13120,12923,28268,28260,27713,28259,10145,61,28261,6278,27717,28263,28271,28269,28265,28267,8004,17985,3530,28273,12936,13034,85,28264,28262,13027,19086,28272,28270,28274],"class_list":["post-29764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-borrowed-time","tag-centre-bounce","tag-chris-scott","tag-conference-system","tag-countdown-clock","tag-dane-rampe","tag-football-operations","tag-garry-lyon","tag-gerard-whateley","tag-goals-footage","tag-greg-swann","tag-groin-kick","tag-gut-punches","tag-head-office","tag-interview-video","tag-kids-running","tag-luke-ryan","tag-michael-christian","tag-nick-vlastuin","tag-nick-watson","tag-rights-agreement","tag-sam-mitchell","tag-score-reviews","tag-sports","tag-stand-rule","tag-stand-rules","tag-sub-rule","tag-toby-greene","tag-touch-points","tag-umpire-group","tag-watching-rugby"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}