Umps to ignore free-kick milking

THE AFL has doubled down on its high contact stance with clubs told any player who ducks, shrugs or initiates headhigh contact will not be paid a free kick.

In a memo sent to all clubs by the AFL on Tuesday, league umpires’ boss Dan Richardson reiterated that whistleblowers have been instructed not to reward players who attempt to milk frees.

It came after questions arose whether Collingwood young gun Jack Ginnivan was being umpired differently after a string of controversial “playon” calls in last Saturday’s win over Adelaide.

“We want to be clear, if the umpire believes the ball carrier is responsible for the high contact, then they will not be rewarded,” Richardson said.

“First and foremost, players attempting to win the ball must be protected and the onus of duty of care is on the tackler.

“However, having won the ball, the ball carrier has a duty of care to not put themselves in a position for high contact.

“Ultimately, the rules do not reward players for putting themselves in vulnerable positions to draw a free kick.

“This is something we prefer not to see in our game at any level. Our umpires strive to get every decision right every single time, however there are instances where, just like players, decisions are made at full speed at ground level without the benefit of slow-motion replay.

“The health and safety of players is the primary concern of both the AFL and the clubs.”

As part of its message, the league also issued a video explanation of three tackles from the past fortnight, which involved Ginnivan and Melbourne’s Kysaiah Pickett.

The league said the Ginnivan tackle was correctly called play on as “he lowered his body and raised his arm”. On the Pickett tackle, a free kick for high contact was awarded but the league said it should not have been as the Demon raised his arm to milk the free.

The AFL said the instructions were as follows:

• Where the tackle is reasonably applied, there is no prior opportunity and the ball carrier is responsible for the high contact via a shrug, drop or arm lift – play on should be called.

• Where the tackle is reasonably applied, and there is prior opportunity, and the ball carrier is responsible for the high contact via a shrug, drop or arm lift – holding the ball should be called.

• If a player has their head over the ball and trying to gain possession and contact is high, a free kick will be called.