Concern at runners limits plan

THE AFL is moving towards restricting the role of runners in the season proper.

But senior coaches including Alan Richardson and Luke Beveridge have railed against the move, saying runners serve a critical purpose for senior coaches.

AFL football operations boss Steve Hocking said he was encouraged by the early results of this summer’s trial.

The AFL will canvass clubs after next weekend’s round of JLT matches before making a decision ahead of Round 1.

Under the trial rules runners can only come on to the ground after a goal and must be on their way off the field as the ball is being bounced.

It gives them 30- 40 seconds to find a player, deliver a message and get off a field also cluttered with umpires and water boys.

Even in Collingwood’s 60point loss on Thursday – the Magpies kicked just two goals to three- quarter time – the runner had 19 deliver messages.

It is understood Western Bulldogs coach Beveridge has strongly expressed his opposition to the limit on runners to Hocking, with St Kilda coach Richardson also unhappy at the restrictions.

But Hocking says he has seen less personnel on the ground and more on- field coaching from senior players.

“I have attended a number of games. We will see how it goes in the final round of the JLT Series and then get some feedback from the clubs,’’ Hocking said.

“No doubt there are 18 different versions of what clubs do and don’t need and it depends on the ( experience) of your list. But what has been pleasing is the level of coaching from senior players.

“I was at Strathalbyn on Sunday and Nathan Fyfe and David Mundy were not only helping from the sidelines, but also from the ground. We are chances to getting a level of leadership happening and it’s coming off the back of not having access to runners.”

The positive of restricting runners for 2018 is that most clubs have a strong core of senior players.

It means even Gold Coast and North Melbourne have enough senior players to convey the coach’s message to youngsters while on the field.

Richardson said this week he didn’t know why the AFL wanted to restrict runners.

“I just don’t get it. If you turn up to the ground and focus on it you would be quite frustrated,’’ he said.

“We don’t get the chance to scream instructions from the sideline like basketball or grab the whole offence like in the NFL and have a chat to them, or blow time- outs.”

There have been repeated incidents where runners are too close to stoppages or give away free kicks for being too close to the ball.