Coaches Unhappy With New Technologies

 by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

The AFL used Round 15 to test a new goal review system imported from England. The blockbuster between Carlton and Collingwood was one of three games in which the Hawk-Eye technology was tried. The new system, however, was only being tried and not actually used to adjudicate any scores.

Unlike the current system, which uses available replay footage, the new technology allows reviewers to see the scoring shot from a variety of angles as well as manipulating the vision themselves and even excluding angles to focus on just one or two to assist in determining the score. The multiple-angle technology allows comparative views to determine if the ball has been touched before passing the goal line, or whether it hit the goal post.

The AFL decided to try the Hawk-Eye system due to the heavy criticism their own system has received since being introduced in 2012. However, Carlton Coach Mick Malthouse blasted the AFL for introducing the system mid-season instead of bringing it in at the start of the year. The current system has been under fire this year as well after some questionable decisions, one of which may have cost Carlton a win several weeks ago. Small forward Jeff Garlett was denied a clear goal in the match against Essendon in Round 11. The Blues lost by just five points.

When asked if the AFL should at least be credited with trying to fix the problem, Malthouse was blunt in his reply, declaring "Don't make excuses for the AFL. There's already enough excuses. An organization that big, with that many people, it's ... stuck and they're going to wait until Round 15 to discover there's some mechanism that actually gets it right? Turn it up."

Malthouse was not the only coach who was fuming after Round 15. Midway through a tense final term of the Geelong Hawthorn match, when the Cats were trying to stave off a Hawthorn surge, an interchange steward mistakenly penalized the Cats for an infringement which never actually happened. The resulting 50 meter (55 yards) penalty handed the Hawks a goal to bring them within nine points of Geelong. Another goal reduced the margin to just three points. The Cats eventually prevailed but both Chris Scott and Alistair Clarkson said the penalty was too harsh. The AFL admitted the steward had got it wrong. Clarkson said he would have hated to win a game that way. Both believe a minor infringement which does not impact the game or its outcome should only merit a fine of some sort. Media personality and journalist Rohan Connolly even tweeted via his SEN account about the rule possibly costing a team a Premiership.

The interchange penalty was introduced in 2009 after the Sydney Swans accidentally ended up with 19 players on the field for a few minutes during a game. The presence of the extra player had no impact on the game or its result.

Source: theage.com.au, Twitter