6-6-6 starting positions at centre bounces

“I think they should leave the rules alone. I see it as a knee-jerk reaction to some ordinary games early in the season. There were some great games on the television in the big time in the second half of the season so there’s not much wrong with footy. People are quick to jump on little things. If the six players in each area thing is brought in down here it would be really hard on the umpires. They have enough to do without having to look around and count players after every goal. I think the players would adapt okay, you would just need your on-field leaders looking after that. But it’s like anything else, the coaches will find a way around it. As the season progresses, coaches always work things out and the good ones use rules and interpretations to their advantage.” 

Is there a rule you would like to bring in or change?

“Not really. I do like the idea of playing on from full-back without having to kick it to yourself. One rule change that has been okay is no third man up, but I hate the fact you have to nominate who is going up in the ruck. It’s a bad look for the game to see players at senior level having to put their hand up to say they are going in the ruck. It looks like kindergarten.”

Moved to the south-west to coach Port Fairy from 2013-14. Rudolph came to the Seagulls after an impressive state-league career, including stints at Box Hill and Glenelg.

Allowing hands in the back in marking contests 

“I don’t agree with allowing hands in the back at all. As a player I was always dumbstruck that forwards were allowed to push in the back but when a backman did it, they were pinned for pushing. Perhaps this rule would bring a bit of a reversal. As a key position backman who was most of the time lighter than the guys I was playing on, I relied on getting in the right position and trying to out-think my opponent. If you get the right position you can use you hips and body to win the marking contest. Once you allow hands in the back, that weighs the whole thing heavily in favour of the bigger, stronger players. Coaches can just tell them to make it a test of strength and use their hands to push an opponent away. That would make it pretty unfair. The other big thing is it will be very difficult to decide what is a push and what is allowable hands in the back. At the moment it is clear cut, your hands touch your opponent’s back and it’s a free. It will take away what we are taught as young players, the importance of being in front in the contest.”

Is there a rule you would like to bring in or change?

“Something needs to happen with players ducking their heads. I know the head is sacred but I don’t think we should be rewarding players that go into the contest head first. It is dangerous for the player doing it, the risk of them getting knocked out increases. You also have to think about the other player in the contest, they could hurt the person ducking their head without doing anything wrong, which is a bit unfair.”

President of the Warrnambool and District Football Umpires Association, Walker have been a central umpire for more than two decades. He has umpired three Hampden and six Warrnambool and District league grand finals.  

Players prohibited from setting up behind the umpire at centre bounces

“This is a case of the AFL formalising and putting in black and white what is already happening. As umpires, we tell the players where we are coming out after throwing it up and the players are respectful of that. Making this a rule might stop that incidental contact where players and umpires sometimes collide when everyone is concentrating on the ball and running to the same space. In the AFL, it might cut out players getting fined $1500 for contact with an umpire which they didn’t mean.”

Is there a rule you would like to bring in or change?   

“I would like to see the rules left alone for a couple of years and see where we are at. It seems like the last five or six years, year in year out, there have been changes. I would encourage clubs to make contact with us in January or February and we can go through any questions they might have about the new rules that might come into play down here. It would be good to be proactive rather than wait until round one.” 

Merrivale coach for the past two seasons, Rowan made his name at Hampden league club Warrnambool, where he kicked 894 goals and played in three premierships. 

Can kick across body using a snap after siren 

“It looks like a touchy one to me, it will take some monitoring. What happens if you accidentally take a step too far and the umpire calls it, to me it seems pretty risky and might be better left the way it is. It could cost you a game. I would be encouraging our players that when it’s a kick after the siren, they go back and kick traditionally, a drop punt down the line. It’s just too big a risk, especially if it is deciding a game.”

Is there a rule you would like to bring in or change?   

“I’m pretty happy with the way it’s going down here, it is a bit more technical down in the big smoke. One thing I would like to see is play on to be called when you kick it backwards. I think footy is about attacking and moving forward and you should be rewarded for that. As a forward, it’s great having the ball continually going forward, the quicker it gets to where the team can kick a goal, the better. It takes a lot of congestion out of the game.”

Won a Maskell medal in 1997 and coached a premiership in 2003 during a decade playing for Koroit. Mifsud went on to be an assistant coach at St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs. He was also runner for the senior team at the Bulldogs.  

Runners only allowed on ground after a goal is kicked 

“It’s half way, I’d rather see runners completely taken out at the elite level or keep doing what they are doing. At the elite level, they will overcome it in their second intra-club match. They spend $3-4 million on coaching at AFL clubs, with coaches working 60 hours a week. Given the time the coaches spend with the players during the week, I would look at taking it a step further, I would do away with coaches entering the arena at quarter breaks. More empowerment of the players. It’s flawed logic to mimic this change in local leagues. At local level, players are playing for a lot of reasons, family, enjoyment, friends. In my early days coaching at Koroit, we had a young team so the runner was an important instrument for me as a coach from an educational point of view. And as a playing coach, you need access to the bench.”

Is there a rule you would like to bring in or change?   

“I’m a bit confused by the hands in the back rule. Generations of players have been trained and taught not to put hands in the back. One of the basics of the game is to play in front. We will lose a craft, being able to use your body, from the game. It is part of football, an advantage players can gain through their skill. With the rule changes there should be a common question asked, is this change going to make the umpires’ job harder? This one will, it’s an unnecessary change.” 

Since debuting for Timboon Demons in 2009, Hickey has established himself as one of the premier ruckmen in the Warrnambool and District league. He is the Demons’ captain and has won three club best-and-fairest awards.  

Can now grab the ball out of a ruck contest

“I think it’s a good change, I didn’t really see the point of introducing it in the first place. In any other contests around the ground you get to grab the ball and as long as you get rid of it you’re fine. I did get away with it a bit this year, the umpires weren’t too heavy handed, as long as you got the ball away cleanly.” 

Is there a rule you would like to bring in or change?   

“I don’t like the ruck nomination rule, it doesn’t serve a purpose that I can see, it’s a stupid rule. The one rule that has worked well is stopping the third man up in the ruck. I used to hate getting set to go up against your opponent in a ruck contest and a bloke would come from nowhere and jump all over you.”