The AFL have made an immediate change to the ARC system after a weekend of controversy, highlighted by a bizarre call in St Kilda’s big win over West Coast on Sunday.
Midway through the second quarter, Rowan Marshall appeared to take a mark beyond St Kilda’s goal line, with the Eagles given the all-clear to kick in.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Controversial goal review stops play
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But play was abruptly halted about a minute later, with the umpire taking the ball back more than 80m to give Marshall a shot at goal, to the confusion of the crowd.
After reviewing the decision while play continued, the ARC had overruled the goal umpire.
AFL football manager Greg Swann faced the media on Monday afternoon and said that while the decision was correct, it took too long and the ARC will no longer force play to be stopped like that.
The AFL originally allowed for the ARC to stop play in the wake of the controversial Ben Keays non-goal in Adelaide’s narrow loss to Sydney in 2023.
But have now “backflipped” on that.
Had the goal umpire originally called for a review straight away in the Marshall incident then it would have played out differently.
“That’s the first time that’s happened that and the ARC has intervened. The ARC’s goal is on the basis that every score matters … they got that decision correct,” Swann said on Monday afternoon.
“Obviously took way too long. It was 55 seconds. Stopped the game mid-game.
“Going forward now, the ARC won’t do that.
“The ARC will still do goal reviews, but they won’t intervene in a score like they did on the weekend unless the umpire calls for it.
“There’s a balance between getting it right and affecting the fabric or flow of the game. We brought rules in at the start of the season for a couple of reasons.
“One, to make it easier to umpire and two, to keep the game moving.
“We just felt that example yesterday just took way too long. It frustrated the fans and those watches.”
Swann also said a controversial goal in the final quarter of GWS Giants’ seven-point win over North Melbourne should not have stood.
A long shot from Xavier O’Halloran appeared to be touched by Griffin Logue in the goalsquare, but the umpire failed to call for a review.
All goals are reviewed anyway, however the ARC found insufficient evidence to overturn the original decision.
That is despite replays clearly showing Logue get a finger on the ball.
Swann said that on review that decision was “incorrect” but there wasn’t enough time to assess all the replays given no official review was called.
In a wide-ranging media conference, Swann also said there are no plans to change the contentious stand rule after an incident in Hawthorn’s win over Gold Coast was widely criticised.
More to come …
