Updated ,first published
Gold Coast are at risk of becoming the first club to cop the wrath of the AFL in the league’s crackdown against umpire contact by players.
The Suns face a fine of up to $50,000 after defender Daniel Rioli was cited on Saturday by the match review officer for making careless contact with an umpire.
Rioli is the fifth Sun to be charged with the offence after colliding with veteran whistleblower Matt Stevic at a stoppage during the first quarter of the club’s loss to Geelong on Friday night.
Under a rule brought in this season by the league to protect umpires, a club can be fined up to $50,000 if their players transgress five or more times in the same season. The Suns are the first club to reach this threshold.
Suns midfielders Alex Davies (opening round), Touk Miller (round six), Matt Rowell (round 11) and Noah Anderson (round 13) have all been fined this season for making contact with an umpire.
Rioli had his back turned to umpire Stevic as he attempted to shadow Geelong’s Shaun Mannagh at a ball-up in the Cats’ forward 50. Contact was made as Stevic was backing out of congestion. The contact was forceful enough to jolt Stevic, but did not bring him to ground.
Umpires typically warn players on the path they will take to exit the stoppage. Stevic did not do this, though the umpire had signalled his exit pathway at a ball-up only seconds earlier.
The threat of a heavy fine adds to the Suns’ frustration with the umpires after their 45-point defeat to Geelong.
Coach Damien Hardwick hit out at the umpires, accusing them of paying free kicks due to the partisan Cats crowd behaving like a “Roman Colosseum”.
The triple premiership coach exploded in the coach’s box after Cats forward Jeremy Cameron received a free kick for front-on contact from Gold Coast’s Oscar Adams just before half-time. It happened minutes after the out-of-zone umpire awarded Cameron a free kick for high contact following a spilled mark.
Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend Jason Dunstall said on Kayo Sports the umpires had “given away some reasonably soft ones tonight” after Cameron was given the free kick for high contact. Suns captain Anderson approached the umpires at half-time for clarification.
In his post-match press conference, Hardwick said the lasso rule needed to be changed so it was not paid if the ball accidentally came off a boot.
About his outburst on half-time, Hardwick said it seemed umpires were swayed by the crowd.
“It was like the Roman Colosseum. I reckon they [the umpires] were waiting for the crowd to do this one [thumbs down] then, all of a sudden, free kick,” Hardwick said.
“At the end of the day it is what it is, home-ground advantage, we understand that, we know you’re up against it from the start, but a couple of them, I thought, weren’t there.”
Anderson was bemused by some of the umpiring but held back on his criticism.
“It was a frustrating night,” Anderson said on 3AW on Friday night. “It’s a bit confusing at times, to be honest. But that’s not the problem we face tonight, can’t really focus on it.”
West Coast premiership coach Adam Simpson was critical of the umpires’ performance.
“When there’s 35 umpires, you’re not going to get the best four every game,” Simpson said on SEN.
“They’ve got to pick and choose who does what. You want the good ones on Thursday and Friday when you’re on show, and last night there were a few decisions there, not the rules, the decisions, I think, cost the teams goals or prevented them from scoring.”
Cats fans were irate when wingman Ollie Dempsey was penalised for a push in the back after making in the goal square, denying Geelong a certain goal.
Cats coach Chris Scott was visibly frustrated after Bailey Smith was not rewarded for a tackle on Matt Rowell, which he said was a “mistake”.
“I think it’s worth putting on the table that if you’re going to get really frustrated by something, make sure it’s not your own ignorance that you’re displaying for everyone,” Scott said.
“Sometimes we’ll have a difference of opinion on how those things are interpreted, but it should never be because you think that prior opportunity looks like that. They’ve been really clear on what it looks like and what it doesn’t.
“I’m not confused by the rule at all. When you see things that are really confusing, when you think you understand it, it’s likely there was a mistake, and mistakes happen a lot more than people realise.”
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
