Updated ,first published
The AFL has warned the clubs that they will no longer allow public criticism of umpiring, match review and tribunal decisions and that the next person who crosses the line will face sanction.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon and his senior football lieutenant Greg Swann communicated this warning to club CEOs on Tuesday.
It followed criticism of umpiring in the Gold Coast versus Geelong game by Suns coach Damien Hardwick, and further negative commentary on social media by North’s Jy Simpkin when teammate Paul Curtis was suspended for three matches for a dangerous tackle that left West Coast’s Hamish Davis with concussion – a match review ban that was upheld by the tribunal.
Simpkin labelled the match review officer “laughable”.
“The AFL needs to get it together, the constant rule changes and the MRO is laughable” Simpkin said on Instagram.
“Players don’t know what they can and can’t do anymore. Just hop for the best each week.”
Swann spoke directly to Hardwick after his comments following the Geelong game, in which Hardwick compared GMHBA Stadium and its crowd to the Roman Colosseum in the way it influenced decisions.
“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 time, conceding the umpiring was not the reason his team lost.
“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.”
Hardwick later told AFL 360, “Obviously, the umpires were disappointed [in his comments], and I’ve got to be better with that – I understand that.”
A source from Tuesday’s meeting said the AFL was satisfied with Hardwick’s response, but the bosses made it clear to clubs that the leniency afforded him and Simpkin would not continue.
Meanwhile, the AFL is willing to discuss adding extra player(s) to the interchange bench as a way of reducing the load on players during the season.
Dillon and Swann told the club CEOs that they were taking their feedback on board on reducing game time, and even adding players to the bench.
The theory, promoted by some clubs, is that an extra player, or players, would cut game time overall for individual players, and reduce the games’ length by one to two minutes per quarter.
Dillon confirmed to the clubs that the league intended to push ahead with State of Origin next year. The AFL was looking at South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria has host states.
The league remains committed to the Indigenous All-Stars game, but not in the next year or two.
The meeting had a rundown on the rules for the list build of the Tasmania Devils, still slated to enter the competition in 2028.
Earlier, there was a presentation from the AFL to clubs on how they could best utilise artificial intelligence.
AFL’s most in-demand player says the league is ‘not quite ready’ for NRL-style player movement
Steve Larkin (AAP)
Zak Butters says the AFL isn’t ready for NRL-style honesty about player movement as he weighs offers to become his code’s richest footballer.
Port Adelaide’s acting captain says he’s laughing off some of the reported offers while remaining steadfast in not deciding his future until season’s end.
Butters believes the AFL landscape isn’t yet equipped for NRL scenarios where some players announce in-season their decision to switch clubs.
“I just don’t think it’s the right way to go about it,” Butters told reporters on Tuesday.
“I feel like the [AFL] league is probably not quite ready for it.
“You look at the NRL and the chaos that causes with contracts and player movement and whatnot – I’d probably tend to stick away from it.”
Butters has consistently said he won’t make his decision until he is off-contract with Port at the end of the season.
“Obviously, the rounds are counting down now towards the end of the season, so it gets closer and closer,” he said.
“But for mine, nothing has really changed.
“I’ll still make my decision at the end of the year and sit down with the club and my manager.”
The Western Bulldogs, who Victorian-born Butters supported as a kid, are considered frontrunners for the AFL’s most sought-after signature.
Perennial contenders Geelong, a constant destination for some of the league’s biggest names, also lurk.
Hawthorn, Collingwood, Melbourne, Essendon and Richmond have also expressed interest in the 25-year-old who has won Port’s club champion award for the past three seasons and is odds-on to collect a fourth this year.
The rumoured offers are the highest in AFL history, with Richmond’s said to be around at $18 million over eight years – an eye-watering $2.25m per season.
“For mine … 99 per cent of the time you just laugh it off – it is what it is,” Butters said of the speculation.
Bulldogs boss Luke Beveridge is among coaches to openly talk about luring Butters, public comments that have rankled Port.
Power coach Josh Carr recently had a dig at Beveridge’s most recent comments on Butters, saying it’s not how Port would operate.
“That’s something I can’t really control for myself,” Butters said.
“But I think Josh probably said it pretty well, that we wouldn’t do that at our football club, he wouldn’t speak about players like that as well – and that’s something I respect about Josh.”
Port won’t yet give up on keeping Butters but promise to match any offer for the restricted free agent, and thereby force a trade should he leave.
“I think all you guys [media] talk about it more than me,” Butters said.
“When I’m in my circle, my friends and family, they don’t really talk about it too much.
“And the footy club has been great – my coaches, my teammates, staff, I couldn’t fault the footy club one bit and that’s why I guess I love playing footy there and love going to work there.
“For me, I’m still a 25-year-old kid who’s just trying to get better at footy, so it’s pretty simple.”
Butters said even if he had made a decision he wouldn’t announce it after the season finished.
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Jake Niall is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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