Many fans can’t stand the stand rule.
They are outraged when a free is paid when a player moves ever so slightly off the mark and cops a 50-metre penalty. Or if the player with the ball feigns that he’s playing on and draws the penalty.
They find it confusing when a player is wandering nearby, or moving from behind the mark, and by dint of not standing the mark motionless, is pinged for a stand 50m penalty; sometimes, it can be easily confused with the less comprehensible exclusion zone rule, as when Hawthorn’s Cam Mackenzie was harshly pinged after Collingwood’s Steele Sidebottom marked 60 metres from goal near the boundary late in their draw at the MCG. You can watch that in the video above.
That crucial 50m penalty was for infringing the five-metre radius of the so-called “protected zone”, not for failing to stand the mark.
The confusion is, in large part, because the rules overlap. A player is required to stand the mark – and be a statue – if he’s inside the “protected zone”.
Fans and some commentators also dislike the mere fact that players are forced to become statues, to freeze on the spot, when manning the mark. Some, such as Garry Lyon, reckon the punishment of a 50 does not fit the crime, suggesting it be a 25m penalty.
But the stand rule, one of the most consequential of Steve Hocking’s rule changes (introduced for the 2021 season), has supporters, including among some of the AFL’s senior coaches, who are major influencers on the game’s style and look.
The Brisbane Lions’ premiership coach Chris Fagan and Port Adelaide’s new coach Josh Carr view the rule as a positive, saying it has opened up the game and made it more attractive.
“I think it’s been one of the better rule changes,” said Fagan, who added that the stand rule had made it easier for teams, such as his Lions, to risk the 45-degree kick up the middle.
“Before the stand rule, they used to stand on the 45 [degree] and stop that kick.”
Fagan said once the stand rule was introduced, the player on the mark “can’t change your angle once you’ve stood there.
“That’s good, I think it’s helped.”
It has certainly not harmed the Lions, who are replete with foot skilled and smart players, such as Dayne Zorko and Hugh McCluggage, who are willing to bite off the difficult kicks up in the middle.
Carr said he liked the rule and was perhaps “opposite” to a few of the senior coaches. “There’s been a bit of confusion about who’s in there, who stands the mark and who comes out … [But] the stand rule itself, I don’t mind it.
“I think it has opened up the game … I think the stand rule helped the scoring and the openness of the game.”
While endorsing the rule and its ability to de-congest, Carr cautioned against allowing the game to reduce the contested share. “We’ve got to be conscious of not making it too uncontested and taking the contest away. Because I think that’s what everyone loves.”
Fagan has seen stand rule frees he didn’t like, but he notes that the fans – who often complain about the stand rule – are enjoying the more open game it has assisted. “It’s made it quicker. I think the fans enjoy that.”
He felt the stand violation against Richmond’s Ben Miller on Anzac Day eve, awarded to Melbourne captain Max Gawn, was an example of an unfair ruling. You can see what happened there in the video below.
The dual premiership coach noted that the party who deserved sympathy in relation to the stand rule were the umpires.
“Everyone complains about every decision. It doesn’t matter what it is, everyone complains about it,” he said.
“The one group of people I feel sorry for with the stand rule is the umpires. Bloody hell, they [the umpires] need a lot to think about now. That’s who it’s been toughest on.”
Some can’t stand it. Some tolerate it. Some coaches actually like it. The test will be whether Hocking’s rule stands the test of time.
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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.
