Player union head on umpire dissent

BROWNLOW Medallist Patrick Dangerfield has put forward his view on the purpose and perception of the new dissent rules from a player’s perspective.

Dangerfield, the AFL Players Association president, explained how he believes this is the only logical step forward for the AFL in its quest to build respect for umpires at all levels and introduce new umpires to the game.

“To me, it makes total sense, and it was only reinforced last weekend when I went to watch my sister play at local level, and the umpires that were umpiring; it was their third game of the day,” he said on SEN’s Whateley.

“They love [umpiring], but they don’t love it that much but there’s no other option because there’s no one to take over.

“These aren’t people in their 30s, they’re well into their 60s and not living as well as they once did.

“But that reinforces if anything the human element that we have to get this right, and I just think it’s lazy commentary at times when the narrative has been that this is ruining the aesthetic of the game.

“No, what’s ruining the aesthetic of the game is the consistent commentary about umpires and dissent and commentators going on for five minutes after the incident has actually occurred.”

The 32-year-old says the local level will be directly impacted by what they see from the AFL and as such this new dissent rule is clearly the best thing for the future of umpiring and player behaviour.

“We’ve got to move past that because if you look at the local levels this is such a significant issue that we’re facing, and we have to start somewhere, why not be the elite level,” he said.

“What you see in the first 30 seconds of play on-screen on a Friday night is that dissent of players looking at the umpires, verbal, and demonstrative whatever you want to call it, young players and young kids can see that.

“If AFL players are doing it then it’s okay to do.

“I’ve had plenty of headbutts with the AFL through my time at the AFLPA, but I think they’ve absolutely nailed this one.”

The superstar said there is no contention at club-land with the new rule and players understand the importance of the adjustment.

“I think it’s so critical to the good of our game, and the importance of our umpires that we get this right and I think we need to quit with the commentary around it,” Dangerfield said.

“You haven’t spent enough time at the grass-roots level if you don’t understand it. We (at Geelong) understand it really clearly.

“It’s the rule so get on with it and if you can’t do that then you’re letting us down. I think that’s very clear with all players now that you need to get on with the game.”

– BY ETHAN CLARK/ AAP