AFL Changes to ARC Review Process
The Australian Football League (AFL) has made significant changes to the way the Automatic Replay Camera (ARC) reviews decisions during matches. According to Greg Swann, the head of football, the ARC will no longer review all goals automatically. Instead, the goal umpire must request a review for any score to be examined.
This change comes after a weekend of intense scrutiny, with several controversial decisions involving the ARC. The new policy means that while every goal will still be reviewed, marks on the goal line and behinds will now be left to the judgment of the goal umpire.
Controversial Decisions in Recent Matches
One of the most notable incidents occurred during the North Melbourne-GWS game on Sunday. A score review was called on a Giants goal to determine whether Roos defender Griffin Logue had touched the ball. Despite broadcaster replays clearly showing the ball brushed Logue’s left hand, the goal was confirmed. This decision came at a crucial moment in the fourth quarter of a game ultimately decided by just seven points.
Former Essendon coach James Hird criticized the ARC’s call, calling it a “blatant clanger.” He stated, “To our eye, he obviously touched it and I think it’s going to haunt the ARC.”
Swann acknowledged that the ARC reviewers made a mistake in the Logue call. He said, “In this case, they both felt there wasn’t sufficient evidence to turn it over and went back to umpire’s call. We’ve had another review of that today and you can see it was touched. That one was incorrect.”
Another Controversial Decision
Earlier on Sunday, a bizarre ARC ruling that awarded a mark to St Kilda well over a minute after the fact sparked outrage. The incident unfolded midway through the second quarter when St Kilda’s Rowan Marshall appeared to take a mark, but the on-field umpires initially ruled it as a behind. Play continued for 33 seconds before the ARC intervened, halting the game and voiding all recent play.
After reviewing the incident for over a minute, the ARC reversed the on-field call, taking the behind off the board and awarding Marshall a set shot from an angle, which resulted in a goal. While Swann agreed that the final decision was correct, he criticized the time it took and the disruption to the game’s flow.
“The second one with Saints and West Coast that the ARC has intervened like that. The ARC reviews everything on the basis that every score matters. They got that decision correct. It obviously took way too long and stopped the game mid-game,” he said.
Reactions from Commentators
The reaction to the Marshall decision was mixed. Ben Dixon, a commentator on Fox Footy, expressed disbelief at the time it took to make the decision. “Seriously, a minute and a half to make a decision? Are you kidding me!” he exclaimed.
Cameron Mooney also criticized the decision, saying, “That is farcical … unless there’s some other angle that we’re missing, that is a mare of a decision.”
Dwayne Russell added, “That is as bizarre as we’ve ever seen AFL football played.”
Ongoing Scrutiny of the ARC
This latest incident comes at a time when the ARC is already facing intense scrutiny from fans and pundits alike. The system was heavily criticized when the AFL’s ARC doctor incorrectly ordered Tom Edwards off the ground over a suspected concussion, further fueling the debate around the center’s accuracy and impact on the flow of the game.
The ARC has also been used to review and overturn last touch out of bounds calls this season, but inconsistently and ultimately slowing down the game. The initial reason for the enormous change to the boundary line system was to speed up the game.
Future of the ARC
Going forward, the ARC will still review goals, but they won’t intervene in a score like they did on the weekend unless the goal umpire asks for a score review. Swann emphasized that while the decisions are correct, the timing and process need improvement.
