Geelong coach Chris Scott believes the AFL are preparing to crackdown on players leading with the knees in ruck contests following the rib injury to Cat Rhys Stanley.
Stanley was subbed out of the loss to Carlton after copping an accidental blow from Blues ruck Tom de Koning, and remains in doubt for the Round 3 clash with the Gold Coast.
Scott said the Cats had approached the AFL about the action, with no free kick paid to Stanley on the night.
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“It’s interesting, we’ve had some good feedback from the AFL,” he said on AFL 360.
“I think this is a bit of a trend in the game at centre bounces. They are really clear that you can’t do that.
“It wasn’t a free kick on the night.
“De Koning got cited and fined but it’s like everything – coaches do not want to design the rules. We just want to be able to feed back to our players with clarity what the rules actually are.
“And I think the AFL will do that, that’s the feedback they’ve given us.
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“I don’t want to see De Koning get suspended or even fined – all you want to see the behaviour change.
“And the AFL is saying you cannot do that is much, much better than suspending players in my opinion.”
Scott confirmed Cats skipper Patrick Dangerfield spoke with umpires about the incident on the night.
De Koning was fined $3000 for kneeing as a result of the contest – reduced to $2000 with an early plea.
Last year Brodie Grundy and Marc Pittonet were both left for lengthy stints on the sidelines after accidental knee clashes in ruck contests.
Fellow AFL coach Ross Lyon said he believed the ruck issue started with the bounce.
“I think it still leads to the bounce – the umpire with his head down,” he gestured on AFL 360.
“It was an awkward look.”
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When asked by AFL 360 co-host Mark Robinson if it was time to get rid of the bounce, Lyon replied: “Yeah I would.”
“There’s good umpires who don’t get in because they can’t bounce,” he elaborated. “And it’s hard enough to get umpires as it is.”
“Let’s make it as easy for them as possible,” Scott said.
