Advantage rule flawed

Jeff Gieschen has a problem. Not one of his own making this time, but one delivered by the Rules of the Game Committee.

On a number of occasions during the pres-season competition Grand Final, players were penalised for attempting to tackle opponents behind the mark. In and of itself, AussieRulesBlog has no issue with that decision.

This scenario becomes difficult when we have player-initiated advantage.

As things stand at the moment, the player initiating advantage by playing on, regardless of the whistle, cannot be tackled until his opponents hear the “Play on” or “Advantage” call. The penalty, either a hefty 50 metres or a huge advantage to the other team, is too much of a penalty.

The problem may not be of Gieschen’s making, but his umpires, thus far at least, don’t seem to be umpiring this scenario with logic and consistency in mind.