Focus on Rules III: Deliberate rushed behind

If player-initiated advantage is the ugliest Law in the litter, then deliberate rushed behind is perhaps the most mis-understood.

 

15.7 Free kicks — Deliberate rushed behind 
15.7.1 when awarded
A free kick shall be awarded against a player from the defending team who intentionally kicks, handballs or forces the football over the attacking team’s goal line or behind line or onto one of the attacking team’s goal posts. In assessing whether a free kick should be awarded under this Law, the field umpire shall give the benefit of the doubt to the defender.

 

15.7.2 taking free kick
A free kick awarded under Law 15.7.1 shall be taken at the point where the football crossed the goal line or behind line or from the relevant goal post.

 

This Law was introduced in the wake of what AussieRulesBlog is pleased to call the Bowden Manoeuvre, although it could equally have been called the Guerra Manoeuvre. In the Bowden instance, Richmond’s Joel Bowden handballed the ball through for a point rather than kick out to a contest after a behind — repeatedly. The Tigers were battling to forestall an Essendon come-from-behind victory. Bowden figured, correctly under the rules at the time, that the point he conceded was a smaller penalty than the goal that the Bombers may have created on a turnover from his kickout.

 

In the Guerra instance, Hawthorn’s Brent Guerra, in a similar circumstance to Bowden, went a step further — we use that term advisedly! — to actually step over the goal line and conceded a point rather than take a kick in after a behind to a disadvantageous situation — again repeatedly.

 

This Law is quite clear: the umpire is required to judge whether the ball crossing the goal line or hitting the posts was the intention of the defender. Not a lot of grey there — until The Giesch got hold of it.

 

Under the interpretation currently being peddled by the umpires at the behest of The Giesch and his cronies, a defender who is ‘under pressure’ is permitted to intentionally force the ball over the goal line or onto a goal post — in direct contravention of the Law as written. We wonder whether the Rules Committee created the interpretation at the same time as the rule? In either case, the umpire has to assess either intent or pressure, both very subjective judgements.

 

The reason we’ve picked this rule is the level of misunderstanding of the interpretation that was to be employed. Despite the AFL releasing a short video demonstrating what would be considered deliberate and what wouldn’t, there was widespread confusion, largely fed by assumption rather than knowledge or research.

 

Since this Law was introduced, for the 2009 season, we think it has worked pretty well. The Bowden/Guerra manoeuvre, the real target of the Law, has been totally eliminated from the game and defenders have slightly fewer options when close to goal. There have been some notably poor decisions, but given the number of times there is potential for a ruling to be made, those clangers have been mercifully few.