AFL holds firm on umpiring; Key Giant suffers ruptured testicle; Dees deny reports of rift with Petraccas

“What’s really important to me is that we are transparent and that, as required, we are explaining things,” Kane said. “We are articulating to fans, we’re articulating to people watching our game what’s happening and that’s not something that we will stop doing.”

By being more transparent, the league also runs the risk of increasing public scrutiny on umpires. Early last season, the league cracked down on player dissent towards the whistleblowers, mindful of the difficulty of attracting umpires at local levels. The stance was gradually relaxed through the season.

There is a line, though, on how transparent the league is prepared to be. While umpires are given a tick or cross by their coaches of each decision they make as part of their game reviews, such data is unlikely to be made publicly available, Kane said.

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“We have to find a level what’s appropriate, what’s not appropriate also to support our umpires, and make sure that their development is not hindered by things that don’t have context,” Kane said.

“At the moment, we’re really comfortable with the level of clarity we provide around different decisions.”

Kane said the league had not received a request for clarification over 50-metre penalties in light of Sunday’s game.

Clubs, however, are constantly making queries with the league over the adjudication of free kicks in areas such as marking infringements and interpretation of the holding the ball rule.

On Wednesday, the league brought members of the media inside the ARC – the AFL’s high-tech score review centre.

The room, deep in the bowels of Marvel Stadium, is where umpires are given feedback on their performance from coaches, using footage taken from a range of angles.

Umpires are given a wide range of stats on their decisions, including numbers on the trends of the free kicks they are paying.

The whistleblowers also use virtual reality goggles, which provide 360-degree vision of games to help train their decision-making.

GWS defender Sam Taylor suffers ruptured testicle

AAP

Star GWS defender Sam Taylor has been ruled out indefinitely after undergoing surgery on a ruptured testicle.

Taylor suffered the injury during last week’s 22-point win over Port Adelaide.

The two-time All-Australian defender wasn’t listed on the official GWS injury list on Tuesday, but the club revealed the news on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday. A timeline will only be set on his return once he sees a specialist.

“Sam Taylor will be sidelined after suffering a ruptured testicle during last week’s match and undergoing successful surgery yesterday,” the post read.

“Sam’s home and recovering with a timeline for his return to be set after consultation with specialists. Sending our love to Slammer.”

Taylor’s injury has come at a bad time for the Giants, whose season sits at the crossroads after posting just two wins from their past six games.

GWS (8-5) are fifth, but they are only one win ahead of the teams sitting from 9-12 on the ladder. The Giants face the ladder-leading Sydney Swans on Saturday.

Taylor was widely tipped to get the job on Sydney spearhead Joel Amartey, who kicked nine goals against Adelaide last week.

Earlier this week, Sydney coach John Longmire described Taylor as the best defender in the competition.

“Sam Taylor is probably the best defender going around in the competition at the moment. It’s going to be a big challenge for (Amartey),” Longmire said.

AAP

‘We were surprised’: Dees deny reports of rift with Petraccas

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin says Christian Petracca is surprised by reports his family is unhappy with the Demons’ handling of him after he was injured in the King’s Birthday match against Collingwood.

Goodwin also backed the club’s medical staff who made the call to clear Petracca to return to the field after his heavy clash with Collingwood’s Darcy Moore just before quarter-time of that game.

Petracca was subbed out at half-time of the game and taken to hospital by ambulance. He was diagnosed with four broken ribs, a punctured lung and a lacerated spleen, the latter injury requiring surgery and set to sideline him for the rest of the season.

The superstar midfielder has returned home after spending several days in isolation in intensive care because of the risk of infection.

SEN and Nine’s Footy Classified reported Petracca’s family were frustrated with the club, but Goodwin denied there was disquiet.

“The only thing I can go by is the conversations I’ve had with Christian and [his partner] Bella … they’re incredibly thankful of the support the club has given,” Goodwin said.

“We were surprised by the reports. Christian is surprised by the reports and we’re really confident that the family and Christian are in a great place.”

Goodwin defended the club’s medical staff, saying Petracca’s severe internal injuries were not apparent until well after the game. Petracca said on Nova this week it took a second scan for the full extent of his injuries to be revealed.

“It’s not really my job, it’s the doctors’ job, and I trust our medical team like never before – they’re unbelievable at what they do and they’re independent to the game,” Goodwin said on Wednesday.

“They did all the assessments possible, and we’re really comfortable where that stood.

“It wasn’t until a long time post [-game] that an internal injury was diagnosed – and they’re very hard injuries to diagnose.”

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Petracca likened his injuries to those more commonly sustained in a car crash, speaking graphically of how he was unable to be put under anaesthetic during surgery.

“I didn’t realise the severity of it until 2am when I was gassed up, and they were doing surgery with my eyes open,” he said on Nova.

“I didn’t realise the severity of it until early in the morning on Tuesday morning. I just thought it was a couple of cracked ribs, which, obviously, is serious. [But] I thought I could go back out and play.”

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