I blew up the players’ code. Why the AFL’s justice system is messy, tribal and mostly right |
I blew up the players’ code. Why the AFL’s justice system is messy, tribal and mostly right
April 30, 2026 — 11:45am
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The match review officer and tribunal largely do a good job. Not words that get often uttered, and I say them despite the debacle of the past weeks.
Tony Jewell, the 1980 premiership coach and worldly philosopher, used to say that “in coaching you need to get at least 90 per cent of your decisions right”.
I took that to mean that while you need to be very good, you don’t need to be perfect. If we take this as the pass mark, we can mount a case that the MRO does well.
But like umpiring, we tend to overlook the correct decisions, considering those to be passé, and shine the brightest lights on any error, real or perceived.
I’ve experienced the AFL’s judiciary system from a couple of different perspectives, as a player, in club roles and at the AFL.
I was walking up some stairs at AFL House six months into my role as head of umpiring at the AFL when I had an epiphany. It popped into my head that the one thing that in football wanted from its umpires – consistency – was entirely unobtainable.
These are the three reasons why.
We barrack for decisions depending on the colour of the scarf we’re wearing. Our game is tribal, and that’s what makes it great. It also makes us completely irrational.
Most people don’t know the rules (including me before I went into umpiring). It’s difficult to ascertain whether a decision is right or wrong if you have the wrong starting point.
Umpires make........