Wallace OK with 'rushed' review
Richmond coach Terry Wallace believes the AFL Laws of the Game Committee is entitled to review the tactics adopted by Tigers defender Joel Bowden to safeguard a four-point win by conceding two late rushed behinds against Essendon at the MCG on Saturday.
Bowden twice walked the ball over the line from kick-outs which denied the Bombers possession while milking the clock in the final minute of the match.
The tactic has prompted a flood of comment - both positive and negative - and dozens of suggestions for rule changes - both sensible and fanciful.
"It's probably warranted that it gets spoken about at the Rules (Committee) level and that they have a look at different scenarios," Wallace said.
"I've heard things from giving them the ball 25-metres out from goals and then all of a sudden it becomes a seven-point play - I don't think that stacks up."
"I've heard people saying bounce the ball 25 metres out but ... if you did that you would still give up the point because you would have every single player ... around that next stoppage where (the ball) is not going to get out under any circumstances."
"My (suggestion) would be don't (restart the clock) until the ball has been touched in play so there's no ability to time-waste at all."
"They're all things that should be discussed, but I don't think it's (the coaches') position to make the rules - we just play to the rules that are in place."
Wallace said he was pleased several rival AFL coaches had spoken out in support of Bowden who knew roughly how long there was to go when he opted to do what he did.
"There was a lot of pressure on Joel - they were playing a really good, tight one-on-one structure at the stage when Joel's got possession of the ball," Wallace said.
"We've got blokes who are out on their feet that weren't offering a lot in regards to movement because they were shot."
"Do you pull the trigger and make a horrible mistake or hold on to the ball and have the patience to be able to set up again?"
Wallace said he was disappointed with comparisons made in the media between Bowden's tactics and Trevor Chappell's infamous 'underarm' delivery on a One Day International match against New Zealand in 1981.
"One was a player being told by his captain to do something on a one-off situation that had never ever happened in the history of the game before in comparison with something that happens twice a game," he said.
"It just happened this time that it happened at the end of the game."
"To have the comparisons was a bit out of line."
Wallace said he was recovering well from the chest infection which prompted a two-day stay in hospital last week.
