THE ICONIC ritual of the centre bounce would end immediately if the AFL coaches had their way.
In an exclusive coaches survey for AFL.com.au and the AFL Record, an overwhelming majority of 15 believed it was time to scrap the bounce as the AFL works through the future of a traditional element of the game.
The bounce has been under threat since the start of this season when the game's umpires ramped up pressure on the League to get rid of a part of the game they said was harming recruitment.
Umpires also claimed it was a health and safety issue, with the AFL Laws of the Game Committee recently considering a submission on the bounce from the AFL Umpires Association.
Seventeen of the AFL's 18 senior coaches recently made their views on the game clear in an anonymous survey, giving insights into the games stars, leading clubs and rules.
The coaches said they were slowly coming around to the round 23 bye, but a majority were still opposed to the pre-finals break that shook up September last year.
Every senior coach surveyed last year said he did not like the bye last season, but three were now fans of the pre-finals break.
The holding-the-ball rule was clear enough, according to seven coaches, but six said it was not. Four coaches said the rule should be left alone.
The standard of umpiring in 2017 was the same as last season, according to 11 of the coaches, with four believing it was worse and two saying it was better.
The deliberate out-of-bounds rule received the tick of approval from 11 coaches as far as making the game a better spectacle. No coaches believed it had failed to improve the game, while six were unsure.
Ruckmen are not in danger, according to 11 coaches, who believe the position will still be part of the game in 2025, despite a growing trend to use tall midfielders as support big men.
The debate on concussion emergencies divided coaches, with eight respondents believing clubs should be able to draw on an emergency if a player suffered a game-ending head injury.
Not surprisingly, all 17 coaches who responded declared they needed runners to fulfil their jobs.
The coaches also believe equalisation and the growing impact of the draft and salary cap are responsible for an even season and the ladder logjam.
Twelve clubs remain in contention for a top-eight finish with four matches to play, while 27 matches have been decided by less than a goal (including three draws).
With four rounds to play, 12th-placed Hawthorn remains just a game-and-a-half shy of sixth-placed Sydney and the coaches had a variety of reasons for the memorable season, including themselves.
Asked what the primary reason for the evenness of the season was, four coaches gave responses related to equalisation and another four credited the draft and salary cap.
Other responses included:
• Coaching
• Coaches learning to adapt
• A diluted talent pool
• The even distribution of talent
• A weighted competition
• Improved talent development
