Umpires hit out over Maynard, Miller penalties; Bombers will speak to candidates this week

Umpires warned AFL about ‘deficient’ guidelines

The AFL Umpires’ Association says it is disappointed that Brayden Maynard and Touk Miller escaped with fines for making contact with an umpire and that it warned the league before the start of the season that tribunal guidelines were inadequate for such situations.

Collingwood defender Maynard and Gold Coast’s Miller made contact with umpire Nick Brown during Saturday’s fiery clash at People First Stadium, but the option of suspending the pair was not available to the match review officer.

In a statement provided to this masthead, umpires’ boss Rob Kerr said they were frustrated at the AFL’s lack of action on the matter, given they had been having discussions with the league about umpire contact for two years.

“We have expressed our view that the current MRO guidelines are deficient because they provide no ability to suspend a player unless contact with the umpire is intentional,” Kerr said.

“The increases of umpire contact over recent years has proven that fines are not an effective deterrent. Where contact with an umpire is forceful or avoidable there needs to be an ability to suspend players. This is important not only to protect AFL umpires but also to make it clear at community level that contact with an umpire is not acceptable.”

Maynard and Miller were charged with misconduct to ensure their fine was $5000, but the ruling meant their clubs avoided a larger fine that the AFL is able to impose on teams who record more than four cases of umpire contact in a season.

Most fines for umpire contact relate to players who inadvertently bump into an umpire at stoppages, when the whistle-blowers are backing out of congestion following a ball-up.

However, Maynard and Miller made contact with umpire Brown when they rushed towards the Suns’ Ben Long, who was standing behind Brown. Maynard had been felled by Long seconds earlier in an incident for which the Sun was suspended for two matches.

The match review officer found that neither Maynard nor Miller had intentionally made contact with the umpire but also determined the offence required a bigger penalty than the $1500 fine that would have been given if they were found guilty of careless contact with an umpire.

Former umpire Ray Chamberlain told the ABC on Saturday he suspected Maynard would “have a lot of trouble explaining” why it was acceptable for him to run 30 metres at a melee, aware of the umpire’s presence yet still making contact with him.

However, the MRO said a fine was appropriate under a misconduct category after determining the incident did not constitute the direct tribunal offence of intentional contact with an umpire or the fixed financial offence of unreasonable or unnecessary contact with an umpire or “careless contact with an umpire”.

Coach hunt begins: Bombers will speak to candidates this week

Essendon will start reaching out to candidates for their coaching role this week, beginning the first phase of the club’s search for a longer-term successor to Brad Scott.

The Bombers confirmed on Monday that they would begin contacting prospective candidates for the senior coaching role, and begin with chats – rather than full-bore presentations – over the next two weeks.

The Bombers said there had been no shortage of interest in the role from candidates working at AFL clubs, but they would not be drawn on any individual candidates due to a wish for confidentiality.

The stated strong interest in the coaching role, occupied until season’s end by interim coach Dean Solomon, was in spite of the presence in the process of former coach and champion James Hird, who launched his bid for the position on Nine’s Footy Classified shortly after Scott’s removal, and his 2000 premiership teammate Solomon’s role as caretaker.

Essendon are considered certain to interview some of the same candidates – assistant coaches in the system – that will be on Carlton’s list, currently about nine to 10 candidates, plus Hird. Solomon, who has stated a wish to play any role at Essendon and is contracted for 2027, has not yet declared whether he will put his hand up for the position he has on an interim basis.

Carlton’s list of candidates includes Fremantle assistant Jaymie Graham, Geelong pair James Kelly and James Rahilly, St Kilda assistant Corey Enright, Hawthorn’s assistant Daniel Giansiracusa and Bulldogs assistant Brendon Lade.

Giansiracusa will not pursue the Essendon position, having left the Bombers after 2025 to further his senior coaching ambitions as head of development at the Hawks.

Brisbane Lions assistant Cam Bruce has ruled himself out of the Carlton job, due to a wish to remain in Brisbane for his daughter’s final school year. Collingwood’s Hayden Skipworth is another potential aspirant for the Essendon and Carlton roles.

Carlton caretaker Josh Fraser has stuck to his position that he is not seeking the role for next year, despite seven consecutive wins since he took over from Michael Voss. Carlton are likely to speak to him about whether he is interested in the role later in the season.

The Blues intend to speak to ex-senior coaches John Longmire and Ken Hinkley at some stage, though the industry view is that they are more inclined to hire an assistant coach, as Collingwood did when now Carlton chief executive Graham Wright was head of football at the Magpies, choosing Craig McRae over Adam Kingsley in a process that broke new ground at Collingwood.

The willingness of the highly experienced Longmire and Hinkley to pursue either position remains unclear, with Hinkley having said the Dons needed to decide on the Hird question – whether they want the former coach and club great – before he would consider any process.

Hird has been out of AFL clubland since his exit from Essendon in 2015, aside from half a season as assistant coach at the Giants, supporting his friend and then interim coach Mark McVeigh. He has worked part-time at VFL club Port Melbourne.

Hinkley, Longmire and Nathan Buckley are the leading candidates for the Tasmania Devils senior coaching job, for which Buckley has already been interviewed. The Devils are keen on a coach with senior experience.

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