Worsfold wants old advantage rule back
West Coast coach John Worsfold would favour an immediate return to the old advantage rule, claiming a mid-season change to the AFL law wouldn't cause a disruption.
The advantage rule was tweaked before the start of this season to give players, instead of umpires, the choice as to whether to take the advantage from a free kick.
But the slightly-altered rule has caused mass confusion this year, with Collingwood robbed of a crucial goal in last week's loss to Geelong when Magpies midfielder Scott Pendlebury wasn't allowed to play on despite his team being awarded a free kick.
The AFL has since admitted the umpire got it wrong in that situation by calling time-on too quickly.
But in other instances, players have unwittingly taken the advantage by disposing of the ball at the instant the whistle was sounded, granting them no time to make an informed judgement.
Worsfold said the law in its current form wasn't providing an adequate advantage to the team awarded a free kick.
"From what I've seen, I don't think the players in a lot of situations know if they've got the advantage or not, as in should I take it or should I stop?" Worsfold said on Thursday.
"It seems to be by the time they take one step the advantage is called and they then haven't got the ability to say 'well no, that's not really an advantage'.
"Out of contested situations, players don't always know which way the free kick has been paid and quite often they're ready to dispose of the ball even by the time the free kick's paid.
"And then the advantage is called so I don't think the player has made a decision on whether to take it or not, it's just the flow of the game.
"My gut feel is that we changed it because we felt the umpires were under too much scrutiny to try and get it right.
"But they did a better job than the players are doing in terms of knowing if there was an advantage or not."
Worsfold has ordered his players not to take the advantage near goal unless they were certain it would lead to a goal.
As expected, the Eagles named Andrew Embley (hamstring) and Daniel Kerr (adductor) in their extended squad for Sunday's home clash with the Bulldogs.
But the pair will have to pass a fitness test on Saturday in order to take their place in the side.
The Bulldogs' chances of victory suffered a major blow when midfielder Adam Cooney was ruled out due to a knee injury, but forward Barry Hall and Shaun Higgins could make their returns after being named on the extended bench.
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