The Standard | FOOTBALLERS leaving the field of play need to do so via the interchange gates or with the help of trainers.
That's the message from Warrnambool’s umpiring boss after Russells Creek had to play for almost all of its loss to Timboon Demons without key onballer Ben O’Rourke.
O’Rourke copped a painful knock near the boundary line midway through the first term, which forced him to the change rooms.
Russells Creek replaced him, but when he made his way back to the bench, umpires ruled he was unable to return to the ground. The incident forced the Kangaroos to activate their under 17 1/2 substitute.
“He was lying on the ground in an enormous amount of discomfort and got up and just went to the rooms,” Russells Creek coach Jay Everall said post-match.
“The bench got a bit confused, they couldn’t work out what was going on. We were one short so they sent one on. In effect, when you go off without any trainer assistance you can’t come back on. We had to sub Ben out.”
Everall said losing the interleague representative “had no bearing on the game”. “To be honest he would’ve been limited in his output.”
Warrnambool and District Football Umpires Association director of umpiring Jason Hughes said the incident was a lesson for injured players leaving the field.
“You’ve got the interchange gates that players need to enter and exit the ground from and it’s quite clear in the rules that if a player fails to do so, then he’s not permitted back on the ground," he said.
Meanwhile, a shortage of experienced field umpires could force a club official to take charge of a Warrnambool and District league senior match this weekend.
Hughes said the WDFUA had 15 senior field umpires available to cover 16 jobs across two leagues. He was attempting to alleviate the shortage on Monday, with confirmation on numbers to come later this week.
“It goes against my philosophy on umpiring, we want to supply field umpires to every game but at the minute we're struggling,” he said.
Overall umpire numbers have jumped from 84 to 105 this season, Hughes said.
