Adelaide veteran Taylor Walker admits tough new holding-the-ball interpretations have changed the way AFL players approach contests in recent weeks.
A mid-season league directive led umpires to tighten the adjudication of the rule and subsequent inconsistencies have frustrated players, coaches and fans alike.
It followed scathing criticism from Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson last month about the congested state of the game and the perceived failure of umpires to reward tacklers.
The debate has raged in recent weeks and was reignited on Monday night after a series of contentious holding-the-ball decisions during St Kilda’s win over Adelaide.
“I actually do feel a little bit for the umpires at the moment with the holding-the-ball issue,” former Crows captain Walker told reporters on Tuesday.
“It’s been raised in the industry and now I feel it’s making it tougher and tougher for our umpires to adjudicate the game.
“But I’ve got to be careful what I say because I don’t want to be pulling out money from my pocket.”
Walker believes players are now accepting being second to the ball rather than trying to win it first for themselves, because of the way holding the ball is being adjudicated.
“You can clearly see that blokes are now thinking twice about, ‘Do I get the ball and then get tackled or do I let someone else get it and I’ll tackle them?’,” he said.
“It has certainly played a part in the way people are playing.”
Walker was dropped after a quiet performance in round five and returned against the Saints with three goals from eight disposals.