Shane Mumford wants AFL umpires to stop being so pedantic at ruck contests, having been one of many big men to repeatedly fall foul of whistle-blowers in 2019.
GWS veteran Mumford has given away 43 free kicks this season, a number that doesn’t sit well with himself and coach Leon Cameron.
Fellow ruckmen Brodie Grundy, Scott Lycett, Tom Bellchambers and Rhys Stanley are also among the league’s top six most penalised players this year.
There hasn’t been that sort of concentration of ruckmen in the key statistic since 2010, when Darren Jolly, Dean Brogan and Mark Jamar were the league’s three worst offenders.
“I think any little ones that are given away in the ruck, you could probably just let go,” Mumford told reporters.
“Let us battle it out and see who can win the contest.”
Mumford, who came out of retirement for the 2019 season, conceded a lot of his free kicks conceded were fair but suggested many were “50-50 calls”.
“It is something I have to keep working on. Because I can’t be giving away the amount that I am,” he said.
“The biggest change (since returning after a year off) has been being able to grab it out of the ruck without the risk of giving away a free kick.
“But in terms of my craft, nothing really changed. I was joining in with the boys, halfway through last year and was able to keep working on what I’d done in previous years.”
The battering ram copped plenty of criticism following the Giants’ upset loss to Essendon, with former Western Bulldogs and Richmond coach Terry Wallace saying Mumford looks “shot”.
“I’ve never been one to read too much into what is said through the media. It does not faze me at all,” Mumford said.
MOST FREE KICKS AGAINST IN 2019
*Shane Mumford (43)
*Brodie Grundy (30)
*Clayton Oliver, Scott Lycett (26)
*Tom Bellchambers, Rhys Stanley (25)