The AFL's rules around stopping play for injured players have come under heavy scrutiny following a contentious call during Hawthorn’s loss to Adelaide on Friday night.
Late in the match at Adelaide Oval, play was halted to allow Hawks star Will Day, positioned far from the contest, to leave the field with what was later confirmed to be cramp.
The decision drew swift criticism, with several leading voices questioning whether umpires had misapplied the rule.
Day, who had just returned from a long-term foot injury, was later ruled out for the season after scans confirmed a bone stress injury in the same foot. But the late-game stoppage itself is now at the heart of a broader conversation.
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‘You can’t stop the game for cramp’
Fox Footy’s Jason Dunstall was blunt in his post-match reaction: “You can’t stop the game for cramp… there’s something wrong with that rule.” Fellow commentator Garry Lyon agreed, adding, “That’s not on. It’s open to manipulation all day long.”
Lyon stressed that the blame shouldn’t fall on the player: “It’s not Will Day’s fault. It’s the umpire who should’ve identified: ‘No, you’ve got a cramp, get out of the road and get on with it’.”
The AFL has instructed umpires to stop play only if the injury occurs near the contest, or in cases of head knocks.
Herald Sun’s Jon Ralph noted the AFL will likely need to explain the ruling: “It’s so easy to fake a cramp. Imagine if Max Gawn last week dropped to the ground in the last eight seconds and gave his team time to reset—it could’ve changed the outcome.”
Lyon summed it up, saying, “Let’s treat head knocks with the seriousness they need. But if it’s a tap on the ankle or a sore knee, bounce it and away you go.”