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Sydney fined for too many on the Park

The AFL today announced the Sydney Football Club had been sanctioned $50,000 for having 19 men on the field during part of the final stages of the last quarter of Sunday’s Round Six match against North Melbourne, played at the Telstra Dome.

AFL Football Operations Manager Adrian Anderson said the AFL had investigated the matter after receiving a report from the match-day interchange steward and had sought responses from both clubs, along with the key match day officials involved.

Player Jesse White went on to the field late in the last quarter after team mate Kieren Jack had immediately replaced Lewis Roberts-Thomson. White headed into the North Melbourne forward line, away from where play was situated, but Sydney had an extra player on the field for some 30 seconds before Darren Jolly, as the closest player to the interchange area, was removed from the field. The Swans did not lodge an interchange notice for Player White as is required under the Laws of the Game

Mr Anderson said the AFL viewed the matter extremely seriously.

He said it was the responsibility of the club, at all times, to ensure it complied with both the Laws of the Game and the AFL’s regulations in regard to numbers on the field, and the correct operation of the interchange procedure, whereby changes must be lodged with the interchange steward.

“It is incumbent on clubs to ensure that they do not breach the Laws of the Game and it is entirely their responsibility to ensure their interchanges are made correctly,” Mr Anderson said.

“Under both AFL Regulations and the Laws of the Game, a club can face a range of sanctions for having extra players on the ground, including financial sanctions and the loss of premiership points,” he said.

Mr Anderson said the AFL would now place all clubs on notice and had determined a financial sanction only was appropriate in this case, with no further action for various reasons including;

- the extra player on the field did not go near where the play was taking place and involve himself in the contest for the ball;
- both clubs were of the view the mistake was inadvertent;
- the Swans immediately acted to remove the closest player once they realised they had an extra player on the field;
- North Melbourne had the ability but chose not to call for a count pursuant to the Laws of the Game.

Mr Anderson said $25,000 of the sanction would be suspended for a period of 24 months.