'Move on': Bartel's bold call on lagging AFL issue

Geelong great Jimmy Bartel says the AFL’s insistence on reviewing every goal is not necessary.

It comes after continued uproar over the amount of time it has taken goal umpires to review scores during the 2024 season.

The AFL suggests that every goal is reviewed to ensure no mistake is made that could cost teams a game in 2024.

The decision to review every goal comes after an incident last year, when Adelaide was incorrectly given a point after the goal umpire failed to review a kick from Crow Ben Keays, which upon evaluation, cleared the goal posts and went through for a major.

The Crows lost that match in 2023 to the Swans, coughing up their spot in the top eight as a result.

Crow Ben Keays celebrates his goal before it was called a point against Sydney.

It has prompted the league to become extra cautious of correctly reviewing goals this season.

“The umpires are being told ‘no doubt, let’s just check everything’, but there is a way around this type of thing,” Eddie McGuire said on Nine’s Footy Classified on Wednesday night.

However, Bartel now believes the move to review goals is overkill.

Bartel showed vision of a Collingwood goal against Hawthorn from Gather Round, proving the score review system had more than one full minute of time between the next play to ensure the ball went through for a major.

Eddie McGuire ands Jimmy Bartel want an overhaul of the goal review system.

“One minute and four seconds by the time it gets back to the centre. That’s plenty of time,” Bartel said.

The break between a goal and a centre bounce used to be 30 seconds, but with required ad breaks, plus time to show replays, the gap has been extended.

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Bartel has called upon the league to either review scores more rapidly, or find a system that can do it in under a minute after a goal is scored.

“If you can’t tell me this isn’t enough time to review what a goal is, I think we need to move some people on and get someone who can,” Bartel said.

Eddie McGuire lauded Bartel’s words, calling for the AFL to find a new way to review goals in a more concise manner.

“We always get told they review every goal as it goes back to the middle,” McGuire said.

“You can cook a roast dinner in one minute and four seconds!

“It’s not the ARC, it’s the situation around the ARC.”