Holding the ball ‘doesn’t exist anymore’

Well, for those of us who watch a lot of football, you will know that in the last month they’ve changed the rule about holding the ball. It seems like it doesn’t exist anymore, unless it’s a rundown tackle, then you might get it. Now I think to myself, why has this happened? We know that Steve Mcburney, who the ex umpire is going to join the umpiring as part of part of that. But really what should be a free kick? I mean the Commission of the only body that can change rules. But when you talk about interpretations, who is talking about that from the top? And I’m talking not the Commission, I don’t think. But whether it’s Andrew Dillon or Laura Kane or that whole department, what are they asking the umpires to do? Because what we know is that high tackle above the neck is about one in five get paid push in the back, which is still a rule that’s about one in 10. And now they’ve decided because I’m going for the ball carrier. So I’m quite happy for the leniency to be with the ball carrier. But right now even I’m thinking how come that wasn’t holding the ball. So in some you think something’s changed, why’s it changed? Who’s instigated the change? And I think it’s must be outside the umpire’s department. When it’s the whole umpiring fraternity are doing it, then they are being told to this is the way we want the game to be umpired. So I always think we got confidence, Andrew Dillon, Laura Kane, who else is in that department? Josh Manning. And we got confidence for them to run the game in an umpiring sense. And do you? No, because of the whole. They might. They might. I’m not saying they’re not. I asked the question because it’s all about we we do this, we do that. But you know, the umpiring department is told how we want the game to be umpired by what the rules are. But also I would have thought Jimmy what the interpretations are because it’s much about interpretation as the rule. Watching the rule book is it breaking down the the tackle versus you know the tackler versus the tackle What what what part frustrates you the most? Is it the the execution, the tackle like the in the back or high or is it the disposal of the person with the footy like the time they have. I’m not for the first bit that the guy who’s got the ball in his hands, that because they changed the rule that if you try to, if you contribute to the high contact, the umpires should ignore it. Well, they ought just ignore it all because you may have contributed by dropping your body, heart by heart by three inches or something like that. So we’ve made it easy for the tackler, That’s what I’m saying. And the same within the back, they don’t pay that, so they So I’m for making it easier for the bloke with the ball, harder for the tackler. The game’s gone. I might be in a minority here because it seems like the majority want us to be harder on the play with the ball, but what I do know is they’re holding the ball decision is much more lenient this last month than it was in the first month of the year. Well, Steve Mcburney started a week ago and I’m intrigued to see whether that’s actually taking place behind the scenes as well. I’ll ask the question, Lee. I wanna know whether it actually is the way it’s playing out behind the scenes and whether the umpires are adjudicating key decisions based on those metrics.