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The MRO announce plan to crack down on staging
SEN • August 28th, 2025 6:00 pm
The AFL has announced their plan to crack down on staging within games.
This season has seen an influx of players diving or exaggerating contact in attempt to win free kicks, with the MRO often fining players for obvious acts of staging.
The standard charge currently stands at $1500, however as expressed by MRO Michael Christian, the AFL is looking to filter out the action indefinitely.
“We’re on the lookout for it, absolutely,” Christian told SEN’s Whateley.
“It’s very subjective. (What) we’re all trying to marry up is the force of contact with the reaction. According to the guidelines, you can exaggerate, but you can’t excessively exaggerate, so it’s very subjective.
“Players have got the right to challenge if they are charged with staging, as any other player does that is charged. There was one on the weekend with Darcy Wilmot that was charged – I’ve not heard whether he will challenge that (or not).
“It’s something that I’m looking at closely because we just don’t want the game to descend into that sort of scenario where the players are staging for free kicks.
“Umpiring is tough enough as it is – to try and disseminate whether a player is staging or not is extraordinarily tough for umpires.
“We shouldn’t have it as a part of our game.”
Christian also outlined the MRO's view on concussion, striking and tackling in a discussion with SEN's Gerard Whateley.
Listen to Michael Christian's full interview below:
