Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan has urged the AFL to review the 'stand' rule heading into the finals series, admitting that he didn't want the rule to decide the fate of teams in September.
Lions captain Dayne Zorko found himself giving away a 50 metre penalty in Friday night's win over St Kilda when he moved on the mark in the third term.
Saint Jack Higgins was lining up for goal and looked as if he were about to play on, prompting a slight response from the skipper who was then pinged.
Speaking to media after the 15-point win, Fagan admitted that while the rule had been good since its implementation, he believed that there did need to be some leniency towards the player manning the mark.
"Do we want a grand final decided on a decision like that? Can you imagine?" Fagan said.
"I can't imagine that. My personal viewers is we should review that rule and that's not a criticism of the way that it is.
"I think it's been quite a good rule but I think a player on the mark should be allowed one step to the left or right as long as he doesn't go any further than that.
"I don't think that should be a 50-metre penalty. That's just my view."
Brisbane walked away with the four points from the Friday night clash, but the result didn't sway Fagan's opinion, hoping that the rule would be talked about more following the Zorko call.
"It's unnatural not to move when somebody does that," the Lions coach said.
"Players play for it and good on them - that's clever football - but you shouldn't get a 50-metre penalty for just moving slightly.
"Am I going to get in trouble for saying that? I hope not but I think we should talk about it."
Fagan also touched on one of footy's biggest talking points during the week, admitting he was confused about the interpretation of head high contact in the wake of Patrick Cripps being cleared to play this weekend after appealing his two match suspension.
Callum Ah Chee was forced to sit out of Friday's win due to concussion protocols, suffered in the incident with Cripps.
“I‘m probably a bit confused about how that’s going to be interpreted going forward,” Fagan said post-game.
“Good on Carlton for pursuing it and getting their player free, but I thought we were all about protecting the head and Cal Ah Chee had no chance whatsoever to protect his own head last week.
“He was off early in the game last week and he’s not playing this week as a result of it, so we get penalised for that and unfortunately Cal gets injured.”
