Greater Western Sydney football manager, Wayne Campbell, has hit back at suggestions runner Nick Maxwell's positioning was strategic against Carlton over the weekend.
The AFL announced on Tuesday it will investigate the Giants' use of their runner after vision emerged from the game which appeared to show Maxwell standing in strategic positions when the Blues were kicking-in after a behind.
The field umpires from Sundayโs game made note of the amount of time Maxwell spent on the ground and his positioning has been heavily criticised in the media following the game.
Nick Maxwell found himself standing in the zone on eight out of the eleven kick-in's. Was that a GWS tactic? #9FootyClassified pic.twitter.com/un0m8Be3vM
— Footy Classified (@FootyClassified) June 12, 2017
At the moment, runners are not allowed to stand in the oppositionโs defensive 50 on kick-ins, but are able to stand anywhere else on the ground.
Former St Kilda player and media personality, Danny Frawley, called on the AFL to crack down on runners.
โ(Maxwell) is just biting off too much at the moment. Heโs out there coaching, telling players where to run," Frawley said on SEN Radio on Monday.
โThe big one that hurt me yesterday โ and thatโs when I thought I canโt watch it any more โย Carlton was kicking in, he was right on the centre-square line in the middle, he was actually part of the zone.
โI know the AFL says you canโt go inside the forward 50, but you canโt have them standing in the middle of the ground where the 45 (degree) kick comes in.
โ(Maxwell) is doing a great job down there with the leadership, but you canโt have 19 men on the field.โ
However, Campbell has slammed the inferences that the Giants were border-line cheating, with their use of Maxwell on Sunday.
"The reason Nick was standing there was because in the JLT series an AFL match-day manager told him it was the best spot to stand for kick-ins because the ball generally doesn't go there," Campbell told AFL.com.au
"If you stand on the 45 (degree angle) that's generally where the ball goes, if you go outside the boundary line you get cleaned up by the boundary umpire, so he was told go there.
"The AFL have sent us a letter saying they now want him to stand back from the boundary line (at kick-ins), which is perfectly fine.
"But to insinuate that we've put him [along the centre square] is wrong, it's not a tactic by any means. There was no instruction by the club for him to be filling a gap or anything like that. In fact, we didn't know he stood there until the whole thing has blown up.
"We think most of the commentary around this has been very, very unfair on Nick, and the club by extension. It's inferring we're cheating, which is grossly unfair.
"Nick is an outstanding person with a very, very solid reputation over a long period of time and it's a poor reflection on us as well. It's all been pretty disappointing."
The AFL is yet to deliver its verdict on its investigation.
