RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick has joined the chorus of concern about the increasing on-ground presence of runners, saying he had noticed at least two instances this season where runners blocked play and weren't penalised.
Hardwick's comments come in the wake of the controversy surrounding the role Greater Western Sydney runner Nick Maxwell played in last Sunday's game against Carlton.
The Giants have emphatically denied commentators' suggestions Maxwell was strategically used to block space along the centre square at Carlton kick-ins, but the AFL has written to GWS to raise concerns Maxwell coached players on the ground during the game.
And former Western Bulldogs and Richmond coach Terry Wallace believes the runner role should be abolished, telling SEN clubs should be able to cope without them.
Hardwick told reporters on Wednesday he would not be "too stressed" if the AFL banned runners.
"Generally, our runner comes on and off and gives the message, or gets a player off from a rotational point of view. A lot of our messages go through players anyway these days, and for us from a coaching communication (perspective) it certainly helps, but for me it's not a big issue," Hardwick said.
"If they go, they go, if they stay, they stay. Just get off the ground."
Hardwick said some runners spent too much time on the field.
"There's two bits of vision we looked at from this year where they were in the way and we couldn't believe free kicks weren't awarded," the Tigers coach said.
"Once again, it will go through, the AFL will rectify it and put out a pretty stern warning. I think they'll get them on and off the ground a lot quicker.
"It's something we have to monitor all the time … but it's not too big a concern from my point of view.
"They'll make a tougher stance on it and it will be better again this week."
Meanwhile, Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin is more concerned about the congestion created through the middle of the ground by umpires, particularly as the AFL trials four field umpires over the round 11-13 byes.
"We have a lot of people on our ground at the moment and obviously the corridor is an area of the ground that a lot of teams like to move the ball and we're encouraged to keep it away from the boundary, otherwise it's deliberate out of bounds," Goodwin told reporters on Wednesday.
"So I think it's important we get the positioning right of the umpires and make sure the corridor is free and maybe we can get some free-flowing footy."
Goodwin said he would raise the issue with AFL football operations manager Simon Lethlean at a scheduled catch-up over the next few days.
