‘Alter that straight away’: Brisbane star’s brainfade exposes bizarre rule

North Melbourne champion David King has called on the AFL to clamp down on “careless umpire contact” after an incident involving Eric Hipwood on Thursday night.

With a field umpire in the near vicinity late in the third quarter, Hipwood appeared to push his direct opponent into the umpire, causing those two to tumble while Hipwood streamed forward to take an uncontested mark and kick a goal.

Under the rules for careless umpire contact, Hipwood could be fined $1000 with a guilty plea, given the rule involves “pushing an opponent into an umpire or their direct path”, as Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph explained post-game.

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In the aftermath of the incident, King said a greater penalty should be mandated for future incidents.

“We’re trying to protect the umpires, we’re trying to look after them in every facet of the game and then it’s a $1000 fine for pushing a player directly into a field umpire,” he said on Fox Footy.

“We need to alter that straight away. OK, he (Hipwood) gets the luxury of that one, but that needs to be changed immediately.”

Jason Dunstall agreed, adding: “I’ve got no problem if you sit there and say we start with the minimum of a week and then we load it up compared to how bad the contact is.”

“If you’re trying to outlaw a particular act you’ve got to punish it properly … anything you’re trying to outlaw in the game, fines should not be applicable … it starts with a week and then loads up depending on how badly you’ve transgressed.”

The Lions ended up defeating the Dogs by 41 points.