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The AFL’s ARC Problem Is Getting Worse

Jesse Mclure

Editor

Last updated: Tue 28 Apr 2026 07:50

Jesse Mclure 28 Apr 2026

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The ARC technology disrupts gameplay flow with excessive interventions.
Inconsistent ARC use creates fan frustration and undermines trust.
Refocusing the ARC on clear errors can maintain footy's dynamism.

True Footy's ARC Discussion

The AFL’s ARC Problem Is Getting Worse

There was a moment over the weekend that perfectly captured everything that’s wrong with the AFL’s use of technology right now.

The AFL’s ARC Problem Is Getting Worse
The Pursuit of Perfection Is Hurting the Game
When Does a Review Go Too Far?
Inconsistency Is Making It Worse
We’ve Seen This Before in Other Sports
The Fix Is Simple — But It Requires a Shift
Footy Doesn’t Need to Be Perfect

Play had moved on. Players had reset. The game had breathed again.

Then, out of nowhere, it was dragged back.

Nearly 90 seconds after the fact, the ARC stepped in to overturn a decision on the goal line in the West Coast vs St Kilda match. The result wasn’t just confusion. It was frustration. Players didn’t know what was happening. Fans didn’t know what was happening. And worst of all, the decision itself didn’t even feel clear-cut.

That’s the problem. Not just the delay. Not just the outcome. The entire philosophy behind it.

The Pursuit of Perfection Is Hurting the Game

The AFL has become obsessed with getting every decision exactly right.

On paper, that sounds like progress. In reality, it’s starting to damage the product.

Umpiring has always involved human error. That’s part of the game. It’s part of every sport. But the introduction of the ARC was supposed to eliminate the obvious howlers, not dissect every borderline moment with forensic detail.

Now, it feels like nothing is safe.

Marks are reviewed. Goals are reviewed. Incidents are dragged back long after play has continued. The game stops, rewinds, and resets. And in chasing perfection, the AFL is losing something far more important.

Flow.

Footy works because it’s chaotic. Because it moves quickly. Because momentum matters. When you interrupt that rhythm for marginal calls, you don’t just correct a decision. You change the feel of the entire contest.

When Does a Review Go Too Far?

The biggest issue isn’t that the ARC exists. It’s how far it’s being pushed.

If a ball clearly hits the post or is obviously touched, no one has a problem with a quick intervention. That’s what the system is there for.

But when you’re rewinding the game after more than a minute of live play for something inconclusive, the system has gone beyond its purpose.

It raises a simple question.

When is it too late?

Because if the answer is “never,” then every passage of play becomes provisional. Every goal is uncertain. Every moment can be undone.

That’s not clarity. That’s chaos disguised as control.

Inconsistency Is Making It Worse

If the ARC was consistently over-involved, at least there would be some logic to it.

But it isn’t.

Some moments are reviewed instantly. Others are ignored completely. And then you get the worst-case scenario, where a decision is pulled back well after the fact, seemingly at random.

That inconsistency is what frustrates fans the most.

It’s not just about getting a decision wrong. It’s about not knowing when or why the system will step in. That unpredictability undermines confidence in the process.

And when the review still gets the call wrong, it becomes impossible to defend.

We’ve Seen This Before in Other Sports

This isn’t unique to the AFL.

Football (soccer) went through the exact same cycle with VAR. Introduced to fix obvious errors, it quickly expanded into something far more intrusive.

Offside decisions decided by millimetres. Goals ruled out for marginal touches. Long delays that sucked the emotion out of the moment.

The lesson there was clear. Technology can help a sport, but only if it’s used with restraint.

Once it starts trying to control every detail, it stops enhancing the game and starts interfering with it.

The AFL is heading down that same path.

The Fix Is Simple — But It Requires a Shift

The solution isn’t to scrap the ARC altogether.

It’s to redefine what it’s for.

Limit it to clear and immediate errors. Introduce a strict time window for intervention. If play has moved on beyond a certain point, the decision stands.

Accept that some calls will be wrong.

Because the alternative is worse. A game constantly interrupted, constantly second-guessed, and slowly losing the spontaneity that makes it great.