The future of the iconic centre bounce will again be in the spotlight after history-making umpire Eleni Glouftsis chose to throw the ball up in the second half of Sunday's AFL match between Essendon and West coast.
The 25-year-old schoolteacher became the first woman to ever officiate as a field umpire in an elite-level Australian Rules football match.
Glouftsis officiated well and was pleased with the feedback from AFL umpires' boss Hayden Kennedy.
But an unusually soft relaid strip of turf in the centre of Etihad Stadium made it difficult for Glouftsis to elevate the ball high enough at centre bounces.
In consultation with Kennedy, she decided to throw it up in the second half, as happens with ball-ups in general play.
Fellow umpires Simon Meredith and Shaun Ryan continued to bounce the ball in the middle of the ground.
"The bouncing is just one part of the game and not worrying about that too much was a really big part of it," Glouftsis told reporters.
"It was just enjoying the first part of the game and getting into it when I did.
"I'm generally a pretty good bouncer so I was pretty disappointed to be honest with the way I bounced today.
"But at the end of the day it's about the decisions and I think I did an OK job with that."
Glouftsis was encouraged by the response she received from players from both sides.
"A lot of them have seen me through the VFL and the SANFL a few years ago," she said.
"When I had a poor bounce a lot of the boys were like `just keep going, be confident' which is really lovely.
"They've been really supportive, which was great."
The AFL Umpires Association favours the abolition of the centre bounce, although the final decision will rest with the AFL Commission.
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