Yarrawonga Pigeons' co-coach Chris Kennedy calls for yellow-card change in Ovens and Murray Football League

The Pigeons had two players sent off for 15 minutes and reported for striking in their win over Wodonga last round but the case against Ed Bayles has already been thrown out.

Kennedy, who tried to have the rule changed at a coaches’ meeting at the start of the year, said clubs should be able to replace a sent off player from the interchange.

“Our best competition, the AFL, doesn’t have a send-off rule,” he said.

“If there has to be a send-off rule, you should be able to replace the player.

“Losing a player is too much of a penalty.

“We went two men down in a crunch game and one of them has already got off (by having the report withdrawn).

“I’m not bagging the umpires – if anything this would protect the umpires and take a lot of pressure off them.

“I’d hate to see a grand final upturned because of that system.”

Albury’s Shaun Daly, Wodonga’s Dean Harding and Wodonga Raiders’ Daryn Cresswell backed Kennedy’s push to change the yellow-card rule, saying there were “too many variables” in its current format.

Kennedy said he understood why the send-off rule existed but was confident the Ovens and Murray would be better off without it.

“They’re trying to avoid a king hit in a grand final where the 21^st player can take out the opposition’s best player and I can understand that,” he said.

“I just think it gets used too easily.

“There’s so much invested in these sides – some of these sides cost a lot of money to put on the park.”

Pigeons forward Brad O’Connor will front the tribunal on Wednesday night after he was sent off and reported for striking Jackson Russell.

Outgoing Ovens and Murray general manager Aaron McGlynn said a soccer-style system had been discussed in the past where players could be issued with a warning card before being sent off.

“It’s come up before and we’ve certainly raised the issue from our clubs in years gone past,” he said.

“Every year AFL Victoria ask for feedback on the rules and regulations and bylaws of the governing body … but it’s probably out of our hands to adopt something individually.

“It’s something that’s up for discussion, whether or not it changes I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing to be talking about the issue.”