- The new Sherrin ankle boots are more than they seem
- The balls are used in the AFLW this season.
It may look like an ordinary photograph of some AFL footballs, but football fans who look closely will notice that these Sherrins are connected to electrical chargers.
The AFL has introduced new ball tracking technology for the 2024 AFLW season, meaning all next-generation balls have computer chips.
Smart ball technology, now in use at all AFLW venues, helps referees decide whether a ball has crossed the goal line, touched in flight or hit a goal post.
The technology, which has been extensively tested in VFL and VFLW matches, involves a chip being embedded in the “smart” Sherrins and they need to be recharged to work.
Collingwood senior player Dale Thomas has been very impressed by what he has seen so far.
“The good thing is that you don’t know (the microchip),” Thomas explained on Channel Seven.
‘You don’t know it’s there, nothing changes.
The AFLW uses microchip balls to help make scoring decisions in real time, but they must be charged before matches for them to work (pictured)
Football legend Dale Thomas says the new footballs feel exactly the same, except they need to be charged before a match (pictured, a smart ball used in Collingwood’s round 8 match against Adelaide on the weekend). from last week)
“The only strange thing is that when we fell to the ground the ball was loaded.”
The chip, which weighs approximately 20 grams, has been manufactured to mimic the exact size and weight of the ball. Sensors placed around the ground then monitor the movement of the ball.
AFL chief executive of football Laura Kane is excited about the new technology on the field.
“The technology and smart ball system works in a different way to our current ARC system; instead, it will provide real-time information alerting our scoring assistance officials if necessary, who will then communicate with our referees,” he said Kane.
‘This will be a fantastic addition to NAB AFLW and will provide a level of accuracy that we have not been able to facilitate previously.
“We have completely upgraded the referee communication system to ensure that the score assist process can be enabled between the score assist officials in each game and our field and goal umpires.”
