To bump or not to bump?

It’s one of the questions weighing on the minds of AFL players amid the long-standing debate over whether the bump is dead.

While all corners of the AFL agree that protecting the head is paramount, whether there is still a place for the hip and shoulder remains a grey area.

Carlton coach Mick Malthouse says he tells players they need to expect contact, and he won’t be instructing his men not to bump.

But he says they need to make sure they do it right.

“I say get your technique right,” Malthouse told radio Fiveaa.

“Don’t penalise a player who goes with a shoulder there, but if it’s a deliberate action to get someone in the head we all know the consequences.”

Last year Blues skipper Marc Murphy was sidelined with a fractured cheekbone after a bump from Hawks captain Luke Hodge.

The Match Review Panel ruled Hodge’s bump was a textbook action, and Malthouse says he whole-heartedly agreed.

But the Carlton coach admits he is sometimes disappointed with the way the rule is interpreted.

"It's very hard to stop when you're running shoulder to shoulder, or you hit shoulder to shoulder – there's going to be a sudden impact and there's going to be heads thrown into each other," Malthouse said. 

"We either make the rule that there's no bumping, or you've got to live with some contact that's going to be a consequence of a bump."