Australian rules football’s iconic centre bounce to commence play is detrimental to officiating the game, says AFL umpires coach Hayden Kennedy.

The ball bounce has been subject to review in recent years, with rules changed in 2013 to only do so in the centre square and throw up elsewhere on the ground.

Kennedy is against the bounce, saying it has had implications for the fairness of ruck contests.

“I think there’s really no benefit. I think by throwing up and creating an even contest on all occasions is probably the best way for us to go,” Kennedy told radio show Sportsday.

Concern around scrapping the bounce in the past has centred around ridding the AFL of one of its most attractive qualities – its randomness.

But Kennedy is worried about the impact on umpires’ bodies – something that could affect the standard of officiators rising through the ranks.

“We’ve (umpires) had a few more injuries of late, especially towards the end of last year, some shoulders, some backs and some hamstrings,” he said.

“It’s also got some huge impact on the community-level as well. We need umpires to be coming through.

“We don’t want to stop good umpires coming through because they can’t bounce or they don’t bounce currently at the community level.

“It’s a really demanding and dynamic movement. To do it for 15-20 years at the community level beforehand, it takes a fair toll on the body. If (umpires) can’t bounce well, we don’t want to exclude them because they’re good umpires.”

The bounce has long been one of the game’s great spectacles, featuring in AFL marketing campaigns and sponsors’ advertisements.