Brad Scott did nothing to make me feel at ease with this rule or how this game is umpired.
How he could say the decisions were right are beyond most football loving supporters.
You have umpires across let’s say this round picking and choosing when to apply this ‘dissent rule’.
To me and most of the supporters I’ve spoken too the rules recently introduced are not ‘in the spirit of the game’. The countless introductions to rules are so open to interpretation is at the heart of the AFL’s problems. To me saying that there is a shortage of 6000 umpires and ITS because of the ABUSE they cop is a cop out to what is the real problem. If supporters and even commentators are not sure why a free has been given, why it wasn’t then how the hell are we going to get consistent umpiring decisions?? They look confused, unsure themselves out there.
I will acknowledge that in junior levels or lower levels umpires do cop unwanted calls from supporters about decisions but not by 6000 numbers. I reckon that’s just a smokescreen to getting this rule implemented.
Yet Brad Scott comments on Trent Cotchin yet doesn’t comment on his brothers side of serial duckers ( which is a dangerous act/behaviour) , checkers and divers.
Doubling down on umpire dissent is good and fine as I don’t condone behaviour which is aggressive, threatening, abusive behaviour towards umpires but raising ‘your hands up’ or ‘pointing to the screen ‘ or ‘politely querying ‘ a decision is ‘demonstrative’ is just beyond me.
The AFL needs to firstly :
Make umpires full time. I would pay them a handsome salary reflective of their experience. I know you make have umpires who might be lawyers, accountants , whatever on good money. Pay them above the money they are earning doing their full time job to become full time umpires.
From the junior levels pays those umpiring the game on Saturday or Sundays say double, triple what they are currently paid.
Full time umpires. Full time job. Full time feedback, review, assessment and improving their craft.
Make umpires known to the fan. Humanise them. What we are seeing and hearing at games is ‘fans’ angry , upset, confused at the decisions they make which are making things worse.
The game can afford some of these suggestions through the billion they will get from their next broadcast rights to help grassroots football, the junior umpires, the AFL umpires and most importantly the FANS. Because without us the game we grew up playing, loving, supporting with suffer.
If they are only concerned with the broadcasters, the TV viewers , they will ultimately lose the fans.
Covid isn’t the reason crowd numbers are low.
Make it easier to go, book and sit at the game. It’s a mess. It’s hard.
The rush to bring in the AFLW game and the number of clubs wasn’t necessary but look I understand as I can see the affect this has had on young girls taking up the sport and the numbers of participation. The season just finished and it looks like they will be starting in August again. It shows the AFL again not thinking through things from the start but rushing to show inclusiveness. Most of these girls have jobs, families, school so to make this even more marketable and more of an attractive spectacle as with the umpires make them full time not just a past time.
Hopefully the new CEO who comes in can do more by listening to the fans. Review these rule changes implemented the past four years by Hocking without proper consultation, rushed and bring the game back to the FANS.
I am but one voice.
I use to watch other games, other teams but I find myself falling out of love with the game.
I have found myself not attending games and at times not being able to watch OUR games because I am so confused and disheartened with the continual rule changes.
