Umpire farce - Getting worse by the minute!

[TigerForce]

How many flags he got?

Amazing player but always capable of plenty of dog acts on a footy field. For such a great athlete he’s very soft at the air ball. Lacks courage when going for overhead contested marks, never puts himself in vulnerable positions in the air. But loves cleaning blokes up in vulnerable positions. The sign of a bit of a *smile* of a bloke.

That's why I called him over-rated some time ago but you disagreed with me.

 

[MD Jazz]

That's why I called him over-rated some time ago but you disagreed with me.

He’s not overrated as a footballer. He’s a superstar and all time great, what he does on a football field is amazing. The goals he kicks under pressure time and again are spine tingling. His overhead marking has always been a weakness. Made up by every other aspect of his game.

The poor acts have nothing to do with his football ability

 

[Sintiger]

But all the other kids were doing it didn't work for me in primary school and it doesn't wash for professional athletes either.

Control what you can control which is your own actions.

What did we all think when the Swan had the free against Vlastuin reversed? What a moron, didn't need to do it, nothing to gain, everything to lose. Same goes for Rioli.

You might get away with out of play stuff lots of times but when someone decides it is over the line you get pinged. And as we all saw last week that line can be a very low bar.

In a cut-throat professional competition where the difference between success and the rest measured in next to nothing, why on earth would you risk handing ovr an advantage with nothing to gain from it?

You can’t justify calling someone dumb for getting a free against them for something that happens 100 times a week and doesn’t get penalised.

 

[Little Ziggyadee]

It's very very clear any thing WE do outside the rules will be penalised.
The Grimes push, the Rioli Light slap and the Nakas bump.
These actions might be very trivia to other clubs but not for us.
6 direct goals came from free kicks 80% of other clubs wouldn't concede.
I watched the freo and Melb game, it was tough and strong, but no *smile* crap we get pinged for.

 

[Stackey]

I thought I would just turn on the footy for 10 minutes and looked at the 2 games to check the scores.

I saw 3-4 incidents that should have been penalised if Rioli's was ok to pay. There sure are a lot of dumb footballers around .................. and lucky ones too !!

Apparently the footy world is full of dumb players!

 

[Sintiger]

Apparently the footy world is full of dumb players!

I’ve been watching vfl and afl for 50 years Stackey and I reckon I have never seen a player penalised for what Rioli did.

 

[CarnTheTiges]

I’ve been watching vfl and afl for 50 years Stackey and I reckon I have never seen a player penalised for what Rioli did.

It’s the new free, Sin. Similar thing in the Brisbane Hawks game last week. The AFL are well on their way to removing all contact from the game, but at the same time still referring to it as a contact sport. They’ll take steps to stop people from going for high marks in case they hit their head on the descent.

 

[Harry]

I’ve been watching vfl and afl for 50 years Stackey and I reckon I have never seen a player penalised for what Rioli did.

Common sense never applies for us. And then you have TBR say technically the free was there and our players are dumb.

 

[Sintiger]

It’s the new free, Sin. Similar thing in the Brisbane Hawks game last week. The AFL are well on their way to removing all contact from the game, but at the same time still referring to it as a contact sport. They’ll take steps to stop people from going for high marks in case they hit their head on the descent.

I must admit I have stopped watching other games apart from the odd score check so I don’t see what else is happening.
It is so depressing to see a great game ruined

 

[tigerlove]

Who gave the advice? One of the umpires clearly wanted to pay 50.

That they wanted to apply "common sense" is the ultimate absurdity.

Neither made the decision. It went to the 3rd umpire for a decision.

 

[tigerlove]

It's very very clear any thing WE do outside the rules will be penalised.
The Grimes push, the Rioli Light slap and the Nakas bump.
These actions might be very trivia to other clubs but not for us.
6 direct goals came from free kicks 80% of other clubs wouldn't concede.
I watched the freo and Melb game, it was tough and strong, but no *smile* crap we get pinged for.

Didn't see the Grimes push, Rioli's was total BS and Nanks was a clear downfield as it was very late bump.

Freo game 27 frees, ours 61. I don't get it.

 

[The Big Richo]

You can’t justify calling someone dumb for getting a free against them for something that happens 100 times a week and doesn’t get penalised.

You can when in the game played previously to this one a couple of very similar acts were penalised and highlighted all over the place during the week.

That should be more than enough to warn everyone of the risk they are taking with out of play contact.

As I've said, I don't like the free kick but any contact out of play is by definition unnecessary and therefore you run the risk of giving away a free kick for prohibited contact. To do it when you've seen in the previous game that the umpires are calling it can only be described as dumb.

 

[DavidSSS]

It’s the new free, Sin. Similar thing in the Brisbane Hawks game last week. The AFL are well on their way to removing all contact from the game, but at the same time still referring to it as a contact sport. They’ll take steps to stop people from going for high marks in case they hit their head on the descent.

Yeah, except it happens 100 times a week and they penalise maybe 3 or 4 bumps off the ball. The incident with Rioli you could also say that the Sydney player was blocking Rioli walking back onto the ground so maybe he should have been penalised.

If players do this every week and 98% of them don't get penalised the percentages tell you it is ok.

What really sh!ts me is the way they enforce this crap so inconsistently and then wonder why people get upset.

Pay a free every time or not at all, how hard is that?

DS

 

[Little Ziggyadee]

Cheats

 

[RoarEmotion]

Pay a free every time or not at all, how hard is that?

DS

This is a key point and what the umpires / AFL should focus on.

For our players though and given they should know consistency won’t happen you MUST cut out the stupid ones that might get paid. It’s not that *smile* hard. Whining about the inconsistency after you lose a game doesn’t change a *smile* thing and costs the team and the fans.

 

[The Big Richo]

This is a key point and what the umpires / AFL should focus on.

For our players though and given they should know consistency won’t happen you MUST cut out the stupid ones that might get paid. It’s not that *smile* hard. Whining about the inconsistency after you lose a game doesn’t change a *smile* thing and costs the team and the fans.

Love this post.

Consistency is the white whale of umpiring. It's great in theory but the reality is it is exceptionally hard to achieve.

Umpires aren't robots, they are impacted by nerves, tension, fatigue, pressure and lapses in concentration like anyone else is. The you have factors like what they can and can't see at different times during the game depending on the position of the ball and other players. Not to mention that unless you see every decision through the lens of the umpire's vision you cannot determine their consistency anyway.

The nature of the game and the rules require a lot of interpretation and determination of time, distance and action, in a 360 degree game, played at high speed and intensity.

People make up all sorts of ridiculous nonsense about why I try and be balanced about umpiring, the truth is I recognise that it is by far the hardest game in the world to adjudicate.

Players can't be consistent with set shots from 30 metres out from goal and yet we expect umpires to perform much more difficult tasks at a more accurate level?

As Roar says the only thing to do is accept there will be inconsistency and take responsibility for that which you can control, your own actions.

 

[bigwow]

Yeah, except it happens 100 times a week and they penalise maybe 3 or 4 bumps off the ball. The incident with Rioli you could also say that the Sydney player was blocking Rioli walking back onto the ground so maybe he should have been penalised.

If players do this every week and 98% of them don't get penalised the percentages tell you it is ok.

What really sh!ts me is the way they enforce this crap so inconsistently and then wonder why people get upset.

Pay a free every time or not at all, how hard is that?

DS

People complained about 60 free kicks Friday night, if they did this, heads would explode at 120+ frees per game.

 

[Born_a_Tiger78]

Lucky he didn't connect properly or he'd have ended his career.

So, you can be clumsy, attacking the ball, bump a player in the head, and cop a four - six week suspension.

Or, you can be clumsy, and be a *smile* boxer - off the ball and get a one week suspension.

I certainly know what is a worse look for the game, and life in general. The coward's punch.

I wonder if Danny Green can add a comment on this?

 

[artball]

Love this post.

Consistency is the white whale of umpiring. It's great in theory but the reality is it is exceptionally hard to achieve.

Umpires aren't robots, they are impacted by nerves, tension, fatigue, pressure and lapses in concentration like anyone else is. The you have factors like what they can and can't see at different times during the game depending on the position of the ball and other players. Not to mention that unless you see every decision through the lens of the umpire's vision you cannot determine their consistency anyway.

The nature of the game and the rules require a lot of interpretation and determination of time, distance and action, in a 360 degree game, played at high speed and intensity.

People make up all sorts of ridiculous nonsense about why I try and be balanced about umpiring, the truth is I recognise that it is by far the hardest game in the world to adjudicate.

Players can't be consistent with set shots from 30 metres out from goal and yet we expect umpires to perform much more difficult tasks at a more accurate level?

As Roar says the only thing to do is accept there will be inconsistency and take responsibility for that which you can control, your own actions.

is a solution for inconsistency to make the Umpires full time professionals?

aren't we one of the few major national and professional codes in the world whose Umpires are not professional?

i understand the complexities of our game, but surely that is because the rule makers have over-complicated it?

simple fix then - get rid of the complex and somewhat stupid rules, and employ the Umps as full time pros..

can't be that hard, can it ?

 

[The Big Richo]

is a solution for inconsistency to make the Umpires full time professionals?

aren't we one of the few major national and professional codes in the world whose Umpires are not professional?

i understand the complexities of our game, but surely that is because the rule makers have over-complicated it?

simple fix then - get rid of the complex and somewhat stupid rules, and employ the Umps as full time pros..

can't be that hard, can it ?

Maybe, but cricket umpires are pros and they still make mistakes and I'd argue the standard isn't much different than they were part time, but you would have to say full time umpires couldn't hurt. If anything it might attract better candidates for the job.

The rules are a challenge, no doubt but if we leave the stand rule aside I think generally the hard ones to call are more the traditional ones; holding the ball, holding the man, high contact, prohibited contact with blocks, shepherds etc.....