Review 2024 SF - win v. Umpires (Hawks)

[Powerade 08]

I honestly don't understand Port's bleating about the umpiring. It's pretty nuts. Even when you win, you bleat about the umps

I realise you're a little bit more even-minded about the umps than many other Port fans and you're prepared to say a few of the frees were there, so don't take everything I say personally... I'm speaking more about the collective...

For starters, the free kick count was Port 25, Hawks 23... The free kick count never tells the full story, but what it does tell us is that the umps weren't shy about giving you guys a decent share of the free kicks.

Just look at the way the match played out - the gameplans of both sides. The Hawks midfielders went in first for the ball and the Port mids would often hang back slightly and then smash them with tackles whenever the Hawks took possession - the Western Bulldogs & Geelong ploy of conceding first possession and then strip-tackling their opponents.

Tackles...... (2024 average)
Wines. 10..... 4.6
Rozee.. 9...... 4.2
Butters 8...... 4.0
Drew... 8...... 6.2
Sweet.. 5.......5.0


The overall tackle count was pretty even - Hawthorn 81, Port Adelaide 77
Except Port received a ton of HTB free kicks - more than double Hawthorn's frees for HTB.

The Port fans were in a frenzy, screaming for 'holding the ball' throughout the game; feeling aggrieved and booing whenever a tackle of theirs wasn't rewarded. Which is par for the course, but due to it being a closely-fought knockout final, the fans were maybe a little more on-edge and pumped-up than normal. Maybe this is partly what led to you feeling victimised by the umps.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------


So what were the controversial free kicks that got everyone so pissed off?

Lots of commentary around Hawthorn' first 3 goals (all from free kicks)

1. free kick to Calsher Dear... Aliir Aliir penalised for holding the man... This was an obvious decision. He clearly impeded Dear from making the contest vs Bergman. Grabbed him around the midriff. He didn't maul Dear to the ground, but it was still an obvious infringement. Free kick every day of the week.


2. free kick to Mabior Chol... Lachie Jones was penalised for a sling tackle... Once again, this was an obvious free kick. Jones pinned both of Chol's arms and swung him 360' head first to the ground. Chol's head hit the ground, clear as day. The ump was right there on the spot and had a clear unimpeded view of it.

I'm a bit perplexed why anyone would dispute this free kick. What games have they been watching? Welcome to 2024. In past decades, this was a great tackle by Jones. Under the new rules, it's a free kick. I was going to say "under the new rules of 2024"... But the AFL outlawed these sling tackles more than 5 years ago. You can't pin both arms of an opponent and swing them head first into the ground. Surely, we all know that by now, don't we?

If Jones had done this sling tackle during the home and away season, he would've been suspended for one or two matches.
The MRO has chosen to look the other way and given him a pass cos it's a Prelim Final this Friday

[BTW, Lachie Jones goes alright. Love the sidestep. He aint no superstar, but I like his style. He's a pretty good player.]


3. Bullshit free kick to Dylan Moore. Jase Burgoyne was unjustly penalised for a dangerous tackle... Umpire Curtis Deboy was blindsided and incorrectly guessed. He thought he saw a dangerous tackle because of the explosiveness of Burgoyne's take-down. Port fans were justified in bellyaching about this bullshit free kick & goal.

I can't helping thinking there is a bit of "straw that broke the camel's back" with this 3rd free kick goal in 5 minutes. Just because the 3rd one was bullcrap, that doesn't mean the other two frees weren't there. The Port fans near me were livid & screaming about the injustice of it all ... But rather than whinging about 3 bullshit frees, let's get real and acknowledge that 2 of them were there and you got shafted with one of them


However, Port's very first goal was also from a bullshit umpiring decision. Worpel was incorrectly penalised for holding the ball. Willie Rioli wrapped him up with a front-on tackle, but Worpel was strong enough to shrug it off. Tackle incomplete. PLAY ON! Connor Rozee then tackled him around the waist and Worpel immediately handpassed to D'Ambrosio. It was a clear handball. Not some fumbly throw-handpass. Umpire Brett Rosebery was in a poor position, standing 10m behind the action. He just guessed that Worpel fumbled it away. He incorrectly penalised Worpel for the accumulative effect of the 2 tackles...

A bullshit free to Rozee; and he kicked the first goal of the match, much to the delight of the Port fans. Nobody was bleating about the umpires in that instance... All quickly glossed over and forgotten....

So midway through the 2nd qtr, the score was 3 goals apiece and we were 1-1 with umpire-assisted bullshit goals.


On the ensuing centre bounce, Jordan Sweet kneed Lloyd Meek in the nuts. One of those deliberate "accidents".

Meek went down for the count. No free kick. Sweet was fined $5,000 by the MRO for the kneeing offence. But there was no free kick awarded.




I remember the Hawks kicking an iffy goal when Mabior Chol took possession of the ball after it had just crossed the boundary line. Not so much a bullshit umpiring decision. More a case of the boundary ump not seeing it, so were were able to get away with that that one. Shit happens. I totally understand the Port fans' anger and frustration after they saw the replay. But these sort of things will always occur throughout a game. I generally think good luck to you if you can get away with a few.

I remember much later in the game, Port players were constantly knocking the ball over the boundary line. Much like Sam Taylor v Joe Daniher late in the 4th quarter of the Giants v Lions semi final. Except the Hawks received no free kick for 'deliberate' or 'insufficient intent'. Go figure!



Were there any other controversial moments ? Were there any other bullshit goals from bullshit free kicks?
Let me know... I'm genuinely curious about what got you all so worked up. The umpiring wasn't that bad, was it?

You mentioned the dubious frees given to the "ducking" Watson. Why is Watson always singled out for ducking? For starters, he is the shortest player in the AFL and he plays to his strengths. Why wouldn't he? He gets himself low to the ground when he bursts through with the ball and makes it very difficult for defenders to tackle him without infringing. Sometimes he ducks. Other times he doesn't need to.

I still don't think it's fair for people to always single him out for ducking when more than 90% of high tackle free kicks are the result of players ducking. Should we run the ruler over Jason Horne-Francis's 41 frees in 2024 and see how many he milked from ducking into tackles? Let's get real... All the good players do it...



I just think the whole Port vs Umpires from last Friday was overplayed. Port fans seem to like playing the victim when it comes to umpiring. Backs to the wall... Us against them... We shall overcome and win it the "hard way"... With decent umpiring and bit of luck, we would've SMASHED them...


Pfft. It was a great game, mate. It was played largely on Port's terms. The Hawks were never really able to get their game going, which is a credit to Hinkley, his assistants and the players for radically changing up their team methodology.


Some bad umpiring decisions went both ways. But I think you're drawing a hell of a long bow to say they favoured Hawthorn. I know one thing for certain... If you think the umpiring was bad last Friday night, just you wait until this Friday night!!! You are up against the AFL love child. Just think of the extra TV ratings Channel 7 will get if Sydney win through to the Grand Final with millions of rugby fans and AFL casuals tuning in.

Well said, agree with every point. Thanks for posting this

 

[GremioPower]

Even when you win, you bleat about the umps

You should back this one out.

It’s a good exercise trying watch a game through the eyes of a neutral. Do that, then think on what you said.

 

[Finest of Wines]

I honestly don't understand Port's bleating about the umpiring. It's pretty nuts. Even when you win, you bleat about the umps

I realise you're a little bit more even-minded about the umps than many other Port fans and you're prepared to say a few of the frees were there, so don't take everything I say personally... I'm speaking more about the collective...

For starters, the free kick count was Port 25, Hawks 23... The free kick count never tells the full story, but what it does tell us is that the umps weren't shy about giving you guys a decent share of the free kicks.

Just look at the way the match played out - the gameplans of both sides. The Hawks midfielders went in first for the ball and the Port mids would often hang back slightly and then smash them with tackles whenever the Hawks took possession - the Western Bulldogs & Geelong ploy of conceding first possession and then strip-tackling their opponents.

Tackles...... (2024 average)
Wines. 10..... 4.6
Rozee.. 9...... 4.2
Butters 8...... 4.0
Drew... 8...... 6.2
Sweet.. 5.......5.0


The overall tackle count was pretty even - Hawthorn 81, Port Adelaide 77
Except Port received a ton of HTB free kicks - more than double Hawthorn's frees for HTB.

The Port fans were in a frenzy, screaming for 'holding the ball' throughout the game; feeling aggrieved and booing whenever a tackle of theirs wasn't rewarded. Which is par for the course, but due to it being a closely-fought knockout final, the fans were maybe a little more on-edge and pumped-up than normal. Maybe this is partly what led to you feeling victimised by the umps.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------


So what were the controversial free kicks that got everyone so pissed off?

Lots of commentary around Hawthorn' first 3 goals (all from free kicks)

1. free kick to Calsher Dear... Aliir Aliir penalised for holding the man... This was an obvious decision. He clearly impeded Dear from making the contest vs Bergman. Grabbed him around the midriff. He didn't maul Dear to the ground, but it was still an obvious infringement. Free kick every day of the week.


2. free kick to Mabior Chol... Lachie Jones was penalised for a sling tackle... Once again, this was an obvious free kick. Jones pinned both of Chol's arms and swung him 360' head first to the ground. Chol's head hit the ground, clear as day. The ump was right there on the spot and had a clear unimpeded view of it.

I'm a bit perplexed why anyone would dispute this free kick. What games have they been watching? Welcome to 2024. In past decades, this was a great tackle by Jones. Under the new rules, it's a free kick. I was going to say "under the new rules of 2024"... But the AFL outlawed these sling tackles more than 5 years ago. You can't pin both arms of an opponent and swing them head first into the ground. Surely, we all know that by now, don't we?

If Jones had done this sling tackle during the home and away season, he would've been suspended for one or two matches.
The MRO has chosen to look the other way and given him a pass cos it's a Prelim Final this Friday

[BTW, Lachie Jones goes alright. Love the sidestep. He aint no superstar, but I like his style. He's a pretty good player.]


3. Bullshit free kick to Dylan Moore. Jase Burgoyne was unjustly penalised for a dangerous tackle... Umpire Curtis Deboy was blindsided and incorrectly guessed. He thought he saw a dangerous tackle because of the explosiveness of Burgoyne's take-down. Port fans were justified in bellyaching about this bullshit free kick & goal.

I can't helping thinking there is a bit of "straw that broke the camel's back" with this 3rd free kick goal in 5 minutes. Just because the 3rd one was bullcrap, that doesn't mean the other two frees weren't there. The Port fans near me were livid & screaming about the injustice of it all ... But rather than whinging about 3 bullshit frees, let's get real and acknowledge that 2 of them were there and you got shafted with one of them


However, Port's very first goal was also from a bullshit umpiring decision. Worpel was incorrectly penalised for holding the ball. Willie Rioli wrapped him up with a front-on tackle, but Worpel was strong enough to shrug it off. Tackle incomplete. PLAY ON! Connor Rozee then tackled him around the waist and Worpel immediately handpassed to D'Ambrosio. It was a clear handball. Not some fumbly throw-handpass. Umpire Brett Rosebery was in a poor position, standing 10m behind the action. He just guessed that Worpel fumbled it away. He incorrectly penalised Worpel for the accumulative effect of the 2 tackles...

A bullshit free to Rozee; and he kicked the first goal of the match, much to the delight of the Port fans. Nobody was bleating about the umpires in that instance... All quickly glossed over and forgotten....

So midway through the 2nd qtr, the score was 3 goals apiece and we were 1-1 with umpire-assisted bullshit goals.


On the ensuing centre bounce, Jordan Sweet kneed Lloyd Meek in the nuts. One of those deliberate "accidents".

Meek went down for the count. No free kick. Sweet was fined $5,000 by the MRO for the kneeing offence. But there was no free kick awarded.




I remember the Hawks kicking an iffy goal when Mabior Chol took possession of the ball after it had just crossed the boundary line. Not so much a bullshit umpiring decision. More a case of the boundary ump not seeing it, so were were able to get away with that that one. Shit happens. I totally understand the Port fans' anger and frustration after they saw the replay. But these sort of things will always occur throughout a game. I generally think good luck to you if you can get away with a few.

I remember much later in the game, Port players were constantly knocking the ball over the boundary line. Much like Sam Taylor v Joe Daniher late in the 4th quarter of the Giants v Lions semi final. Except the Hawks received no free kick for 'deliberate' or 'insufficient intent'. Go figure!



Were there any other controversial moments ? Were there any other bullshit goals from bullshit free kicks?
Let me know... I'm genuinely curious about what got you all so worked up. The umpiring wasn't that bad, was it?

You mentioned the dubious frees given to the "ducking" Watson. Why is Watson always singled out for ducking? For starters, he is the shortest player in the AFL and he plays to his strengths. Why wouldn't he? He gets himself low to the ground when he bursts through with the ball and makes it very difficult for defenders to tackle him without infringing. Sometimes he ducks. Other times he doesn't need to.

I still don't think it's fair for people to always single him out for ducking when more than 90% of high tackle free kicks are the result of players ducking. Should we run the ruler over Jason Horne-Francis's 41 frees in 2024 and see how many he milked from ducking into tackles? Let's get real... All the good players do it...



I just think the whole Port vs Umpires from last Friday was overplayed. Port fans seem to like playing the victim when it comes to umpiring. Backs to the wall... Us against them... We shall overcome and win it the "hard way"... With decent umpiring and bit of luck, we would've SMASHED them...


Pfft. It was a great game, mate. It was played largely on Port's terms. The Hawks were never really able to get their game going, which is a credit to Hinkley, his assistants and the players for radically changing up their team methodology.


Some bad umpiring decisions went both ways. But I think you're drawing a hell of a long bow to say they favoured Hawthorn. I know one thing for certain... If you think the umpiring was bad last Friday night, just you wait until this Friday night!!! You are up against the AFL love child. Just think of the extra TV ratings Channel 7 will get if Sydney win through to the Grand Final with millions of rugby fans and AFL casuals tuning in.

The constant attempts by Hawthorn players to exaggerate head contact with the ground when being tackled is embarrassing

 

[Enviable Tradition]

I honestly don't understand Port's bleating about the umpiring. It's pretty nuts. Even when you win, you bleat about the umps

I realise you're a little bit more even-minded about the umps than many other Port fans and you're prepared to say a few of the frees were there, so don't take everything I say personally... I'm speaking more about the collective...

For starters, the free kick count was Port 25, Hawks 23... The free kick count never tells the full story, but what it does tell us is that the umps weren't shy about giving you guys a decent share of the free kicks.

Just look at the way the match played out - the gameplans of both sides. The Hawks midfielders went in first for the ball and the Port mids would often hang back slightly and then smash them with tackles whenever the Hawks took possession - the Western Bulldogs & Geelong ploy of conceding first possession and then strip-tackling their opponents.

Tackles...... (2024 average)
Wines. 10..... 4.6
Rozee.. 9...... 4.2
Butters 8...... 4.0
Drew... 8...... 6.2
Sweet.. 5.......5.0


The overall tackle count was pretty even - Hawthorn 81, Port Adelaide 77
Except Port received a ton of HTB free kicks - more than double Hawthorn's frees for HTB.

The Port fans were in a frenzy, screaming for 'holding the ball' throughout the game; feeling aggrieved and booing whenever a tackle of theirs wasn't rewarded. Which is par for the course, but due to it being a closely-fought knockout final, the fans were maybe a little more on-edge and pumped-up than normal. Maybe this is partly what led to you feeling victimised by the umps.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------


So what were the controversial free kicks that got everyone so pissed off?

Lots of commentary around Hawthorn' first 3 goals (all from free kicks)

1. free kick to Calsher Dear... Aliir Aliir penalised for holding the man... This was an obvious decision. He clearly impeded Dear from making the contest vs Bergman. Grabbed him around the midriff. He didn't maul Dear to the ground, but it was still an obvious infringement. Free kick every day of the week.


2. free kick to Mabior Chol... Lachie Jones was penalised for a sling tackle... Once again, this was an obvious free kick. Jones pinned both of Chol's arms and swung him 360' head first to the ground. Chol's head hit the ground, clear as day. The ump was right there on the spot and had a clear unimpeded view of it.

I'm a bit perplexed why anyone would dispute this free kick. What games have they been watching? Welcome to 2024. In past decades, this was a great tackle by Jones. Under the new rules, it's a free kick. I was going to say "under the new rules of 2024"... But the AFL outlawed these sling tackles more than 5 years ago. You can't pin both arms of an opponent and swing them head first into the ground. Surely, we all know that by now, don't we?

If Jones had done this sling tackle during the home and away season, he would've been suspended for one or two matches.
The MRO has chosen to look the other way and given him a pass cos it's a Prelim Final this Friday

[BTW, Lachie Jones goes alright. Love the sidestep. He aint no superstar, but I like his style. He's a pretty good player.]


3. Bullshit free kick to Dylan Moore. Jase Burgoyne was unjustly penalised for a dangerous tackle... Umpire Curtis Deboy was blindsided and incorrectly guessed. He thought he saw a dangerous tackle because of the explosiveness of Burgoyne's take-down. Port fans were justified in bellyaching about this bullshit free kick & goal.

I can't helping thinking there is a bit of "straw that broke the camel's back" with this 3rd free kick goal in 5 minutes. Just because the 3rd one was bullcrap, that doesn't mean the other two frees weren't there. The Port fans near me were livid & screaming about the injustice of it all ... But rather than whinging about 3 bullshit frees, let's get real and acknowledge that 2 of them were there and you got shafted with one of them


However, Port's very first goal was also from a bullshit umpiring decision. Worpel was incorrectly penalised for holding the ball. Willie Rioli wrapped him up with a front-on tackle, but Worpel was strong enough to shrug it off. Tackle incomplete. PLAY ON! Connor Rozee then tackled him around the waist and Worpel immediately handpassed to D'Ambrosio. It was a clear handball. Not some fumbly throw-handpass. Umpire Brett Rosebery was in a poor position, standing 10m behind the action. He just guessed that Worpel fumbled it away. He incorrectly penalised Worpel for the accumulative effect of the 2 tackles...

A bullshit free to Rozee; and he kicked the first goal of the match, much to the delight of the Port fans. Nobody was bleating about the umpires in that instance... All quickly glossed over and forgotten....

So midway through the 2nd qtr, the score was 3 goals apiece and we were 1-1 with umpire-assisted bullshit goals.


On the ensuing centre bounce, Jordan Sweet kneed Lloyd Meek in the nuts. One of those deliberate "accidents".

Meek went down for the count. No free kick. Sweet was fined $5,000 by the MRO for the kneeing offence. But there was no free kick awarded.




I remember the Hawks kicking an iffy goal when Mabior Chol took possession of the ball after it had just crossed the boundary line. Not so much a bullshit umpiring decision. More a case of the boundary ump not seeing it, so were were able to get away with that that one. Shit happens. I totally understand the Port fans' anger and frustration after they saw the replay. But these sort of things will always occur throughout a game. I generally think good luck to you if you can get away with a few.

I remember much later in the game, Port players were constantly knocking the ball over the boundary line. Much like Sam Taylor v Joe Daniher late in the 4th quarter of the Giants v Lions semi final. Except the Hawks received no free kick for 'deliberate' or 'insufficient intent'. Go figure!



Were there any other controversial moments ? Were there any other bullshit goals from bullshit free kicks?
Let me know... I'm genuinely curious about what got you all so worked up. The umpiring wasn't that bad, was it?

You mentioned the dubious frees given to the "ducking" Watson. Why is Watson always singled out for ducking? For starters, he is the shortest player in the AFL and he plays to his strengths. Why wouldn't he? He gets himself low to the ground when he bursts through with the ball and makes it very difficult for defenders to tackle him without infringing. Sometimes he ducks. Other times he doesn't need to.

I still don't think it's fair for people to always single him out for ducking when more than 90% of high tackle free kicks are the result of players ducking. Should we run the ruler over Jason Horne-Francis's 41 frees in 2024 and see how many he milked from ducking into tackles? Let's get real... All the good players do it...



I just think the whole Port vs Umpires from last Friday was overplayed. Port fans seem to like playing the victim when it comes to umpiring. Backs to the wall... Us against them... We shall overcome and win it the "hard way"... With decent umpiring and bit of luck, we would've SMASHED them...


Pfft. It was a great game, mate. It was played largely on Port's terms. The Hawks were never really able to get their game going, which is a credit to Hinkley, his assistants and the players for radically changing up their team methodology.


Some bad umpiring decisions went both ways. But I think you're drawing a hell of a long bow to say they favoured Hawthorn. I know one thing for certain... If you think the umpiring was bad last Friday night, just you wait until this Friday night!!! You are up against the AFL love child. Just think of the extra TV ratings Channel 7 will get if Sydney win through to the Grand Final with millions of rugby fans and AFL casuals tuning in.

I'll just assume the rest of the chapters were as salty as the first.

On SM-G975F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[RangaInTeal]

I honestly don't understand Port's bleating about the umpiring. It's pretty nuts. Even when you win, you bleat about the umps

I realise you're a little bit more even-minded about the umps than many other Port fans and you're prepared to say a few of the frees were there, so don't take everything I say personally... I'm speaking more about the collective...

For starters, the free kick count was Port 25, Hawks 23... The free kick count never tells the full story, but what it does tell us is that the umps weren't shy about giving you guys a decent share of the free kicks.

Just look at the way the match played out - the gameplans of both sides. The Hawks midfielders went in first for the ball and the Port mids would often hang back slightly and then smash them with tackles whenever the Hawks took possession - the Western Bulldogs & Geelong ploy of conceding first possession and then strip-tackling their opponents.

Tackles...... (2024 average)
Wines. 10..... 4.6
Rozee.. 9...... 4.2
Butters 8...... 4.0
Drew... 8...... 6.2
Sweet.. 5.......5.0


The overall tackle count was pretty even - Hawthorn 81, Port Adelaide 77
Except Port received a ton of HTB free kicks - more than double Hawthorn's frees for HTB.

The Port fans were in a frenzy, screaming for 'holding the ball' throughout the game; feeling aggrieved and booing whenever a tackle of theirs wasn't rewarded. Which is par for the course, but due to it being a closely-fought knockout final, the fans were maybe a little more on-edge and pumped-up than normal. Maybe this is partly what led to you feeling victimised by the umps.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------


So what were the controversial free kicks that got everyone so pissed off?

Lots of commentary around Hawthorn' first 3 goals (all from free kicks)

1. free kick to Calsher Dear... Aliir Aliir penalised for holding the man... This was an obvious decision. He clearly impeded Dear from making the contest vs Bergman. Grabbed him around the midriff. He didn't maul Dear to the ground, but it was still an obvious infringement. Free kick every day of the week.


2. free kick to Mabior Chol... Lachie Jones was penalised for a sling tackle... Once again, this was an obvious free kick. Jones pinned both of Chol's arms and swung him 360' head first to the ground. Chol's head hit the ground, clear as day. The ump was right there on the spot and had a clear unimpeded view of it.

I'm a bit perplexed why anyone would dispute this free kick. What games have they been watching? Welcome to 2024. In past decades, this was a great tackle by Jones. Under the new rules, it's a free kick. I was going to say "under the new rules of 2024"... But the AFL outlawed these sling tackles more than 5 years ago. You can't pin both arms of an opponent and swing them head first into the ground. Surely, we all know that by now, don't we?

If Jones had done this sling tackle during the home and away season, he would've been suspended for one or two matches.
The MRO has chosen to look the other way and given him a pass cos it's a Prelim Final this Friday

[BTW, Lachie Jones goes alright. Love the sidestep. He aint no superstar, but I like his style. He's a pretty good player.]


3. Bullshit free kick to Dylan Moore. Jase Burgoyne was unjustly penalised for a dangerous tackle... Umpire Curtis Deboy was blindsided and incorrectly guessed. He thought he saw a dangerous tackle because of the explosiveness of Burgoyne's take-down. Port fans were justified in bellyaching about this bullshit free kick & goal.

I can't helping thinking there is a bit of "straw that broke the camel's back" with this 3rd free kick goal in 5 minutes. Just because the 3rd one was bullcrap, that doesn't mean the other two frees weren't there. The Port fans near me were livid & screaming about the injustice of it all ... But rather than whinging about 3 bullshit frees, let's get real and acknowledge that 2 of them were there and you got shafted with one of them


However, Port's very first goal was also from a bullshit umpiring decision. Worpel was incorrectly penalised for holding the ball. Willie Rioli wrapped him up with a front-on tackle, but Worpel was strong enough to shrug it off. Tackle incomplete. PLAY ON! Connor Rozee then tackled him around the waist and Worpel immediately handpassed to D'Ambrosio. It was a clear handball. Not some fumbly throw-handpass. Umpire Brett Rosebery was in a poor position, standing 10m behind the action. He just guessed that Worpel fumbled it away. He incorrectly penalised Worpel for the accumulative effect of the 2 tackles...

A bullshit free to Rozee; and he kicked the first goal of the match, much to the delight of the Port fans. Nobody was bleating about the umpires in that instance... All quickly glossed over and forgotten....

So midway through the 2nd qtr, the score was 3 goals apiece and we were 1-1 with umpire-assisted bullshit goals.


On the ensuing centre bounce, Jordan Sweet kneed Lloyd Meek in the nuts. One of those deliberate "accidents".

Meek went down for the count. No free kick. Sweet was fined $5,000 by the MRO for the kneeing offence. But there was no free kick awarded.




I remember the Hawks kicking an iffy goal when Mabior Chol took possession of the ball after it had just crossed the boundary line. Not so much a bullshit umpiring decision. More a case of the boundary ump not seeing it, so were were able to get away with that that one. Shit happens. I totally understand the Port fans' anger and frustration after they saw the replay. But these sort of things will always occur throughout a game. I generally think good luck to you if you can get away with a few.

I remember much later in the game, Port players were constantly knocking the ball over the boundary line. Much like Sam Taylor v Joe Daniher late in the 4th quarter of the Giants v Lions semi final. Except the Hawks received no free kick for 'deliberate' or 'insufficient intent'. Go figure!



Were there any other controversial moments ? Were there any other bullshit goals from bullshit free kicks?
Let me know... I'm genuinely curious about what got you all so worked up. The umpiring wasn't that bad, was it?

You mentioned the dubious frees given to the "ducking" Watson. Why is Watson always singled out for ducking? For starters, he is the shortest player in the AFL and he plays to his strengths. Why wouldn't he? He gets himself low to the ground when he bursts through with the ball and makes it very difficult for defenders to tackle him without infringing. Sometimes he ducks. Other times he doesn't need to.

I still don't think it's fair for people to always single him out for ducking when more than 90% of high tackle free kicks are the result of players ducking. Should we run the ruler over Jason Horne-Francis's 41 frees in 2024 and see how many he milked from ducking into tackles? Let's get real... All the good players do it...



I just think the whole Port vs Umpires from last Friday was overplayed. Port fans seem to like playing the victim when it comes to umpiring. Backs to the wall... Us against them... We shall overcome and win it the "hard way"... With decent umpiring and bit of luck, we would've SMASHED them...


Pfft. It was a great game, mate. It was played largely on Port's terms. The Hawks were never really able to get their game going, which is a credit to Hinkley, his assistants and the players for radically changing up their team methodology.


Some bad umpiring decisions went both ways. But I think you're drawing a hell of a long bow to say they favoured Hawthorn. I know one thing for certain... If you think the umpiring was bad last Friday night, just you wait until this Friday night!!! You are up against the AFL love child. Just think of the extra TV ratings Channel 7 will get if Sydney win through to the Grand Final with millions of rugby fans and AFL casuals tuning in.

Enjoy the footy trip, maybe see you there next week, maybe not…

 

[Lighthouse End]

No, we don't. You're just making this stuff up.

The only time anyone talks about the old South Melb supporters is when the Swans get a big crowd to one of their games at the MCG. Maybe one of the commentators will waffle on about the Vic-based Swans fans. South Melb is ancient history. Everyone knows the Swannies as the Sydney team.

The old Roys fans get even less acknowledgement. The AFL's Brisbane-Fitzroy merger in 1996 was never fully accepted by the rank & file fans. There were a handful who stuck with the Lions because of the colours, but not many at all... Most just drifted away.

The whole "suck shit Victoria" thing is pretty funny.... Like there's some mythical solidarity between the fans of Coll, Carl, Ess, Rich, Haw, Geel, St K, NM, WB, Melb vs the Non-Vic teams. Nobody cares about that. There is no "us Victorians vs the rest" mentality. Only from the company men who work in the media. Some wanka might start a thread on the main board along those lines as a troll... But the reality is the fans of the Vic clubs HATE each other. They ALWAYS barrack for the non-Vic teams to beat their hated Vic rivals - just go and look at the match threads here on Big Footy

If Adelaide was playing a Prelim final vs Essendon, would you lot be barracking for the Crows or the Bombers?


"Suck shit Victoria" would be more accurately described as "Suck shit Channel 7" or "Suck shit Vic media". They're the ones who love the "Big Four" clubs to the exclusion of the six smaller Victorian clubs. We are just after-thoughts in their content creation. We're the neglected little brother clubs just like Port in Adelaide or Freo in Perth.

For the media, it's all about money and clicks and tv ratings. Ergo, they LOVE the Pies, Blues, Tigers and Bombers.

You make some good points in this post, but as a Victorian ( native of the Bellarine Peninsula ) now living in SA, I've seen both sides of the argument.

As a kid in the 70s growing up barracking for Geelong as you do in my area, I learned to hate North Melbourne and Hawthorn, and after the two prelims in 1980 and 81, Collingwood. Footscray, Fitzroy, South Melbourne, Melbourne and St Kilda were nuisance value. The hatred of Hawthorn intensified through the late 70s and 80s ( read my earlier posts ).
I fully remember in 1987 when West Coast and Brisbane came in. The Bears were a laughing stock and no one cared about them, but the anti - Eagles sentiment in Victoria was downright nasty. Are you old enough to remember the car stickers saying ' West Coast w***ers ' and ' WCE = w***ers Coming East ' ? Then in 1991 when the Crows first came in, it went up a level and became blatantly vicious. I witnessed many an incident at Kardinia Park. 1991 was a good litmus test because WCE were top of the ladder all year and the Crows were winning reasonably regularly, and there was a real paranoia in Victoria that WCE would win the flag and within a couple of years there would be a Crows / Eagles GF. Then there was the Grand Prix thing in the mid 90s when supporters of Vic clubs would take chequered flags to Crows games, even at Football Park. And when the Crows eventually won those two GF's, the whole frigging place went into meltdown. Remember Tim Watson's 1998 season promo ad showing the Crows lifting the '97 cup? " This must never be allowed to happen again! ".

I had a number of friends who were SA expats and Port Magpies supporters, when Port came in to the AFL I used to go with them to their base in Melbourne, Bells Hotel in South Melbourne, to watch games over a few beers and a meal. I clearly remember the QF in 2003, driving along Clarendon St and seeing the entire area festooned with red and white and arriving at the hotel to see it full of Toilet Ducks supporters cheering for ' South ' . This was 21 years after the move. Ancient history? I think not.
I also doubt that the media is behind Brisbane and Sydney reverting to playing in their old Fitzroy / South guernseys in away games. I'd suggest that is simply the clubs themselves trying to assuage links with their origins to keep those entities alive in the football public's conscience.
Unless things have changed since I have been here, and I go back regularly to visit family and watch Queenscliff play, and see plenty of evidence it hasn't, I would say the same sentiments - mitigated by a dollop of modern day PC touchy feely tripe - would apply.

Since moving to SA in 2004 I have developed a deep dislike of the Crows for the same reason you describe in your post - media overkill, and the fact they are a pack of whingers and seem to have this paranoid hatred of Port over events that happened in 1990 and can't let it go. I have sort of adopted Port as a sister club since coming here as I respect their history and tradition, and I also knew Travis Boak's family closely back home. The garbage that goes on here from the Crows direction is insane and the media pile on is worse. And Port definitely cop the pineapple up the cornhole from the AFL in every way possible.

What we can agree on is the Vic media bias, although I tend to think that the media, and more accurately the TV networks, are responsible for a bit more than just puffing up outdated colonial rivalries.

 

[SureBuddy]

I honestly don't understand Port's bleating about the umpiring. It's pretty nuts. Even when you win, you bleat about the umps

I realise you're a little bit more even-minded about the umps than many other Port fans and you're prepared to say a few of the frees were there, so don't take everything I say personally... I'm speaking more about the collective...

For starters, the free kick count was Port 25, Hawks 23... The free kick count never tells the full story, but what it does tell us is that the umps weren't shy about giving you guys a decent share of the free kicks.

Just look at the way the match played out - the gameplans of both sides. The Hawks midfielders went in first for the ball and the Port mids would often hang back slightly and then smash them with tackles whenever the Hawks took possession - the Western Bulldogs & Geelong ploy of conceding first possession and then strip-tackling their opponents.

Tackles...... (2024 average)
Wines. 10..... 4.6
Rozee.. 9...... 4.2
Butters 8...... 4.0
Drew... 8...... 6.2
Sweet.. 5.......5.0


The overall tackle count was pretty even - Hawthorn 81, Port Adelaide 77
Except Port received a ton of HTB free kicks - more than double Hawthorn's frees for HTB.

The Port fans were in a frenzy, screaming for 'holding the ball' throughout the game; feeling aggrieved and booing whenever a tackle of theirs wasn't rewarded. Which is par for the course, but due to it being a closely-fought knockout final, the fans were maybe a little more on-edge and pumped-up than normal. Maybe this is partly what led to you feeling victimised by the umps.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------


So what were the controversial free kicks that got everyone so pissed off?

Lots of commentary around Hawthorn' first 3 goals (all from free kicks)

1. free kick to Calsher Dear... Aliir Aliir penalised for holding the man... This was an obvious decision. He clearly impeded Dear from making the contest vs Bergman. Grabbed him around the midriff. He didn't maul Dear to the ground, but it was still an obvious infringement. Free kick every day of the week.


2. free kick to Mabior Chol... Lachie Jones was penalised for a sling tackle... Once again, this was an obvious free kick. Jones pinned both of Chol's arms and swung him 360' head first to the ground. Chol's head hit the ground, clear as day. The ump was right there on the spot and had a clear unimpeded view of it.

I'm a bit perplexed why anyone would dispute this free kick. What games have they been watching? Welcome to 2024. In past decades, this was a great tackle by Jones. Under the new rules, it's a free kick. I was going to say "under the new rules of 2024"... But the AFL outlawed these sling tackles more than 5 years ago. You can't pin both arms of an opponent and swing them head first into the ground. Surely, we all know that by now, don't we?

If Jones had done this sling tackle during the home and away season, he would've been suspended for one or two matches.
The MRO has chosen to look the other way and given him a pass cos it's a Prelim Final this Friday

[BTW, Lachie Jones goes alright. Love the sidestep. He aint no superstar, but I like his style. He's a pretty good player.]


3. Bullshit free kick to Dylan Moore. Jase Burgoyne was unjustly penalised for a dangerous tackle... Umpire Curtis Deboy was blindsided and incorrectly guessed. He thought he saw a dangerous tackle because of the explosiveness of Burgoyne's take-down. Port fans were justified in bellyaching about this bullshit free kick & goal.

I can't helping thinking there is a bit of "straw that broke the camel's back" with this 3rd free kick goal in 5 minutes. Just because the 3rd one was bullcrap, that doesn't mean the other two frees weren't there. The Port fans near me were livid & screaming about the injustice of it all ... But rather than whinging about 3 bullshit frees, let's get real and acknowledge that 2 of them were there and you got shafted with one of them


However, Port's very first goal was also from a bullshit umpiring decision. Worpel was incorrectly penalised for holding the ball. Willie Rioli wrapped him up with a front-on tackle, but Worpel was strong enough to shrug it off. Tackle incomplete. PLAY ON! Connor Rozee then tackled him around the waist and Worpel immediately handpassed to D'Ambrosio. It was a clear handball. Not some fumbly throw-handpass. Umpire Brett Rosebery was in a poor position, standing 10m behind the action. He just guessed that Worpel fumbled it away. He incorrectly penalised Worpel for the accumulative effect of the 2 tackles...

A bullshit free to Rozee; and he kicked the first goal of the match, much to the delight of the Port fans. Nobody was bleating about the umpires in that instance... All quickly glossed over and forgotten....

So midway through the 2nd qtr, the score was 3 goals apiece and we were 1-1 with umpire-assisted bullshit goals.


On the ensuing centre bounce, Jordan Sweet kneed Lloyd Meek in the nuts. One of those deliberate "accidents".

Meek went down for the count. No free kick. Sweet was fined $5,000 by the MRO for the kneeing offence. But there was no free kick awarded.




I remember the Hawks kicking an iffy goal when Mabior Chol took possession of the ball after it had just crossed the boundary line. Not so much a bullshit umpiring decision. More a case of the boundary ump not seeing it, so were were able to get away with that that one. Shit happens. I totally understand the Port fans' anger and frustration after they saw the replay. But these sort of things will always occur throughout a game. I generally think good luck to you if you can get away with a few.

I remember much later in the game, Port players were constantly knocking the ball over the boundary line. Much like Sam Taylor v Joe Daniher late in the 4th quarter of the Giants v Lions semi final. Except the Hawks received no free kick for 'deliberate' or 'insufficient intent'. Go figure!



Were there any other controversial moments ? Were there any other bullshit goals from bullshit free kicks?
Let me know... I'm genuinely curious about what got you all so worked up. The umpiring wasn't that bad, was it?

You mentioned the dubious frees given to the "ducking" Watson. Why is Watson always singled out for ducking? For starters, he is the shortest player in the AFL and he plays to his strengths. Why wouldn't he? He gets himself low to the ground when he bursts through with the ball and makes it very difficult for defenders to tackle him without infringing. Sometimes he ducks. Other times he doesn't need to.

I still don't think it's fair for people to always single him out for ducking when more than 90% of high tackle free kicks are the result of players ducking. Should we run the ruler over Jason Horne-Francis's 41 frees in 2024 and see how many he milked from ducking into tackles? Let's get real... All the good players do it...



I just think the whole Port vs Umpires from last Friday was overplayed. Port fans seem to like playing the victim when it comes to umpiring. Backs to the wall... Us against them... We shall overcome and win it the "hard way"... With decent umpiring and bit of luck, we would've SMASHED them...


Pfft. It was a great game, mate. It was played largely on Port's terms. The Hawks were never really able to get their game going, which is a credit to Hinkley, his assistants and the players for radically changing up their team methodology.


Some bad umpiring decisions went both ways. But I think you're drawing a hell of a long bow to say they favoured Hawthorn. I know one thing for certain... If you think the umpiring was bad last Friday night, just you wait until this Friday night!!! You are up against the AFL love child. Just think of the extra TV ratings Channel 7 will get if Sydney win through to the Grand Final with millions of rugby fans and AFL casuals tuning in.

You sir have no idea. That is the most bias review I have seen yet lol. Your season is over, wipe your salty tears from your face and run along now.

 

[FishingRick04]

Facts are
Free one was minor ******ation, letter of law it was a free but never or rarely paid, I didn’t see our forwards reciprocated that luxury of interpretation.

Free two, was perfect, minimal head contact with ground, hip to impact. Chol grasped for in head to get the free, which happened about 20 times during the night cough Impey.

Free 3 Hawkthorn played drove himself forward, my angle was perfect for that.

Free 4 with Watson, was a duck post the out of bounds job call.

Plus the 8-0 run of frees in the second repeatedly giving Hawthorn possession.

Dawks players routinely grasping their head in a tackle was pathetic and an obvious ploy to suck in umpires.

 

[rogerjames]

Sicily looks like the bloke that had 6 beers and becomes totally unhinged.

Weird unit.

Pushed Impey away then Impey had to stand in front of him to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. He's a loose cannon, always has been.

 

[rogerjames]

just realised the “biggest” media voices on the Hinkley sledge are all Hawthorn ex-players.

Dunstall, Brereton, Hodge and Lewis.

I wonder if they can actually write a review on the game now?

Hard to concentrate when you're still crying like petulant, entitled sooks. Feel so sorry for them that the Afl failed in orchestrating the Hawks fairytale. The shock was too much for them.

 

[rogerjames]

Really?

One of the youngest teams in the comp went from 17th on the ladder after Round 7 all the way to a Semi Final. They've been playing virtual Elimination Finals for the past 2 months. They won 15 of their last 20 games in great style without any recognised superstars, but with an incredibly even team effort across the board.

Last week, in front of an MCG crowd of 98,000, they won convincingly versus a highly-fancied Western Bulldogs team who many were tipping to win the flag.

They travelled to South Australia to play a pumped-up Port Adelaide team who finished 2nd on the ladder and who threw the kitchen sink at them for 4 quarters. I don't have the stats, but I'm guessing it was Port's best game of the season in terms of pressure index and tough tackling over 4 quarters.

Port managed to shut down the Hawks running game and led by 3 goals halfway through the final quarter.

Did the Hawks turn up their toes and concede defeat? Did the Hawks find it all "too hard" and surrender meekly once the opposition and home crowd sensed victory? Nope... Hawthorn fought the game out to the final whistle. They almost pinched victory in the final 2-3 minutes with 2 set shots that went agonisingly close.

This is the exact opposite to showing a "soft underbelly". Teams with a soft underbelly get pumped in September. Or they fold like a house of cards and let games slip after leading by 44 points. Hawthorn went down swinging in an away final and lost by 3 points without some key personnel. I personally think they showed a lot of character, grit and toughness this season.

But enough of the actual footy talk. Let's focus instead on the peripheral post-game crap... Maybe in the immediate aftermath of defeat, they got sucked in by the Hinkley gloating and they defended their teammate and displayed their bitter disappointment at being knocked out of the premiership race.

If that's called having a "soft underbelly" then please sign us up for some more...

Agree with most of this. Have enjoyed watching your team & you should have beaten us in that H & A game at Adel Oval. But we were the better team on Friday night & you got favourable umpiring to keep you in the game whether you want to admit it or not. Having watched Mitchell's childish press conference & the Hawk media sooks it surprises me your team has done so well.

 

[GremioPower]

Whining is a pretty unsociable behavior. I’ll give them that…

 

[backtozero]

I honestly don't understand Port's bleating about the umpiring. It's pretty nuts. Even when you win, you bleat about the umps

I realise you're a little bit more even-minded about the umps than many other Port fans and you're prepared to say a few of the frees were there, so don't take everything I say personally... I'm speaking more about the collective...

For starters, the free kick count was Port 25, Hawks 23... The free kick count never tells the full story, but what it does tell us is that the umps weren't shy about giving you guys a decent share of the free kicks.

Just look at the way the match played out - the gameplans of both sides. The Hawks midfielders went in first for the ball and the Port mids would often hang back slightly and then smash them with tackles whenever the Hawks took possession - the Western Bulldogs & Geelong ploy of conceding first possession and then strip-tackling their opponents.

Tackles...... (2024 average)
Wines. 10..... 4.6
Rozee.. 9...... 4.2
Butters 8...... 4.0
Drew... 8...... 6.2
Sweet.. 5.......5.0


The overall tackle count was pretty even - Hawthorn 81, Port Adelaide 77
Except Port received a ton of HTB free kicks - more than double Hawthorn's frees for HTB.

The Port fans were in a frenzy, screaming for 'holding the ball' throughout the game; feeling aggrieved and booing whenever a tackle of theirs wasn't rewarded. Which is par for the course, but due to it being a closely-fought knockout final, the fans were maybe a little more on-edge and pumped-up than normal. Maybe this is partly what led to you feeling victimised by the umps.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------


So what were the controversial free kicks that got everyone so pissed off?

Lots of commentary around Hawthorn' first 3 goals (all from free kicks)

1. free kick to Calsher Dear... Aliir Aliir penalised for holding the man... This was an obvious decision. He clearly impeded Dear from making the contest vs Bergman. Grabbed him around the midriff. He didn't maul Dear to the ground, but it was still an obvious infringement. Free kick every day of the week.


2. free kick to Mabior Chol... Lachie Jones was penalised for a sling tackle... Once again, this was an obvious free kick. Jones pinned both of Chol's arms and swung him 360' head first to the ground. Chol's head hit the ground, clear as day. The ump was right there on the spot and had a clear unimpeded view of it.

I'm a bit perplexed why anyone would dispute this free kick. What games have they been watching? Welcome to 2024. In past decades, this was a great tackle by Jones. Under the new rules, it's a free kick. I was going to say "under the new rules of 2024"... But the AFL outlawed these sling tackles more than 5 years ago. You can't pin both arms of an opponent and swing them head first into the ground. Surely, we all know that by now, don't we?

If Jones had done this sling tackle during the home and away season, he would've been suspended for one or two matches.
The MRO has chosen to look the other way and given him a pass cos it's a Prelim Final this Friday

[BTW, Lachie Jones goes alright. Love the sidestep. He aint no superstar, but I like his style. He's a pretty good player.]


3. Bullshit free kick to Dylan Moore. Jase Burgoyne was unjustly penalised for a dangerous tackle... Umpire Curtis Deboy was blindsided and incorrectly guessed. He thought he saw a dangerous tackle because of the explosiveness of Burgoyne's take-down. Port fans were justified in bellyaching about this bullshit free kick & goal.

I can't helping thinking there is a bit of "straw that broke the camel's back" with this 3rd free kick goal in 5 minutes. Just because the 3rd one was bullcrap, that doesn't mean the other two frees weren't there. The Port fans near me were livid & screaming about the injustice of it all ... But rather than whinging about 3 bullshit frees, let's get real and acknowledge that 2 of them were there and you got shafted with one of them


However, Port's very first goal was also from a bullshit umpiring decision. Worpel was incorrectly penalised for holding the ball. Willie Rioli wrapped him up with a front-on tackle, but Worpel was strong enough to shrug it off. Tackle incomplete. PLAY ON! Connor Rozee then tackled him around the waist and Worpel immediately handpassed to D'Ambrosio. It was a clear handball. Not some fumbly throw-handpass. Umpire Brett Rosebery was in a poor position, standing 10m behind the action. He just guessed that Worpel fumbled it away. He incorrectly penalised Worpel for the accumulative effect of the 2 tackles...

A bullshit free to Rozee; and he kicked the first goal of the match, much to the delight of the Port fans. Nobody was bleating about the umpires in that instance... All quickly glossed over and forgotten....

So midway through the 2nd qtr, the score was 3 goals apiece and we were 1-1 with umpire-assisted bullshit goals.


On the ensuing centre bounce, Jordan Sweet kneed Lloyd Meek in the nuts. One of those deliberate "accidents".

Meek went down for the count. No free kick. Sweet was fined $5,000 by the MRO for the kneeing offence. But there was no free kick awarded.




I remember the Hawks kicking an iffy goal when Mabior Chol took possession of the ball after it had just crossed the boundary line. Not so much a bullshit umpiring decision. More a case of the boundary ump not seeing it, so were were able to get away with that that one. Shit happens. I totally understand the Port fans' anger and frustration after they saw the replay. But these sort of things will always occur throughout a game. I generally think good luck to you if you can get away with a few.

I remember much later in the game, Port players were constantly knocking the ball over the boundary line. Much like Sam Taylor v Joe Daniher late in the 4th quarter of the Giants v Lions semi final. Except the Hawks received no free kick for 'deliberate' or 'insufficient intent'. Go figure!



Were there any other controversial moments ? Were there any other bullshit goals from bullshit free kicks?
Let me know... I'm genuinely curious about what got you all so worked up. The umpiring wasn't that bad, was it?

You mentioned the dubious frees given to the "ducking" Watson. Why is Watson always singled out for ducking? For starters, he is the shortest player in the AFL and he plays to his strengths. Why wouldn't he? He gets himself low to the ground when he bursts through with the ball and makes it very difficult for defenders to tackle him without infringing. Sometimes he ducks. Other times he doesn't need to.

I still don't think it's fair for people to always single him out for ducking when more than 90% of high tackle free kicks are the result of players ducking. Should we run the ruler over Jason Horne-Francis's 41 frees in 2024 and see how many he milked from ducking into tackles? Let's get real... All the good players do it...



I just think the whole Port vs Umpires from last Friday was overplayed. Port fans seem to like playing the victim when it comes to umpiring. Backs to the wall... Us against them... We shall overcome and win it the "hard way"... With decent umpiring and bit of luck, we would've SMASHED them...


Pfft. It was a great game, mate. It was played largely on Port's terms. The Hawks were never really able to get their game going, which is a credit to Hinkley, his assistants and the players for radically changing up their team methodology.


Some bad umpiring decisions went both ways. But I think you're drawing a hell of a long bow to say they favoured Hawthorn. I know one thing for certain... If you think the umpiring was bad last Friday night, just you wait until this Friday night!!! You are up against the AFL love child. Just think of the extra TV ratings Channel 7 will get if Sydney win through to the Grand Final with millions of rugby fans and AFL casuals tuning in.

 

[Lighthouse End]

For starters, the free kick count was Port 25, Hawks 23... The free kick count never tells the full story, but what it does tell us is that the umps weren't shy about giving you guys a decent share of the free kicks.




So what were the controversial free kicks that got everyone so pissed off?

Lots of commentary around Hawthorn' first 3 goals (all from free kicks)

1. free kick to Calsher Dear... Aliir Aliir penalised for holding the man... This was an obvious decision. He clearly impeded Dear from making the contest vs Bergman. Grabbed him around the midriff. He didn't maul Dear to the ground, but it was still an obvious infringement. Free kick every day of the week.


2. free kick to Mabior Chol... Lachie Jones was penalised for a sling tackle... Once again, this was an obvious free kick. Jones pinned both of Chol's arms and swung him 360' head first to the ground. Chol's head hit the ground, clear as day. The ump was right there on the spot and had a clear unimpeded view of it.

I'm a bit perplexed why anyone would dispute this free kick. What games have they been watching? Welcome to 2024. In past decades, this was a great tackle by Jones. Under the new rules, it's a free kick. I was going to say "under the new rules of 2024"... But the AFL outlawed these sling tackles more than 5 years ago. You can't pin both arms of an opponent and swing them head first into the ground. Surely, we all know that by now, don't we?

If Jones had done this sling tackle during the home and away season, he would've been suspended for one or two matches.
The MRO has chosen to look the other way and given him a pass cos it's a Prelim Final this Friday

[BTW, Lachie Jones goes alright. Love the sidestep. He aint no superstar, but I like his style. He's a pretty good player.]


3. Bullshit free kick to Dylan Moore. Jase Burgoyne was unjustly penalised for a dangerous tackle... Umpire Curtis Deboy was blindsided and incorrectly guessed. He thought he saw a dangerous tackle because of the explosiveness of Burgoyne's take-down. Port fans were justified in bellyaching about this bullshit free kick & goal.

I can't helping thinking there is a bit of "straw that broke the camel's back" with this 3rd free kick goal in 5 minutes. Just because the 3rd one was bullcrap, that doesn't mean the other two frees weren't there. The Port fans near me were livid & screaming about the injustice of it all ... But rather than whinging about 3 bullshit frees, let's get real and acknowledge that 2 of them were there and you got shafted with one of them


However, Port's very first goal was also from a bullshit umpiring decision. Worpel was incorrectly penalised for holding the ball. Willie Rioli wrapped him up with a front-on tackle, but Worpel was strong enough to shrug it off. Tackle incomplete. PLAY ON! Connor Rozee then tackled him around the waist and Worpel immediately handpassed to D'Ambrosio. It was a clear handball. Not some fumbly throw-handpass. Umpire Brett Rosebery was in a poor position, standing 10m behind the action. He just guessed that Worpel fumbled it away. He incorrectly penalised Worpel for the accumulative effect of the 2 tackles...

A bullshit free to Rozee; and he kicked the first goal of the match, much to the delight of the Port fans. Nobody was bleating about the umpires in that instance... All quickly glossed over and forgotten....

So midway through the 2nd qtr, the score was 3 goals apiece and we were 1-1 with umpire-assisted bullshit goals.


On the ensuing centre bounce, Jordan Sweet kneed Lloyd Meek in the nuts. One of those deliberate "accidents".

Meek went down for the count. No free kick. Sweet was fined $5,000 by the MRO for the kneeing offence. But there was no free kick awarded.




I remember the Hawks kicking an iffy goal when Mabior Chol took possession of the ball after it had just crossed the boundary line. Not so much a bullshit umpiring decision. More a case of the boundary ump not seeing it, so were were able to get away with that that one. Shit happens. I totally understand the Port fans' anger and frustration after they saw the replay. But these sort of things will always occur throughout a game. I generally think good luck to you if you can get away with a few.

If you think the umpiring was bad last Friday night, just you wait until this Friday night!!! You are up against the AFL love child. Just think of the extra TV ratings Channel 7 will get if Sydney win through to the Grand Final with millions of rugby fans and AFL casuals tuning in.

With all due respect, one question: Have you ever played the game at senior level?

Actual raw free kick numbers are totally inconsequential. The key factors that determine favouritism from free kicks are:

• Where they are given
• Which indiscretions are missed, or the wrong call in a 50\50 situation
• Where the indiscretions are missed

Based on these criteria alone, you can effectively wipe out at least 5 Hawthorn goals. Port were continually penalised for tiggy touchwood in play contact, whilst at the same time not rewarded for copybook tackles and their forwards being far more obviously ******ed by scragging from your defenders than Dear was when he got that howler.
One more pertinent point here, this was a cut throat semi final. To pay not one, but THREE consecutive dubious free kicks in scoring range within a few minutes, resulting in a complete change to the momentum of the game, is absolutely criminal and those umpires should be banned from ever officiating in such a final again. Had those frees not been paid, Hawthorn would have been on the end of a thrashing.
Been in that situation many times myself as a player. You get a succession of bad calls against and it sucks the wind right out of the team and you become tentative to tackle or have any type of contact with the oppo player for fear of being penalised. See how Port's intensity dropped right away from that point.

Of the examples you cite:

1 - Dear - this was utter bullshit. Allir touched him for a microsecond. The spirit and context of the rule applied there is around ******ing the opponent's attempt to contest the ball. Dear was not ******ed in any way. Play on.
You guys are so used to getting these soft free kicks in front of goal in this situation thanks to a certain full forward you had some time ago who got several of these a game and whose goal tally would have been halved had he not got them. It's almost an entitlement attitude.

2. Chol - Jones did not sling tackle him, Chol deliberately accentuated the contact and threw his head towards the ground. Play on, or Port free kick for incorrect disposal under the letter of the law, especially if, as you say, the umpire had clear unimpeded view, the deliberate stage would have been seen. Under the AFL's modern policy, a staging fine should also have been applied.

3 - Same with Moore, but you graciously acknowledge that.

4 - The Chol out of bounds one - We live in an age where score reviews have become as prevalent as ball ups for anything that looks remotely suss. That ball was three suburbs away when Chol plucked it and kicked it. Why was the score review not activated and the goal wiped off?

5 - Boak definitely touched the shot from your bloke that was paid a goal. It was obvious even from the review. But the goal stood.

On Watson, I disagree completely. First off, height has nothing to do with it. What you're effectively saying is that if Charlie Dixon went round belting blokes because he's a huge man, he's playing to his strengths. Or dare I say, Dermie, back in the day?
Watson has pace and is athletic, and is a good kick. They are his strengths and as a small forward, they are valuable assets. There is no reason for him to resort to Sheedyesque tactics and duck at the first sign of contact to milk frees. That isn't playing in the spirit of the game and the umpires should be quick to pounce on it and penalise him.
Comparing him to Horne Francis is apples to oranges. Horne Francis gets his frees on the ball. They don't concede goals. That's the difference.

Your last point though, we totally agree on. Those red and white freeloaders are far worse than any other club in the comp for blatant favouritism, especially up there. I am a bit torn on this one actually. I'd love to see Port snuff them out, but by the same token, if they get through, another GF carbon copy of 2022 is a lip smacking prospect.

I've said it before in another post, but all this argy bargy post match is a sad note to finish on. I've seen several Hawthorn games this year and like the majority of the football audience have been impressed at what you've achieved with a young list under a first time coach in a short space of time.
However, the blatant favouritism on Friday night that changed the momentum 180 degrees when the match threatened to turn into a blowout, and the reaction of your coach and captain to a harmless retort in response to one of your own players shooting his mouth off and being cocky, has wiped out a lot of that respect gained.

 

[Willsy10]

old mate has failed to mention the Boak touch, that is overturned 99 times out of 100. That gave them the sniff after we got it out to 18 points in the final term, it was BS.

 

[JakeNeadeFan]

None of those free kicks were obvious. Almost all of them were played up by the Hawthorn player in some fashion. And they did it all night, both for frees that were paid and not.

In a home and away season all of them were absolute borderline at best. In finals those types of frees are almost always let go.

Back to freekickhawthorn days.

 

[GremioPower]

old mate has failed to mention the Boak touch, that is overturned 99 times out of 100. That gave them the sniff after we got it out to 18 points in the final term, it was BS.

All replays from the moon. Any other game, there would a few views from ground level.

 

[1954]

Whining is a pretty unsociable behavior. I’ll give them that…

Agreed GP, and it could even be suggested Back One Out hasn't actually done that for quite some time, so it's possible his plumbing could be in desperate need of a clean out.

 

[Willsy10]

At the end of the day the whole match was over umpired for a final. 48 free kicks is too many. They should've let a few of the 50/50 calls go, which is what they normally do in finals.

 

[jac147]

The Aliir ‘free against’, saw it perfectly as I was sitting behind the southern goals. The hawthorn forward ‘touched’ Aliir a split second before he touched that cheating hawk’s forward. Of course the umpy saw second touch, and it was only a touch - no impediment. Got the ball rolling for those other charities.

 

[Peninsula Boy]

Facts are
Free one was minor ******ation, letter of law it was a free but never or rarely paid, I didn’t see our forwards reciprocated that luxury of interpretation.

Free two, was perfect, minimal head contact with ground, hip to impact. Chol grasped for in head to get the free, which happened about 20 times during the night cough Impey.

Free 3 Hawkthorn played drove himself forward, my angle was perfect for that.

Free 4 with Watson, was a duck post the out of bounds job call.

Plus the 8-0 run of frees in the second repeatedly giving Hawthorn possession.

Dawks players routinely grasping their head in a tackle was pathetic and an obvious ploy to suck in umpires.

The Chol one I disliked the most because it was awesome tackle without malicious intent but Chol played for and faked the free kick but also carried on after like Jones was trying to lop his head off. It was an obvious team tactic to exploit and it nearly won them the game.

Pretty much without those free kicks, they are goalless in a half of footy.

Richo commentated pretty well during the game and called it out. It's a final for crying out loud.

 

[FishingRick04]

At the end of the day the whole match was over umpired for a final. 48 free kicks is too many. They should've let a few of the 50/50 calls go, which is what they normally do in finals.

I agree too many

 

[Zorbasan]

cant remember who it was but someoen on the radio said that the only way to stop players from headbutting the ground deliberately in a tackle is force any player that hits their head on the ground to go off for a concussion test.

i dont mind it.

 

[Willsy10]

cant remember who it was but someoen on the radio said that the only way to stop players from headbutting the ground deliberately in a tackle is force any player that hits their head on the ground to go off for a concussion test.

i dont mind it.

Yes if they were dangerous tackles then both players should've gone off for a HIA, that will stop them acting for frees.

 

[OneGreatClub]