Happy Days - Everyone Now Gets Two Or Three Steps

[mdc]

Who is they? If the AFL don't sack/demote that umpire, something is wrong.

I meant the media. If the media doesn't care, the Geish won't either.

Far be it for me to stick up for the worlds second most unaccountable group of people but you don't get hung on one error. This isn't columbia!

There's a difference between a simple mistake and a mistake that shows you to be an incompetent buffoon.

Since the umpires like the player analogy so much, this would be like a player deciding to throw the ball grid-iron style instead of kicking/handballing it.

@Invig: The number of HTB decisions per tackle (which is really what matters) has been consistently dropping over the last decade. So I don't agree at all. Pay the ones that are there, don't pay the ones that aren't. Tackling is hard work, blokes who do it should be rewarded.

 

[Invigoration]

I think it was always a Stanley free but not once but twice he pointed towards St Kilda's attack to signify a cats free before realising his mistake. Obviously he's been up watching the soccer. Corey Enright, who was beaten in the next contest after Stanley's free, seemed to indicate he was thrown off by the umpire pointing the wrong way.

Yeah I'm not so sure, because I explicitly heard him say it was for blocking and it was pretty clear that Stanley was the only one blocking in that contest.

He certainly got mixed up anyway.

 

[jeemak]

Far be it for me to stick up for the worlds second most unaccountable group of people but you don't get hung on one error. This isn't columbia!

Yeh, it was a poor decision but get a grip. The usual errors in an interpretive, position dependant, human error prone sport. Saints won because they were better tonight. More importantly they turned a loss around in the second half. Still think it is Geelong's to lose but credit where it is due - Saints were impressive.

It isn't about the incorrect decision for me, umpires make mistakes all the time. It was the justification that was out of control. Any reasonable person with knowledge of the game after making that decision would have immediately realised their mistake. The fact he tried to justify it with his response of he needs two or three steps makes it so much worse.

I know the umpires need to have supreme confidence in their decisions, but they should not try to justify that rubbish.

 

[MarkT2]

I know the umpires need to have supreme confidence in their decisions, but they should not try to justify that rubbish.

I thought about backing myself up with sound logic and the deiced nah F.IT hang the bloke. Not sure which maggot it was but I'm sure he's slaughtered The Pies so many times so burn the bugger!

You win.

 

[Simon_Nesbit]

Re: Stanley, the free was against Scarlett who went under the ball to block out Stanley so a team-mate could mark.

Thought it was harsh at the time (happens 100 times a game), but was so blatantly obvious it allowed the umpire to pay the free. After that it was just confusion on direction. (I do wish they'd hold up play when they do that though, Geelong players were racing upfield only to be completely caught out by the "reversal").

 

[jeemak]

I thought about backing myself up with sound logic and the deiced nah F.IT hang the bloke. Not sure which maggot it was but I'm sure he's slaughtered The Pies so many times so burn the bugger!

You win.

Are you drunk too?

 

[Groggyk]

The interpreations seem to be changing on a week to week basis these days and it's becoming a farce.

No better example than the way the holding the ball decisions are now adjudicated. Players, spectators and the umpires themselves are all confused it seems.

The problem lies with the men who coach the umpires and decide what direction these guys take.

The blame should primarily lie with Geischen.

**** him off. Now.

 

[jeemak]

Geischen........

Why don't we get someone that has a first hand understanding of what it's like to be on an AFL field in the 21st century?

There are plenty of good ex-footballers getting around with nothing better to do than write a pretty ordinary column once a week. Why wouldn't you pay one of them a shitload of cash to instruct the umpires?

 

[reidy75]

Wasn't it only a few weeks ago Eddie Betts was getting free kicks for lurking behind the guy who'd gone back over his mark to take his kick, then when the umpire deemed he'd taken enough time, called play on.

No chance to take two or three steps before Eddie had you, and no reasonable expectation even that Eddie was only a couple of steps behind and ready to tackle.

Compare that to Milne who'd taken the mark, and knew exactly where Josh Hunt was, but tried to take him on. That's prior opportunity every waking second, so its irrelevant that he then didn't make an attempt once tackled.

The umpires response would be like logging onto BigFooty and finding all Geelong supporters declaring that because Geelong were in front at half time, we'd shown we were the better side so the result at the end of the game doesn't count and can hardly be considered a loss. It was a loss, in the context of the game to half time and our performance in the second half, it was a bad loss, and for the umpire who thinks he knows the prior opportunity rule, it should be his last decision at AFL level.

 

[Groggyk]

Geischen........

Why don't we get someone that has a first hand understanding of what it's like to be on an AFL field in the 21st century?

There are plenty of good ex-footballers getting around with nothing better to do than write a pretty ordinary column once a week. Why wouldn't you pay one of them a shitload of cash to instruct the umpires?

Common sense seems to have gone out the window, with Umps getting different instructions on a week to week basis in regards to rule interpretation.

They seem to have lost sight of the big picture and are having knee jerk reactions to the outrage and confusion displayed by the footy loving public and subsequent media backlash.

I don't who they should get, but whoever it is needs to display a modicum of common sense and instruct his umpires accordingly.