karix
Yarrr!
<Edit> This is going to be a long read, if you can't be bothered then bail now </Edit>
As a long standing Bears fan and now a loyal Lions fan since before the first of the 3 peat series I am profoundly disappointed.
I am used to our in and out form of recent years, I'm used to Browny playing despite injury, I am used to our young midfield this year (and last) doing what they can but spraying crucial kicks. I don't, and never did, expect the Lion's to be a top 4 side. Not this year, not quite cooked yet.
What I am getting sick of, and yes its the elephant in the room, is the umpires.
Last week against Sydney was the first fair showing of whistle blows the Lions have seen all season.
I hate blaming the umpires, because frankly I hear other teams supporters doing it and it just sounds like an excuse. I turn a blind eye most weeks, but tonight it was disgusting.
That's right, it was foul, it was unfair and it was terrible. If the maggots don't get pulled up tonight for the number of borderline, questionable and downright unfair calls tonight I am starting to think to myself, why not return to a Victorian only game? Hell why not watch the sport of my youth, Rugby League?
I love watching AFL, umpires are human, they make mistakes. I wouldn't mind, but frankly most teams get a slightly favourable umpire opinion at home (or at least a fair game), if from nothing else but crowd pressure, but not the Lions and especially not tonight.
We were in Row A, Section 18. We watched in the first quarter, keen for a fair contest. What did we see? No less than 3 free kicks in Freo's favour result in goals. Even by my biased eye, one of those was completely legitimate and a fair call. But two of them were either free kicks that were uncalled for or marks that were paid because the Freo player touched the ball and didn't control it. Literally a Lion's defend ran a fist through the middle of the ball as a Freo player tied to mark it, and the mark got paid with barely half a second of hand contact let alone control.
Even Freo fans after the match admitted 'yeah in the first quarter the umpires kicked two goals for us'. Big call when your team won by 13 points.
The rest of the game was no different. All in all we count 5 goals from -unfair- free kicks and at least 2 more goals from free kicks that were possibly legit, but arguable. Even the most devoted Freemantle supporter would say, maybe 3 of the 5 free kicks given inside 50 were fair, the other's were just easy goals. Two of them were from 50m penalties, one given after some whistle confusion, the other because Luke Power with eyes on the ball put a solid bump on a man at least a foot taller than him. Good game Umpies. The last one was a good call and deserved his shot on goal.
We had our moments too, the umpires ignored 3 or 4 free kicks that could've been called against us, but they weren't within 30m of goal like the Freo freebies. They were rarely even inside 70m of our goal.
Maybe that is a strategic flaw from the Lions players, I can just see Voss at half time: "Guys, you're not milking free kicks out of the umpire's inside your forward 50. If we don't improve that stat the game may as well be over now."
The Lions are just lucky Freo weren't kicking straight in Brissie because they should've been much further behind an accurate team.
It got to the point where the crowd errupted in overwhelming "boo'ing" not because Freo were shooting on goal, because yet another free kick was given to Freo in the ruck, yes that's right, one of our players bounced off Sandi-the mountain-lands and the mountain was paid the free kick.
Or perhaps Freo looked at the ball for 2 seconds, touched it for a moment and that deserves an umpire assisted shot on goal.
Fev was pushed in the back, Banfield was manhandled off his run, and McGrath was taken high. All of this was fair play according to the umpires on the pitch, until Brisbane brushed a Freo player, then it was out of line.
If the Lions, especially Luke Power, even suggested a glance at the back of a Freo player they were penalised. Umpires seriously need to consider how they blow the whistle if the free kick they give is within 40m, because it's almost a free goal.
Freo played better than us for a good portion of the game, but I have to ask myself, how much of that play was because our momentum got stripped time and time again by the umpires.
I wouldn't bring this up either if it wasn't a trend, but the Gabba umpires need to seriously think about how they blow the whistle.
I watch most games every weekend and I don't see the kind of consistent bias that I see against the Lions, and I don't just barrack for Brisbane. I love the likes of St Kilda, and even Carlton. But none of my favourite teams get the treatment that the Lions do, especially at home. It is despicable.
My biggest problem is that it is the same fools every week. Patting themselves on the back for a job well done. I don't just watch the game live, I go home and I watch the recorded replay and that just shows me how blatant the umpires are towards the away team at the Gabba, you see some mistakes when you are on the side line with a specific point of view, but the camera reveals all.
Are we short on Umpires? It baffles me that so many bad call are made at one ground each week. I'm not a team-specific fanatic, I want to see good football. I want to see strong marks, I want to see fast movement through the corridor, I want rapid rebounds out of defence. I don't mind see the opposition to my preferred team of the night do that, because it's an exciting example of a great sport.
What I hate to see is soft free kicks, barely touches on the ball resulting in marks, kissing and hugging being the only acceptable ruck conduct, player's tacked on suspicious marks being given 50 without a chance for the tackler to abort (Was it actually 15m? Don't know till the umpire calls it, did it touch the ground as he took a sliding mark? Was it touched in the marking contest?).
I have never heard a crowd so hateful towards the umpires as I have tonight, it got to the point where everyone in the audience, irrelevant of the team they supported, was sick and tired of the umpire's making thoughtless, pointless and momentum-breaking use of the whistle.
Tonight's effort should be up for a review. If player's get punished and vilified for disrespecting the spirit of the game (deliberately or otherwise) then so should the umpires. Frankly they are bringing the game into disrepute.
Good game by the players, and I am grateful for the wonderful support. The umpires though, what on earth were they thinking?
As a long standing Bears fan and now a loyal Lions fan since before the first of the 3 peat series I am profoundly disappointed.
I am used to our in and out form of recent years, I'm used to Browny playing despite injury, I am used to our young midfield this year (and last) doing what they can but spraying crucial kicks. I don't, and never did, expect the Lion's to be a top 4 side. Not this year, not quite cooked yet.
What I am getting sick of, and yes its the elephant in the room, is the umpires.
Last week against Sydney was the first fair showing of whistle blows the Lions have seen all season.
I hate blaming the umpires, because frankly I hear other teams supporters doing it and it just sounds like an excuse. I turn a blind eye most weeks, but tonight it was disgusting.
That's right, it was foul, it was unfair and it was terrible. If the maggots don't get pulled up tonight for the number of borderline, questionable and downright unfair calls tonight I am starting to think to myself, why not return to a Victorian only game? Hell why not watch the sport of my youth, Rugby League?
I love watching AFL, umpires are human, they make mistakes. I wouldn't mind, but frankly most teams get a slightly favourable umpire opinion at home (or at least a fair game), if from nothing else but crowd pressure, but not the Lions and especially not tonight.
We were in Row A, Section 18. We watched in the first quarter, keen for a fair contest. What did we see? No less than 3 free kicks in Freo's favour result in goals. Even by my biased eye, one of those was completely legitimate and a fair call. But two of them were either free kicks that were uncalled for or marks that were paid because the Freo player touched the ball and didn't control it. Literally a Lion's defend ran a fist through the middle of the ball as a Freo player tied to mark it, and the mark got paid with barely half a second of hand contact let alone control.
Even Freo fans after the match admitted 'yeah in the first quarter the umpires kicked two goals for us'. Big call when your team won by 13 points.
The rest of the game was no different. All in all we count 5 goals from -unfair- free kicks and at least 2 more goals from free kicks that were possibly legit, but arguable. Even the most devoted Freemantle supporter would say, maybe 3 of the 5 free kicks given inside 50 were fair, the other's were just easy goals. Two of them were from 50m penalties, one given after some whistle confusion, the other because Luke Power with eyes on the ball put a solid bump on a man at least a foot taller than him. Good game Umpies. The last one was a good call and deserved his shot on goal.
We had our moments too, the umpires ignored 3 or 4 free kicks that could've been called against us, but they weren't within 30m of goal like the Freo freebies. They were rarely even inside 70m of our goal.
Maybe that is a strategic flaw from the Lions players, I can just see Voss at half time: "Guys, you're not milking free kicks out of the umpire's inside your forward 50. If we don't improve that stat the game may as well be over now."
The Lions are just lucky Freo weren't kicking straight in Brissie because they should've been much further behind an accurate team.
It got to the point where the crowd errupted in overwhelming "boo'ing" not because Freo were shooting on goal, because yet another free kick was given to Freo in the ruck, yes that's right, one of our players bounced off Sandi-the mountain-lands and the mountain was paid the free kick.
Or perhaps Freo looked at the ball for 2 seconds, touched it for a moment and that deserves an umpire assisted shot on goal.
Fev was pushed in the back, Banfield was manhandled off his run, and McGrath was taken high. All of this was fair play according to the umpires on the pitch, until Brisbane brushed a Freo player, then it was out of line.
If the Lions, especially Luke Power, even suggested a glance at the back of a Freo player they were penalised. Umpires seriously need to consider how they blow the whistle if the free kick they give is within 40m, because it's almost a free goal.
Freo played better than us for a good portion of the game, but I have to ask myself, how much of that play was because our momentum got stripped time and time again by the umpires.
I wouldn't bring this up either if it wasn't a trend, but the Gabba umpires need to seriously think about how they blow the whistle.
I watch most games every weekend and I don't see the kind of consistent bias that I see against the Lions, and I don't just barrack for Brisbane. I love the likes of St Kilda, and even Carlton. But none of my favourite teams get the treatment that the Lions do, especially at home. It is despicable.
My biggest problem is that it is the same fools every week. Patting themselves on the back for a job well done. I don't just watch the game live, I go home and I watch the recorded replay and that just shows me how blatant the umpires are towards the away team at the Gabba, you see some mistakes when you are on the side line with a specific point of view, but the camera reveals all.
Are we short on Umpires? It baffles me that so many bad call are made at one ground each week. I'm not a team-specific fanatic, I want to see good football. I want to see strong marks, I want to see fast movement through the corridor, I want rapid rebounds out of defence. I don't mind see the opposition to my preferred team of the night do that, because it's an exciting example of a great sport.
What I hate to see is soft free kicks, barely touches on the ball resulting in marks, kissing and hugging being the only acceptable ruck conduct, player's tacked on suspicious marks being given 50 without a chance for the tackler to abort (Was it actually 15m? Don't know till the umpire calls it, did it touch the ground as he took a sliding mark? Was it touched in the marking contest?).
I have never heard a crowd so hateful towards the umpires as I have tonight, it got to the point where everyone in the audience, irrelevant of the team they supported, was sick and tired of the umpire's making thoughtless, pointless and momentum-breaking use of the whistle.
Tonight's effort should be up for a review. If player's get punished and vilified for disrespecting the spirit of the game (deliberately or otherwise) then so should the umpires. Frankly they are bringing the game into disrepute.
Good game by the players, and I am grateful for the wonderful support. The umpires though, what on earth were they thinking?
. It read "I am sorry if this is the wrong place, but the 3 umpires behaviour has been deplorable. Is there anything you can do? Regards" 
