Any chance the umpires could stop incessantly calling 'play on' and do their job? Seems to me they are really saying, 'that's a free but I'm not paying it.' Why constantly call 'play on?' No need to say anything until you're paying a free or balling it up.
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PLAY ON! PLAY ON! PLAY ON!
- Thread starter Strawbs
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True. And I just heard the ump in the Swans/North game not only thank Ted Richards for getting back the two metres on the mark, he popped in a 'Cheers mate' on the end. Is he that grateful that he didn't have to invoke the 50 metre rule? I just want them to umpire, not be friends with the players, commentate or explain their decisions or lack thereof.
lol
If you hate listening to the umpires then blame channel 7/foxtel, they are the ones that want the umpire mic put on tv. They have to communicate with the players to tell them what's happening (ie. call play on to re-enforce that something isn't a free or some small chat with players).
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- #6
Surely they don't need to call 'play on' to reinforce that something isn't a free. The lack of a whistle is a pretty decent clue don't you reckon? They should just use the whistle to control the game. I hate it when they tell players to be careful (eg when Kennedy angrily threw the ball back to his opponent today) or warn them against doing something 'again' - if they didn't penalise a player for doing something the first time, they shouldn't penalise him the next time either. It's bizarre.
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I used to find this incredibly frustrating as well... there's obviously a time for it, when something that appears to be a free kick but isn't occurs in order to make clear that the ball is still in play, but they seem to do it far too frequently still. It shouldn't be used for all contests, but there is a place for it when the umpire thinks players would be likely to stop and so needs to keep play going (say when a player exaggerates contact, for instance).
The lengthy warnings/talkings to are the worst, as it often is a disadvantage to the team that was infringed to waste the time.
A short warning should be fine. Otherwise pay the 50. Players are not dumb, they don't need reasons explained to them - they will just push the boundaries of rules and if a 50 50 goes against them, in the heat of the moment, it is natural for them to crack it.
footyfuturist
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yes; keep it real & simple. simplicity is sophistication
Modified Dog
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And then to add insult to injury, when the umpire finally blows his whistle for a free kick and all the players stop to look at him, he screams "PLAY ON! PLAY ON! PLAY ON!" as some shifty little pr1ck nicks off with the ball, takes a bounce and has a shot at goal.
Reginald Perrin
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Absolutely hate this from the umps. The natural state of play is play on, unless there has been an infringement and you need to use the whistle, shut the hell up.
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