Umpiring Questionable Umpiring Decisions

[SplintWhisky]

Fair enough. Would have to rewatch it, but I thought it was after the kick.

No need to watch it again. I would of accepted the down the ground decision if made. Hollands was knocked off his feet when the ball was about 10 cm away from his boot after he kicked it. Was one of those ones where the Umpire's eyes to brain to thought pathway was really the determining factor on if it was downfield or where he kicked it.

 

[western royboy]

50/50 anyone arguing Draper’s was not a free…look away now

 

[Bjo187]

50/50 anyone arguing Draper’s was not a free…look away now

How the **** was Tom Stewart not holding the ball. I would have also liked to hear the decision on Bowes holding the ball and Dangerfield throwing the ball over his head with one arm right in front of the umpire too.

 

[.Shotties.]

'You can chop the arm if you hit the ball first'

I mean, if you contact the ball before the marking player then contact to the arm after isn't chopping.

 

[western royboy]

How the **** was Tom Stewart not holding the ball. I would have also liked to hear the decision on Bowes holding the ball and Dangerfield throwing the ball over his head with one arm right in front of the umpire too.

No idea

 

[Inspecta Gadget]

I still don't understand the interpretation on the Ridley one and I've accepted I never will

 

[Cripps 'n' Blue Bloods]

50/50 anyone arguing Draper’s was not a free…look away now

This means nothing. They ticked off the non-50 in Pies vs North because 2 wrongs make a right.
I ignore any official AFL ruling on missed/iffy frees.

 

[western royboy]

This means nothing. They ticked off the non-50 in Pies vs North because 2 wrongs make a right.
I ignore any official AFL ruling on missed/iffy frees.

I’m not disagreeing with you. - but unusual to admit error

 

[Inspecta Gadget]

"We've investigated ourselves and found no wrongdoing"

 

[SuperSub17]

“Umpiring is as good as it’s ever been” - Andrew Dillon, 2 July 2024.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Per AFL 360 - AFL confirmed to B. Scott that the Draper non call and Menzie rushed behind free were incorrect calls.
Ridley call correct, Stewart non call correct, Blicavs non call incorrect.

I've changed my tune slightly on Menzie's, a bit of a rarity on Big Footy. I still think, spirit of the game and all that, he had a clear alternative to rushing the behind, which was to run the ball out in the opposite direction to where Dempsey was chasing him from, take 3-4 more steps and make a clearing kick. So I still think it SHOULD be deliberate. But I probably wasn't paying enough attention to the camera angle from behind the goals, which also showed Brad Close bearing down on him from the top of the square.

So, I think the Menzie scenario should always be paid as a deliberate rushed behind: he had a clear option to get a quick kick away without being under much danger of being tackled, or even of the kick being smothered. However, with Dempsey probably within 3-4 metres and Close maybe 6-7 metres away, that's usually considered enough pressure to allow the behind to be rushed.

Ultimately, the easy solution - as I see it - is to pay the deliberate rushed behind more frequently, but to not have an automatic goal as the penalty. The problem is just that the penalty is currently too harsh.

 

[HTPunter]

The most frustrating thing is the focus on umpires, even in 8 goal thrashings, compared to players/coaches.

Logan McDonald has a god awful technique shot at goal to draw/win and misses everything. Awful. Barely anything said. Longmire says “well we shouldn’t have been down by so much, not his fault”. Everyone agrees. Nothing to be seen here.

Umpire doesn’t pay a decision correctly, or even if they do (Rankine running too far), all the media talks about.

Turnovers in front of goal. Sloppy free kicks. Poor handballs. Dropped marks. Ignored.

1 bad decision, you’ve got Slobbo & Carey (blokes who have never umpired) fuelling the fire.

It’s clear more than half of footy fans are just hateful bogans and don’t really care about the game. You can see the posters here who just talk about umpires in each thread & will instantly blame them when their team is down, and argue not over which team is better but which team had less advantage from umpiring calls “oh nah did you see that missed throw in the 1st quarter? What about the non HTB in the 3rd?”

 

[smasha]

Bombers had all the umpiring but someone intervened at half time so that the boy's club CFL Cats got a barrell load in the third quarter.
Wonder who it was?

Then the deflection by Dillon after.

CFL smells of a fish market,rotten.

 

[Inspecta Gadget]

The most frustrating thing is the focus on umpires, even in 8 goal thrashings, compared to players/coaches.

Logan McDonald has a god awful technique shot at goal to draw/win and misses everything. Awful. Barely anything said. Longmire says “well we shouldn’t have been down by so much, not his fault”. Everyone agrees. Nothing to be seen here.

Umpire doesn’t pay a decision correctly, or even if they do (Rankine running too far), all the media talks about.

Turnovers in front of goal. Sloppy free kicks. Poor handballs. Dropped marks. Ignored.

1 bad decision, you’ve got Slobbo & Carey (blokes who have never umpired) fuelling the fire.

It’s clear more than half of footy fans are just hateful bogans and don’t really care about the game. You can see the posters here who just talk about umpires in each thread & will instantly blame them when their team is down, and argue not over which team is better but which team had less advantage from umpiring calls “oh nah did you see that missed throw in the 1st quarter? What about the non HTB in the 3rd?”

There's a difference between a couple of bad decisions in a thrashing versus a run of 5 or 6 in the space of 10 minutes when the game is in the balance

 

[justlookingaround]

I've changed my tune slightly on Menzie's, a bit of a rarity on Big Footy. I still think, spirit of the game and all that, he had a clear alternative to rushing the behind, which was to run the ball out in the opposite direction to where Dempsey was chasing him from, take 3-4 more steps and make a clearing kick. So I still think it SHOULD be deliberate. But I probably wasn't paying enough attention to the camera angle from behind the goals, which also showed Brad Close bearing down on him from the top of the square.

So, I think the Menzie scenario should always be paid as a deliberate rushed behind: he had a clear option to get a quick kick away without being under much danger of being tackled, or even of the kick being smothered. However, with Dempsey probably within 3-4 metres and Close maybe 6-7 metres away, that's usually considered enough pressure to allow the behind to be rushed.

Ultimately, the easy solution - as I see it - is to pay the deliberate rushed behind more frequently, but to not have an automatic goal as the penalty. The problem is just that the penalty is currently too harsh.

I fully expected it to be paid when I saw it live - however it is very rarely paid in that context.
The weird thing is that the league has supposedly confirmed it was the wrong call, but going by the legalese in the rules of the game there is definitely an argument that it's the correct call.

 

[HalloweenJack]

I fully expected it to be paid when I saw it live - however it is very rarely paid in that context.
The weird thing is that the league has supposedly confirmed it was the wrong call, but going by the legalese in the rules of the game there is definitely an argument that it's the correct call.

The problem is that just about every rule is subjective and it is so easy to make a case for the decision either way. This is why the AFL need to not make public statement's about decisions other than to state that it was open to interpretation and that they support the umpire. Let the media and public debate the merits.

The only time the AFL need to make a public announcement is if there is an absolute howler such as the Keays non-goal last year.

 

[Romeoh1]

Several teams have lost games this year ( including Geelong), because of incorrect umpiring calls. This wasn’t one of them. Time to move on.
Be good to see Essendon really bounce back in their next game to show that they are on the right track.

 

[western royboy]

The problem is that just about every rule is subjective and it is so easy to make a case for the decision either way. This is why the AFL need to not make public statement's about decisions other than to state that it was open to interpretation and that they support the umpire. Let the media and public debate the merits.

The only time the AFL need to make a public announcement is if there is an absolute howler such as the Keays non-goal last year.

Reading the rules will not help you here - every time an interpretation changes there is usually a video that comes out from the AFL emphasising what has changed, ie hands in the back.

The decision matrix for holding the ball has not changed - just the amount of time considered “reasonable”. The problem is if you have umpires whose definition of reasonable time us inconsistent it’s inevitable that’s what you will get in games. 4 umpires is too many for many reasons but primarily this.

 

[archereleven]

The most frustrating thing is the focus on umpires, even in 8 goal thrashings, compared to players/coaches.

Logan McDonald has a god awful technique shot at goal to draw/win and misses everything. Awful. Barely anything said. Longmire says “well we shouldn’t have been down by so much, not his fault”. Everyone agrees. Nothing to be seen here.

Umpire doesn’t pay a decision correctly, or even if they do (Rankine running too far), all the media talks about.

Turnovers in front of goal. Sloppy free kicks. Poor handballs. Dropped marks. Ignored.

1 bad decision, you’ve got Slobbo & Carey (blokes who have never umpired) fuelling the fire.

It’s clear more than half of footy fans are just hateful bogans and don’t really care about the game. You can see the posters here who just talk about umpires in each thread & will instantly blame them when their team is down, and argue not over which team is better but which team had less advantage from umpiring calls “oh nah did you see that missed throw in the 1st quarter? What about the non HTB in the 3rd?”

Deflection.

If you think umpiring is consistent and at a good level, then you are very easily pleased or wilfully ignorant.

Until they get rid of all the interpretation bullshit, the whinging will be the norm imo. Nobody, absolutely nobody knows what htb, illegal disposal, or prior opportunity is atm. 50m penalties are indiscriminate on the day, and ruck duels are an abortion usually leading to 5-10 free kicks a game. Insufficient intent flipping lol


4 umpires are the ****ing pits for consistency.

Imo, umpires should control a half each. More quality umpires per game each week.

On SM-G991B using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Bjo187]

Several teams have lost games this year ( including Geelong), because of incorrect umpiring calls. This wasn’t one of them. Time to move on.
Be good to see Essendon really bounce back in their next game to show that they are on the right track.

After that third quarter we'll never really know.

 

[chickenonachain]

Have you seen a vfl game, the next generation of umpires, if it can be possible ,are even worse.

 

[western royboy]

Deflection.

If you think umpiring is consistent and at a good level, then you are very easily pleased or wilfully ignorant.

Until they get rid of all the interpretation bullshit, the whinging will be the norm imo. Nobody, absolutely nobody knows what htb, illegal disposal, or prior opportunity is atm. 50m penalties are indiscriminate on the day, and ruck duels are an abortion usually leading to 5-10 free kicks a game. Insufficient intent flipping lol


4 umpires are the ****ing pits for consistency.

Imo, umpires should control a half each. More quality umpires per game each week.

On SM-G991B using BigFooty.com mobile app

The speed of the game means you cannot use two - one each 50, one mid zone is perfect. Even ay my level, two is insufficient. If I throw it up and there is a quick clearance I’m instantly 40 metres behind the play when I want to be side in 20-25 metres away - that’s reality.

You are never going to get uniformity in decisions - it’s impossible, but hopefully you get consistently and you avoid howlers .
If you keep things simple, it’s not too hard, don’t overthink it or over complicate it. When umpiring the golden rule is always “apply common sense” but moreover set your standards early and be consistent

 

[DockerDerek]

Overall there’s just too much focus on umpires at the moment. Fans can’t handle losing a close game without sooking about umpiring decisions. Or even when you get smashed by 45 points!!

One of the things that annoys me is players umpiring the game. How often do you see a player standing over a tackle giving the holding the ball signal? There’s enough pressure on umpires without players ‘suggesting’ decisions. Should be a punishable offence. Players need to play the game and leave the umpiring decisions to umpires.

 

[Fadge]

Robbo on 360 'We're 8 weeks out from finals and players and coaches don't know the rules...'

 

[Sentinel]

The problem is that just about every rule is subjective and it is so easy to make a case for the decision either way. This is why the AFL need to not make public statement's about decisions other than to state that it was open to interpretation and that they support the umpire. Let the media and public debate the merits.

The only time the AFL need to make a public announcement is if there is an absolute howler such as the Keays non-goal last year.

Completely agree with this. Many decisions are not black and white, particularly those which raise controversy.

There are obvious howlers and then there are decisions made which sit on a spectrum of grey. For the latter, I find it really weird that the AFL has been prepared to put a stake in the ground and declare such a decision correct or incorrect, even if that decision sits towards the boundaries of said grey area.