I suppose a 28-13 free kick count doesn't lie, but I didn't feel all that hard done by watching the game. Maybe I'd already given the season away.

The Howe decision was terrible, but Butcher was denied a mark in the goal square as well. I also thought Rivers was lucky not to give away 50 metres late in the game, when he dumped Schulz after taking a mark - we immediately goaled.

Apart from the Howe mark, the only glaringly bad decision was the holding the ball non-call on Motlop, after he took on 2 players and lost the ball in a tackle. That was probably one of the worst decisions I've seen this year.

But I'll let Port have this one... They've got a very bleak 4-5 years ahead of them.

Cut it out mordja, it was the umpires fault.

Sorry, indeed. It wasn't our rabble. It was the umps.

I will agree that the Howe decision is one of the most baffling of my life. Was it called as touched? Because if it wasnt there was no contest when it went to ground, so why a ball up?

Making umpires full-time won't help when it's the way rules interpretations have changed over the last few years that has caused the umpiring indecision.

The worst umpiring decision yesterday was when a Port player took on Brad Green after two steps and tried to fend off an excellent Green tackle with a forearm to the throat. It should have been either holding the ball or a high fend-off, but was ruled a ball-up. Then you see a player buried under a pack and adjudged holding the ball with three players lying on top of him because he "didn't make an attempt to get it out".

I'd also like to know what constitutes a tackle. Was Westhoff's "tackle" on Garland actually a tackle? I thought you had to actually hold the player. All I could see on the replay was a slight touch to the shorts and he never actually held Garland at all, yet got the holding the ball free. Fits in perfectly thought with the idea that the game is turning into touch football.

Umpiring was pathetic as others have pointed out but the point I would make is that if the same had happened to Collingwood, Carlton, Geelong or Hawthorn there would have been one almighty media [censored] fight going on.

I can't let this sad case of Victorian parochialism pass without comment.

To somehow suggest that the home ground advantage enjoyed by the SA and WA teams diminishes the spectacle of our great game - and that there is no such thing as a home ground advantage for Victorian teams - is ridiculous.

How can you possibly say that Fremantle has a "spectacle-destroying" home ground advantage when it plays Collingwood at Subiaco - while Collingwood does not have a home ground advantage at all when it plays Freo at the G?

There were some shocking decisions yesterday - but the fact is that we are the only interstate team to lose to Port in Adelaide all season. Their only other wins were against Richmond in Darwin- and the Crows!!

I was at the game yesterday. It was interesting to compare the atmosphere there to the atmosphere at a Melb v. Port game on the MCG. Hoopla,have you, too, had this experience? If so,you must understand the difference in home ground advantage for the Adelaide/Perth sides compared to Melbourne.

The parochialism of the Adelaide crowd was exemplified so perfectly yesterday when they actually booed the umpires off the ground!!!!

The repeated whinging about the umpires is indeed boring. They were poor yesterday but MFC were worse.

If people really want to focus on the reasons I would have thought our goal kicking for starters was atrocious.

Port were a better side than us on the day and were more focussed when it counted.

The seasons over. Its more productive to focus on how we improve in 2012 than fester on what we cant change in 2011.

I think a bit of festering is good. I thought that was the worst umpiring I have ever seen in a game. If it happened to Pies, Dons, Cats, Blues, Hawks there would be an uproar.

Umpiring was pathetic as others have pointed out but the point I would make is that if the same had happened to Collingwood, Carlton, Geelong or Hawthorn there would have been one almighty media [censored] fight going on.

Agree but I added Dons to the mix. If one of those sides was the victim the media would be full of it.

I was at the game yesterday. It was interesting to compare the atmosphere there to the atmosphere at a Melb v. Port game on the MCG. Hoopla,have you, too, had this experience? If so,you must understand the difference in home ground advantage for the Adelaide/Perth sides compared to Melbourne.

The parochialism of the Adelaide crowd was exemplified so perfectly yesterday when they actually booed the umpires off the ground!!!!

No Jack ... I confess I haven't had that pleasure ... but is the contrast a comment on the difference between Melbourne supporters and Port Adelaide supporters rather than a comment on all SA/WA clubs and all Vic clubs. You've never seen Collingwood supporters boo the umpires off the ground?

we missed 14 shots at goal........thats not the umpires fault

Strangely, you and some other posters seem to be missing the point. Our own team's deficiencies are clearly and horribly theirs, and if we had played better we would have won. This is NOT in doubt, and cannot be questioned, but the umpires deficiencies are their own also, and those deficiencies were an ability to umpire the game objectively and fairly. Port Adelaide won this match as a direct result of this.

Great post, Pitmaster! And so spot on. I like your description of Schmitt!! But I would have used the word "henchmen" rather than "accomplices"!

And I reckon it's fair enough for us keen supporters to have a thoroughly justified beef about the umpiring on a club's unofficial website. The holy joes who "never blame the umpires" can wallow in their self-righteousness.We didn't play well, but we played better than Port, but they won because of the biased decisions. It's a one-eyed view, but we should be able to express it on a supporters' forum.

You could call it a one-eyed view, but I have watched upwards of 400 Melbourne football club games (at a quick reckoning, and wow that's a chunk of my life!) and have never claimed an altered result from umpiring before. This was one out of a mighty big box.

I can't let this sad case of Victorian parochialism pass without comment.

To somehow suggest that the home ground advantage enjoyed by the SA and WA teams diminishes the spectacle of our great game - and that there is no such thing as a home ground advantage for Victorian teams - is ridiculous.

How can you possibly say that Fremantle has a "spectacle-destroying" home ground advantage when it plays Collingwood at Subiaco - while Collingwood does not have a home ground advantage at all when it plays Freo at the G?

There were some shocking decisions yesterday - but the fact is that we are the only interstate team to lose to Port in Adelaide all season. Their only other wins were against Richmond in Darwin- and the Crows!!

The simple response Hoopla, is one of objective fact. The free kick count season to season for the 4 relevant teams at home has a greater imbalance than all the other combinations. Are you suggesting that by some odd and yet consistent influence, those home teams just infringe less and the opposition infringe more? Just at those games? And yes, because it creates an essentially inequitable contest, it hugely damages the spectacle for me.....Melbourne game or no. An objective reply would be good.

I suppose a 28-13 free kick count doesn't lie, but I didn't feel all that hard done by watching the game. Maybe I'd already given the season away.

The Howe decision was terrible, but Butcher was denied a mark in the goal square as well. I also thought Rivers was lucky not to give away 50 metres late in the game, when he dumped Schulz after taking a mark - we immediately goaled.

Apart from the Howe mark, the only glaringly bad decision was the holding the ball non-call on Motlop, after he took on 2 players and lost the ball in a tackle. That was probably one of the worst decisions I've seen this year.

But I'll let Port have this one... They've got a very bleak 4-5 years ahead of them.

Look at the Butcher attempt again....it was not a mark

Sorry, indeed. It wasn't our rabble. It was the umps.

I will agree that the Howe decision is one of the most baffling of my life. Was it called as touched? Because if it wasnt there was no contest when it went to ground, so why a ball up?

And yet....again......missing the point.

Howe took the mark - geishen

They didn't show the blease where got the handball off (but Motlop got his kick in) or the garland foot tap.....

Howe took the mark - geishen

They didn't show the blease where got the handball off (but Motlop got his kick in) or the garland foot tap.....

The Howe Mark

Thanks but a bit late now.....Grrrrr

As Cometti said-"Schmidt Happens"

He also said after the cameras had panned around a particularly motley group of Port fans and on to the scoreboard.."Even the scoreboard here looks rough doesn't it?"

Part of a thread I contributed to on Ology

It is very difficult to find season stats for goals scored from free kicks. What I have found is that umpire Schmitt has adjudicated at Dees games on three occasions this year. Twice we have won when he umpired, Round 3 v BrisVegas, and Round 23 v Gold Coast. The most we have had any one umpire is 5 times. The AFL seem to do a reasonable job of rotating the panel through all teams. What I can tell you is who we have had most. We have had McBurney and Donion 5 times and Jeffrey and Ryan 4 times. In the 5 blow out games (blow out in free kicks against Dees) we have had Ryan 3 times and Donion 2 times. I'm not accusing any of these fine gentlemen of anything other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time!

I know it's boring to harp on about umpires but 28 home town frees to 13 for the visitors?

In a game with almost equal possession stats?

And then the bullet headed barrel Justin Schmitt redefines the speccy by disallowing a goal square mark to Jeremy Howe in the third quarter which quickly became a 12 point turnaround.

The Upside? the SHEER INCOMPETENCE of Schmitt and his less experienced accomplices cost us the game - I know we did likewsie with appalling disposal near goal, change either factor and you change the result - boosted us from pick 17 in the national draft to pick 12.

Hope we use it well.

How about the one handed 'hand throw' from Westoff at one point! He was being tackled and no one else directly involved other than these two.....all eyes must have surely been on him (or at least 1 of the 3 umps) yet.....miraculously it wasn't seen....and somehow Blease is throwing (twice) while apparently at least connecting with his fist. Laughable if these were the only crazy decisions which went against us on the day, but they were just 3 out of so many.

Umpires weren't alone in deciding the result as some of our goal kicking and decision making (Morton/Fitzpatrick etc) was absolute rubbish. But they definitely influenced the outcome and made sure the history books would show that Port were the first winners at the soon to be new home of footy in Adelaide. A small but nonetheless very important outcome for the AFL and their festering/bleeding Adelaide franchisees (and potential sponsors etc). The minor Vic clubs again on the receiving end of the AFL's grand plan.

Anyone who didn't see this (or refuses to) must have been watching the game looking through their rose coloured beer glass through the other dodgy eye.....

This will continue for as long as the minor Vic clubs continue to lay down and accept this crap as just part of the game.

There should be a rule brought in where players (or coaching team or a designated person from within the coaching team) from either side are able to query say 3 decisions per half (just as in tennis matches, NFL and cricket) and have the 4th umpire adjudicate via video replay. If they get it wrong it's 50 meters (or a goal....something severe) to the opponent so it would only be used if the players involved (or coach etc) are almost 100% certain that they felt it was an incorrect decision. If no decision can be adjudicated by the 4th umpire either way from the replay then it's a ball up maybe. Somehow the umpires must be held accountable for these nonsense decisions throughout the match. It's becoming too influential and often changing the course of some of the close matches IMO as we witnessed on Sunday.

In addition the advantage rule needs to be either dumped or changed. The umpires rarely get this right and the 3rd part of the rule, which says that... "the umpire must be certain that play is continuous"... can rarely ever be ticked as a yes because most of the time players hesitate (even for half a second or so) once the whistle is blown before attempting or continuing to play on. Therefore play stops, even if its just for half a second or more, and is rarely ever truly continuous under the rules' own interpretation. If the umpires were being true to this rule, they would rarely, if ever, call advantage. The advantage rule, at least in its present form, needs to be thrown out.

If you think the AFL didn't want Port to win that game and that the umpiring was deliberately bad to help such a cause, then you are very naive. That said, despite a massive hand up from umps, Melbourne's ineptitude still played a big part in losing.

It was incredibly frustrating to travel all that way to see such inept kicking and such rubbish umpiring.