The umpires shouldn't have the authority to make the reports anymore everything gets looked at now they don't need to they just end up looking foolish

I would take the authority off them because whilst a free kick may have an impact on how a player performs i would suggest being reported would certainly play on the mind and Tapscott was not as physical and hence quieter after the incident. The camera's will pick up everything so take reporting away from umpires and if the camera's cant get an incident then so be it. ( thank god we dont have a send off rule)

I'm fairly sure Carlton took it straight down the field and scored.

Personally, I would like to have an appeal system of some sort. Obviously it could only work during a halt in play, but if the captain or coach could flag the call for an instant replay and adjudication it would save everyone a lot of angst. It works in the NFL, why not for us?

In the NFL, there's a pause between every down. There is no way it would work in the free-flowing game of AFL.

In the NFL, there's a pause between every down. There is no way it would work in the free-flowing game of AFL.

That's why I said it could only happen during a halt in play. In the Tapscott incident there was a significant pause while people argued and players pushed and shoved. If we'd been able to raise a flag (or whatever) at that point there wouldn't have been that much impact on the game, and the free would have been voided. Presumably it would have been called a ball up at that point. I'm sure a system could be found that would enable this to work at least as well as umpires with no oversight is doing now.

This will probably get me bagged, but what the hell...

I really can't understand the venom that gets spat in the direction of the umpires on these forums (particularly in the game day threads). They have one of the toughest jobs going in the sport, constantly have to make snap decisions in a pressure cooker situation, are frequently unsighted due to the nature of the play, do not have the benefit of the replay system before making a call and are not particularly highly paid when compared to the mid to top range players. In other words, it's a thankless task... they are doomed to criticism no matter what they do - yet the game would not/could not go ahead without them.

This guy made a mistake yes, but it was perfectly obvious that it would not make it to the MRP and as there was no 50m penalty, it amounted to nothing more than a free kick... and we won that count quite easily on the day.

I wonder how many of the "critics" on here would be willing to take on the job, and if any did, how many would not make similar bad calls under pressure from time to time.

Problem I have is that it did go to the MRP. It should have been reviewed and withdrawn after the game. But he has gone on with it, even though there was clear evidence available of no offense.