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Leigh Fisher (ex Saint) is one of the umpires for the St Kilda game. Should this be a worry?

Bobby McKenzie
Bobby McKenzie
in Melbourne Demons

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4 minutes ago, Call Me What You Will said:

I banged on about this in the aftermath of Round 23. The crucial Eagles vs Crows game was maggoted by No 6 and No 22 - both Western Australians I believe. We all know how it went that day. AFL arrogance and the maggots being untouchable ensure “integrity” or at the very least “perception” of integrity is never on the agenda in our game.

Integrity and the AFL ... oxymoronic

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    How do people get so uptight about umpires.............the psychiatrist said..............

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    This is an insult to Leigh. I know him and often discuss umpiring and how they assess their performance with him. He has umpired many St Kilda games before and I doubt anyone has noticed and I think he is one of the better umpires hence you tend not to notice him. Jayden Hunt believes he is one of the better umpires as well.

    Leigh recently umpired his 100th AFL game only the 2nd former player to do so and this questioning of his impartiality is wrong.

     

     

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    1 hour ago, Older demon said:

    This is an insult to Leigh. I know him and often discuss umpiring and how they assess their performance with him. He has umpired many St Kilda games before and I doubt anyone has noticed and I think he is one of the better umpires hence you tend not to notice him. Jayden Hunt believes he is one of the better umpires as well.

    Leigh recently umpired his 100th AFL game only the 2nd former player to do so and this questioning of his impartiality is wrong.

    He should never be in a position where his impartiality CAN be questioned.  That's what a well-run organisation would do. 

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    8 hours ago, leave it to deever said:

    Was going  say he cant be worse than nicholls........who shall now be dubbbed "the bald one."

     

    I think 'The Brazilian' suits him better.

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    9 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

    the fact we hear little about him probably means he does a good job

     

    ? Something of a Saint among Sinners ?

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    13 hours ago, Older demon said:

    This is an insult to Leigh. I know him and often discuss umpiring and how they assess their performance with him. He has umpired many St Kilda games before and I doubt anyone has noticed and I think he is one of the better umpires hence you tend not to notice him. Jayden Hunt believes he is one of the better umpires as well.

    Leigh recently umpired his 100th AFL game only the 2nd former player to do so and this questioning of his impartiality is wrong.

    There is nothing wrong with what you said, nor should we question his integrity and ability to do his job in an unbiased fashion. However, there are eight other matches in the round, and the AFL should have the umpires rostered accordingly to prevent the inevitable questioning of his integrity (especially on game day).

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    nup not worried, because he knows his game gets checked and if he wants to make it as an ump he wouldn't be that stupid. In saying that if he gives the saints a soft free then we can say it. 

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    Extremely stupid question Bobby Mac. Of course we should be worried! I'm worried every week. I've been worried for 54 years about the umpiring. Glenn James, Mike (?) Dellar, Darren Goldspink, Gavin Dore, John Russo, Rowan Sawers, Ian Robinson, Neville Nash, Kevin Smith. They all used to crucify us. I'm sure there were more. And of course that bloody Nichols gets stuck into us these days.

    Neita and Jacka were only paid half the free kicks due to them whilst that bloody 24 up at Sydney was the original MC Hammer (can't tough this). 

    Very, very bad state of affairs I'm afraid Bobby.

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    6 hours ago, Roger Mellie said:

    If he was delisted by the saints I hope he's a vindictive [censored].

    Body wasn’t up to AFL punishment if I remember rightly. Had talent but spent a lot of time injured.

    He’s also been umpiring for quite some time now (100 odd games), and has proved to be a quality umpire with a good feel for the game, as evidenced by the fact nobody even knew he was there until now. I think he shouldn’t just arbitrarily have his professionalism called in to question just because he’s umpiring an Aints game this week.

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    17 hours ago, RalphiusMaximus said:

    It's just another thing that a professionally run organisation wouldn't do.  It's not about questioning the umpire's integrity.  It's just a bad look to let this happen.  The better option would be to have him umpiring other games so that these questions are never asked. 

    Exactly, there is a game starting 1hr later, which is only 2km down the road. So it’s not a logistical issue. 

     

    Surely you would just just swap an umpire to remove any doubts. 

     

    They dont work in teams? Ie the same three umpires work together regularly? 

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    23 hours ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

    Leigh Fisher has been umpiring for quite some time now. Without checking, I expect he's already umpired some St Kilda games. If there had been any suggestion of any bias (for or against St Kilda) by Leigh Fisher in those games he wouldn't still be umpiring games involving St Kilda (or even any games). So, no, we shouldn't be concerned about Leigh Fisher umpiring this game. And we shouldn't even be impugning his reputation by asking the question.  

    If it were up to me, I'd close the thread.

    In raising this topic I did not express MY view on this matter. Just seeking opinions and thoughts.Merely asked a question. It seems that the issue is fairly evenly divided among posters. My personal view is that Leigh Fisher is a good umpire and honest but maybe he should not be placed in this scenario. I am sure he will be fair in his decisions tomorrow. Go Dees!!!!!

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    5 hours ago, Queanbeyan Demon said:

    Extremely stupid question Bobby Mac. Of course we should be worried! I'm worried every week. I've been worried for 54 years about the umpiring. Glenn James, Mike (?) Dellar, Darren Goldspink, Gavin Dore, John Russo, Rowan Sawers, Ian Robinson, Neville Nash, Kevin Smith. They all used to crucify us. I'm sure there were more. And of course that bloody Nichols gets stuck into us these days.

    Neita and Jacka were only paid half the free kicks due to them whilst that bloody 24 up at Sydney was the original MC Hammer (can't tough this). 

    Very, very bad state of affairs I'm afraid Bobby.

    Maybe you should not be worried. It doesn't look like it's helped much.

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    The last umpire to look after us was Beitzel in '55. Harry himself said that had he umpired us in '58, he would not have let Weidemen go around thumping our blokes. There was acrimony between Weideman and Beitzel thereafter. But Beitzel had the last laugh in '76 when Weideman coached the Filth to the wooden spoon and came off the long run on radio, television and newspapers. Fixed him right up. 

    When Punt Road sacked Hafey in '76, Beitzel rang the Filth and said "Tommy's the guy for you". Weideman was subsequently sacked and Hafey installed as coach of the Filth. Weid never forgave the Big H. 

     

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    8 hours ago, ignition. said:

    There is nothing wrong with what you said, nor should we question his integrity and ability to do his job in an unbiased fashion. However, there are eight other matches in the round, and the AFL should have the umpires rostered accordingly to prevent the inevitable questioning of his integrity (especially on game day).

    Agreed. That and the fact that bagging umpires is a fine Australian tradition. In fact defending any maggot with a  whistle is just damn unpatriotic.

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