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Featured Replies

4 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

but he doesn't have to be "persuaded", just has to be thinking hmm it was close maybe it was touched, player is appealing.

says to ump "it might have been touched but i'm not totally sure, we need to check it."

ump says to arc "check to see if ball touched, goal umpire thinks it may have been"

i.e. soft decision is touched even though he is unsure

or let me put it another way

3 choices - 1. definitely touched  2. maybe touched  3. definitely not touched

what should the soft call be for 2.?

if it is 1. then why bother going to arc unless it is to check if over the line. In this case obviously not .

 
 
3 minutes ago, fr_ap said:

In all fairness to Carlton, this probably does look like a free kick against JVR. 

https://twitter.com/JakeyJoel/status/1691109610806038528?t=fWj1Q6o68jqwB_BG8JDGbQ&s=19

Time to put it to bed and move on. 

 

 

probably. jvr should have jumped in front of him as if attempting a mark but just make sure he "misses"" the ball.

otoh, not being paid a free against just compensates for the free not paid to him having his legs clearly taken out when he was just in range on the 50m line on boundary. tough shot i know, but he could have nailed it or got in a short pass.

On 8/14/2023 at 1:39 PM, Webber said:

If it were likely to provoke change, this entire thread should be sent to the AFL. Would that they listened! Brilliant stuff, terrific reading. 

For those who can’t accept that umpiring affects results, think about the illogic of that. ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING that happens during a game is sanctioned, or not, by the umpires. Otherwise put, the game doesn’t even start, and no result is achievable without their action or inaction. If you think all W-L results are ‘perfect’, i.e. every W-L result is ‘right’, it’s saying that across their 120 minutes of decision-making, the balance of their decisions is also ‘perfect’. I hate to be conceptually pedantic, but this is nonsense. At its fundament. The fact of umpiring’s imperfection renders occasional ‘imperfect’ results. By definition. The problem with AFL umpiring (and as so many of you have rightly said it’s on THEM, not the umpires) is that it’s never been more imperfect. 
 

The question then to ask, and as you’ve all astutely outlined, there are obvious, simple solutions, is why aren’t the AFL improving what is a horrible shambles? 
 


 

One thing that has contributed to the poorer standard of umpiring, and which will not be reversed because the AFH said that it would improve the standards, is the introduction of the fourth field umpire.  It has to - the talent pool is diluted.  

A suggestion somewhere I think earlier in this thread, given the AFL's opposition to full time umpires across the board (it would encroach on the directors' bonuses for starters) would be for one "professional" umpire and two or three if they insist part timers.  The senior or professional umpire would mentor the others and maybe only cruise around the centre calling out wrong decisions such as the JVR legging one.    At least they would only have to employ maybe 9 or 10 full timers, not 40.

On 8/14/2023 at 2:19 PM, Earl Hood said:

They then fax the result of the review through to the announcer I believe. The wonders of modern technology. 

Have the pigeons disappeared from the MCG?  I realise that smoke signals wouldn't work now that there is no smoking allowed.

And one thing really irritates me: when this anonymous bozo makes his or her or their decision, why not just say ":goal" or "behind" instead of wasting a further few seconds by announcing "decision on scoreboard".  Next they will add the audio drumroll, or maybe Edelstone's cheer leaders !!


Look at the full front on block on Gawn, running back to take a mark, twenty out from our goal seconds later. Put him on the ground. Player ran at him and knocked him over, off the ball.

Umpire was right there.

Most blatant free of the night not paid.

 
33 minutes ago, Demonland said:

 

Well put by Ian Munro, but IMO he doesn’t go hard enough. There will need to be a persistent chorus of outrage (directed at the AFL, not the umps) around the inconsistent and illogical adjudicating of the game to force change. 

Edited by Webber

2 hours ago, Webber said:

Well put by Ian Munro, but IMO he doesn’t go hard enough. There will need to be a persistent chorus of outrage (directed at the AFL, not the umps) around the inconsistent and illogical adjudicating of the game to force change. 

This non decision smacks of incompetence or cowardice.


I blame myself for falling in love with such a stupid game.

Its exciting, has great skills, tough. The game has everything, but is ruined by umpiring.

Saturday night was great and in the end the Blues fans were delirious with joy. So many of them singing the song at the top of their voices. It was their turn to get the "rub of the green".

What is sad and frustrating yet comical is watching fans shouting for frees that aren't there. Umpiring has become so random that anything goes. The Blues crowd next to me were shouting and complaining when on the far side of the ground Hibberd punched the ball out of play. I'm shouting at them, they're shouting at anyone. It's a mess.

Hmmm! Maybe random umpiring is good for the game. At least we don't have a ground announcer come over the public address system "Quiet Please". I hate tennis.

The instructions on interference are coming directly from the AFL and the Umpiring arm which is attached to it to combat Max's height and ability.

On 8/14/2023 at 3:45 PM, The heart beats true said:

Is this another camera (circled in red)?

IMG_3383.jpeg

yes it is, they never used that footage.

1 hour ago, deespicable me said:

It's a mess

Nailed it. And yet, what do we hear from the AFL?……………..(forever waiting)…….


1 hour ago, Brownie said:

Do they actually review umpire's performance?

And comeon, you can see the Carlton player only has eyes for the footy 😁

According to my colleague who is a WAFL umpire, they have two apps to assist in reviewing performance.  The apps have time stamped footage of all the calls from a game made by an umpire with specific comments about the calls made and suggestions for improvement, and also communications about umpiring principles and the like.  Assume that AFL would have something similar!

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