2 hours ago, Ouch! said:

we'd need a 5th umpire for looking at behind the scenes stuff... and we know how well they are going with the review system and the boundary umpires keeping things in bound.

They already have a reserve umpire that I believe is miked up to the other umps. I presume, but don't know, that they can pass on observations to the other field umpires during breaks in play etc

Laws of the Game 2024

18.3 PROHIBITED CONTACT
...
18.3.3 Permitted Contact
A Player may use their hip, shoulder, chest, arms or open hands provided that the football  is no more than five metres  away from the Player and the Player does not make Prohibited Contact as per Law 18.3.2 above.

 

 

This rule is infringed at nearly every centre bounce.

55 minutes ago, Dingo said:

I am interested to know what T Bugg is doing.

Runs a company called Zooz which uses a computer program to identify and manage "talent".

Not to be confused with Zooz in USA who seem to be a home automation business

There's some youtube videos from 2021. Not sure how successful it is but good luck to him

The umps, being amateurs, and seemingly on board with the idea of being amateurs in an otherwise professional sport, get mixed in with a random group of umps every week. 

A professional organisation would take a professional approach and have fixed "teams" or "crews" of umps that train together and take the field together each week. (They do this in gridiron and baseball ... this is one area where we SHOULD copy the Americans!)

They can then learn each others' styles and movements and don't need eyes in the back of their heads. As it is, they appear to be ball-bound with no-one watching what's going on off the ball.

Professional umps, grouped into "crews", for a better umpiring experience that actually enforces all the rules and not just the ones the umps feel like, or have time for.

The AFL of course has no interest in this as long as the mugs fans show up and Channel 7 pays $$$$$. What's it costing them?

Max got crashed in the back clearly having taken a clean mark v Hawthorn. 
No fifty. 
Game over by then so even a goal be useless, but Max carries it into next week

There is a good case to have no umpires at all. Just let the players decide what is and isn't fair.

They seem to know what is and isn't fair, quicker than umpires at most stops, ball ups and free kicks,

I think what Papley was saying , if you’re gonna do that, at least go hard at the ball as well, which the bombers aren’t. 

100% agree with the thread.

And I reckon the media need to hold fire on Sydney.

Warner, Gulden and Heaney and even James Jordon couldn't possibly keep their insane form up all year and we all know what happens to Sydney in grand finals. 

Essendon are a joke, you can’t manufacture toughness, Jack Viney & Steven May are tough Nick Hind & Peter Wright aren’t.

l can understand why they’re trying to have the Essendon edge (haha) because they’ve been irrelevant for 20+ years, but talk about it behind doors, now that it’s out in the open the footy world is going to have a field day

 

5 minutes ago, Billy said:

Essendon are a joke, you can’t manufacture toughness,

But if you're Brad Scott, you can revel in it and sit back with a port and a cigar and enjoy the view as your players lay into the oppo.

22 minutes ago, Billy said:

Essendon are a joke, you can’t manufacture toughness, Jack Viney & Steven May are tough Nick Hind & Peter Wright aren’t.

l can understand why they’re trying to have the Essendon edge (haha) because they’ve been irrelevant for 20+ years, but talk about it behind doors, now that it’s out in the open the footy world is going to have a field day

TBH if the AFL were serious about stamping out dodgy actions, they should notify clubs that if any player is seen to be doing what Nick Hind attempted on Chad Warner that they will also cop a 2 week suspension or a hefty fine regardless of whether it makes contact or not. That elbow could easily have broken a jaw or cheekbone. Gutless cheap shot by Hind and I hope someone from his club calls him out on it. 

On 25/03/2024 at 18:06, Mazer Rackham said:

Laws of the Game 2024

18.3 PROHIBITED CONTACT
...
18.3.3 Permitted Contact
A Player may use their hip, shoulder, chest, arms or open hands provided that the football  is no more than five metres  away from the Player and the Player does not make Prohibited Contact as per Law 18.3.2 above.

 

 

This rule is infringed at nearly every centre bounce.

Not to mention every time Max gets targeted off the ball.

On 25/03/2024 at 11:56, Ouch! said:

Anyone a little confused by comments coming out of Sydney (Tom Papley in particular) about Essendon and their behind the ball hits on their players?  I'm confused by some in the media discussing this too.

Two words. "Max Gawn"  If you are so concerned Tom, call out the players that took hits at Max behind the play as he's going from contest to contest. Knocking him over, bumping off the ball 30-40m away from play.

Sydney and Port Adelaide constantly bump, and knock Gawn to the ground. Some media condone it, and saying that because Max is such a good player that every team should do it, even calling out MFC players for not doing to opposition teams or defending Gawn. Can't remember who it was, but someone actually called out the Dogs, and why they didn't do it, yet others are saying it should be stamped out, and I agree. Umpires need to be aware of it, and call frees.

Tom Papley, you can't have it both ways, either you are happy with bumping players off the ball, or the tummy taps, or you aren't, but then don't do it to other teams, or target players like Gawn.

Sydney ? Papley?

I shakes me 'ead.

Sydney are a "golden child" club, so their complaints are more likely to be listened to than, say, a minnow Victorian club with a champion ruckman who has a bruised head.

Put another way, they are under the protection of the mob bosses, while certain other clubs are under suspicion, at least until they start bringing in more moolah.

Part and Sydney went hard at Nick Daicos last year..continually bumping him off the ball. They must have extremely short memories.