There are now four boundary umpires at each game and it seems to me that there are more than four different throw in styles.

Throw ins are too high, too slow, too short, too low, too (pick a word). In other words they are hopelessly inconsistent and the ruckmen can very rarely set up in a position where there is a fair contest. How often is it a speed contest to reach a short ball at hip level while at the same time grappling and wrestling in a manner that would be penalised in a marking contest. A blot on our great game.

Surely the AFL can coach and then select boundary umpires who are consistent with their throw ins and can produce a fair contest.

GO MAXIE

Part of the issue is players trying to get to a preferred position so they cannot be pushed under the ball. Agreed. Some of the boundary throw ins are getting more and more subpar.

Surely they should be required to show consistency before being let loose.

Also, field umpires used to give feedback during games. I’m not sure whether this still happens.

We are the only sport in the world that requires our officiators to execute a physical skill. The run a lot of kms and have to perform a skill. Not surprisingly there is a large variance in performance.

Not sure how we go about it but it would be best for the game if these inconsistencies were removed

I often wonder if the AFL secretly loves the variance in throw ins. It helps create break away moments from clearance.

I would imagine most coaches prefer a boundary throw in if they are chasing down a lead, over a ball up - where there’s far too much consistency and experienced sides can shut down the ball over and over again to create stoppages and drain the clock.

It’s a quirk of our game, but it might be inadvertently providing the variance we need to keep the games dynamic.

My perception is that the umpires changed the technique of boundary throw-ins not long ago. They sling it across their chest more angularly, rather than just straight over their head.

This might be to get the ball thrown a greater distance, but I think it has lowered the depth accuracy and given more error in direction. You often see the ball going well left or right of where the ruckmen expect it to land.

I don't mind the variance. It's part of the skill of ruckwork, to be able to anticipate where the ball will fall, and part of that has always been to "clue-in" to the style of the umpire with the ball.

My beef with thrown-ins is the stage management of waiting waiting until two ruckman are present, everyone in position ... lights camera action! WTF? Just throw the thing in! If one team doesn't have a ruckman ready, too bad. Nominate someone else.  If the AFL really want the game flowing, have the boundary umps throw the thing in immediately they've got their hands on it.

33 minutes ago, mauriesy said:

My perception is that the umpires changed the technique of boundary throw-ins not long ago. They sling it across their chest more angularly, rather than just straight over their head.

Yes, they have. And it doesn't seem to make any difference to anything.

If the ball goes out around the 50m line, the ball should be thrown back around that mark.

I’ve often seen them throw the ball in centrally, often 10 metres away from where it’s gone out.

it's almost like they're a) not professional ii) have barely any training and 3) are never held to account

1 hour ago, jnrmac said:

We are the only sport in the world that requires our officiators to execute a physical skill. The run a lot of kms and have to perform a skill. Not surprisingly there is a large variance in performance.

Not sure how we go about it but it would be best for the game if these inconsistencies were removed

Well; they have already given up on checking out of bounds rules. But i digress. One thing i notice is distance and direction disparities. Not just because the wind is blowing.

15 minutes ago, Dee Zephyr said:

If the ball goes out around the 50m line, the ball should be thrown back around that mark.

I’ve often seen them throw the ball in centrally, often 10 metres away from where it’s gone out.

They have to use the centre of the ground as reference and aim at that hence why it goes on that angle. Otherwise if throwing in next to the point post, it would be thrown into the goal square.

5 hours ago, tiers said:

There are now four boundary umpires at each game and it seems to me that there are more than four different throw in styles.

Throw ins are too high, too slow, too short, too low, too (pick a word). In other words they are hopelessly inconsistent and the ruckmen can very rarely set up in a position where there is a fair contest. How often is it a speed contest to reach a short ball at hip level while at the same time grappling and wrestling in a manner that would be penalised in a marking contest. A blot on our great game.

Surely the AFL can coach and then select boundary umpires who are consistent with their throw ins and can produce a fair contest.

GO MAXIE

Well we how many coaches do clubs have and guys cannot kick straight for goal from 20 out and they are full time, think there are more problems to worry about than throw ins from the boundary.

4 minutes ago, demon3165 said:

Well we how many coaches do clubs have and guys cannot kick straight for goal from 20 out and they are full time, think there are more problems to worry about than throw ins from the boundary.

yep