Jump to content

Umpiring (Demonland in meltdown)

spirit of norm smith
spirit of norm smith
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

  On 13/05/2024 at 05:34, 640MD said:

Malcolm    shame on you talking to a Pies supporter,  oh wait Catta my mate follows the Pies, but he has not been to a Match for years

Known the bugger for 57 years. Cannot, I MEAN CANNOT say a word about/against Collingwood [censored] he goes "troppo". Maybe it's how I say it. Haha

 

  • Quote
    •  
      On 12/05/2024 at 12:03, monoccular said:

    They just love pinging Clarrie for HTB (in an instant) or for "incorrect disposal".   20 frees against already this year .   Yet Cripps in particular (whole Carlton and Geelong teams actually) get free reign to drop in a tackle or throw at will.

    They seemed to pick out the "touch" on ANB's goal in the final despite zero evidence on replay and zero protestations from the CFC players - cost us the game in the end.   Is the May touch review to be seen anywhere on AFL.com ?  

    Just off the top of my head, the de Konig (second goal of the game I think) against Max was extremely soft.

    The great irony is that many of us can list, perhaps, six highly questionable umpire penalties/frees against each game we play (- at least -); all are blatant attempts to 'hold us back' in a game, stop our 'flow' and interrupt with highly suspect decisions to ensure a negative and uneven playing field.

    Most of us have been watching and critiquing football at its highest levels for years, and years, and years, so little goes past our well-educated judgments - yet the umpires are omnipotent, never questioned during a match or post-match, free to leave their personal variations on our great game - and we are not the only club so affected. 

    It is such a pity that this is football realism.

     

  • Quote
    • Like 2
    • Clap 1
     
      On 12/05/2024 at 04:33, Demonland said:

    To Whom it May Concern,

    Hail to thee, brave custodians of the esteemed Melbourne Football Club! I hope this letter finds you well in these darkest of times. I pen this missive with a heart both emboldened by loyalty and beleaguered by grievance, on behalf of the ardent souls at Demonland. Verily, our spirits soar with every valorous contest you wage upon the hallowed greens, yet, of late, a shadow most vexatious hath been cast upon our beloved game by the officiators thereof.

    It hath come to pass that week upon week, the sagacious umpires, guardians of fairness and decorum in our grand sport, seem to have misplaced their spectacles! For, with great consternation we observe a plethora of blatant penalties that go unnoticed when they would aid our noble Demons, whilst conversely, the meekest of infractions against our adversaries are met with swift retribution.

    'Tis a plight most woeful, and we, the fervent congregation at Demonland, find ourselves at our wits’ end. Thus, we humbly beseech thee, o' gallant Melbourne Football Club, to wield thy considerable esteem and influence. Pray, convey our collective ire and perplexity to the high councils of the Australian Football League. Implore them, with all the grace and fervor thou can muster, to address this inequitable scourge that blights our matches.

    Mayhap a gentle reminder to these esteemed umpires to polish their ocular aids, or better yet, to procure an eyeglass of greater potency, might rectify this lamentable oversight.

    We place our trust in your capable hands, confident in the knowledge that ye shall champion our cause with the same vigor and passion with which you contest every ball. Together, let us strive for a future where the spirit of the game is preserved and all spectacles—both literal and figurative—are clear and unclouded.

    In closing, we offer our unwavering support for the Melbourne Football Club and remain, as ever, your devoted fans and ardent supporters, assembled under the proud banner of Demonland.

    Yours in sport and solidarity,

    Lord Andyronicus the Third

    Administrator of Demonland
    Enthusiast of Fair Play and Optical Clarity

    Absolutely brilliant!  The delightful Mrs. Deeoldfart is still (censored) herself, 5  minutes after reading this treaitise.

  • Quote
    • Author

    Did Laura Kane meet with Simon Goodwin? Or are we too insignificant?? 

    I am sure if the Pies or Blues or Bombers copped the shocking decisions like MFC copped, they’d be meeting with the AFL bosses 

    Do we lack the squeaky wheel Chris Scott syndrome!!! 

  • Quote
    • Angry 2

    Sometimes they AFL concedes the ump made a mistake. Not happened for us I suppose. 

  • Quote
    • Like 1
      On 13/05/2024 at 08:11, spirit of norm smith said:

    Did Laura Kane meet with Simon Goodwin? Or are we too insignificant?? 

    I am sure if the Pies or Blues or Bombers copped the shocking decisions like MFC copped, they’d be meeting with the AFL bosses 

    Do we lack the squeaky wheel Chris Scott syndrome!!! 

    Geelong Coach met the AFL today about his outburst against maggots after game. Not our Coach just him and the hierarchy.

  • Quote
    • Like 1
      On 13/05/2024 at 11:01, Willmoy1947 said:

    Geelong Coach met the AFL today about his outburst against maggots after game. Not our Coach just him and the hierarchy.

    expect cats to have a zero free kick count next game as compensation

  • Quote
    • Shocked 1
     
      On 13/05/2024 at 11:01, Willmoy1947 said:

    Geelong Coach met the AFL today about his outburst against maggots after game. Not our Coach just him and the hierarchy.

    Scott is 100% correct when he says the AFL should look at other sports to improve the advantage rule. Soccer refs are brilliant at it, this is one rule that does my head in. They have absolutely no idea how to officiate it here.

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    Is appreciation week over?

    I'm ready to go full slag mode again.

  • Quote
    • Like 3
    • Love 1
    • Haha 4
    • Clap 2

      On 13/05/2024 at 05:49, MT64 said:

    Known the bugger for 57 years. Cannot, I MEAN CANNOT say a word about/against Collingwood [censored] he goes "troppo". Maybe it's how I say it. Haha

     

    Yes catta has been a friend for 40 years.

    my only “out” is he did not tell me at first and he rarely goes to matches.

    they should walk around with a red flag “warning Collingwood supporter” or is that too much like yellow stars.

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    • Shocked 1
      On 13/05/2024 at 11:01, Willmoy1947 said:

    Geelong Coach met the AFL today about his outburst against maggots after game. Not our Coach just him and the hierarchy.

    How come someone from our club does not do this. Does the club see it differently to us the supporters. Cos you hear eff all.

  • Quote
    • Like 4
    • Thanks 1
      On 13/05/2024 at 01:26, BigFez said:

    I think this is genuinely the worst umpiring decision I've ever seen in my life.  He was right there too.

    To be honest it's not even in my top 100.

    It wasn't even the worst in the march - the free against Max for hitting it out on the full when it pittone who did so and the insufficient intent free against Bowser were worse.

    Dont get me wrong, it was right below me, so I had a perfect view and it was an absolute howler.

    Brilliant tackle, that should have been awarded.

    But, deliberately or accidentally, Kemp tilted his head toward the ground and under pressure, and with the noise about concussion (noise the AFL can seemingly ignore completely when it suits them) i can understand why the umpire made a mistake.

    That's to say, wrong decision, but there were mitigating circumstances.

    What makes that free worse in my book is not paying obvious frees, for example clear htb against Walsh when he fended off (cost us a shot at goal) and tracc get wrestled and held at one of the final stoppages 20 metres from our goal.

    The latter cost us the game as there would have been no time for the blues to score again.

    In my opinion, not nearly enough attention is paid to the frees THAT ARE NOT PAID, particularly those near the end of close games.

    The 'they've put the whistle away' phenomena is one of the most ridiculous parts of AFL footy.

    The umpires job is to pay frees that are there. Even if it doing so, arguably particularly if doing so, impacts the result.

    Refusing to make a decision is a de facto decision.

  • Quote
    • Like 9
    • Angry 1
      On 13/05/2024 at 22:02, binman said:

    To be honest it's not even in my top 100.

    It wasn't even the worst in the march - the free against Max for hitting it out on the full when it pittone who did so and the insufficient intent free against Bowser were worse.

    Dont get me wrong, it was right below me, so I had a perfect view and it was an absolute howler.

    Brilliant tackle, that should have been awarded.

    But, deliberately or accidentally, Kemp tilted his head toward the ground and under pressure, and with the noise about concussion (noise the AFL can seemingly ignore completely when it suits them) i can understand why the umpire made a mistake.

    That's to say, wrong decision, but there were mitigating circumstances.

    What makes that free worse in my book is not paying obvious frees, for example clear htb against Walsh when he fended off (cost us a shot at goal) and tracc get wrestled and held at one of the final stoppages 20 metres from our goal.

    The latter cost us the game as there would have been no time for the blues to score again.

    In my opinion, not nearly enough attention is paid to the frees THAT ARE NOT PAID, particularly those near the end of close games.

    The 'they've put the whistle away' phenomena is one of the most ridiculous parts of AFL footy.

    The umpires job is to pay frees that are there. Even if it doing so, arguably particularly if doing so, impacts the result.

    Refusing to make a decision is a de facto decision.

    Did you see the one where Curnow almost punched Rivers' head off his shoulders?  No free. Then seconds later I think it was Max barely touched a Carlton player's shoulder and a free was awarded at CHF for Carlton.  I think Riv even had to come off and get strapped up.  No doubt it has been mentioned on this or another thread before, but that was also up there.  Almost made me switch the TV off.

  • Quote
    • Like 4
    • Clap 1

    Why does MFC have to overcome their opponent as well as  every week a barrage of poor bias decisions and try to win each game every week, and it doesn't matter who we play, and  then carry on as if there is nothing going on?

    Very poor sportsmanship on behalf of all umpires if that is the case?

  • Quote
    • Like 1

      On 13/05/2024 at 04:20, Little Goffy said:

    Careless striking is a cool story.

    MRO-May10.jpg?width=1511

    I would say if he wasn’t a first offender he would have been judged more harshly with a prior to his name, however let’s see the rest of the season who and what Club are judged to be fair. 

    interesting.

  • Quote
      On 13/05/2024 at 21:52, 640MD said:

    How come someone from our club does not do this. Does the club see it differently to us the supporters. Cos you hear eff all.

    It’s the squeaky door syndrome pretty easy to work out. 
    We complain or discuss loudly they will respond to keep their control of the matter. 

  • Quote
    • Clap 1

    Unfortunately the greatest game in the world and one of the poorest for officiating both on and off the field. Not helped by the fact that rules can be interpreted one way or another depending on who is blowing the whistle. Thus leaving the fans wondering if they are being stitched up for some preconceived agenda . And who can blame us.

  • Quote
      On 14/05/2024 at 01:44, A Bit Of Biff said:

    Interesting artical by Leigh Matthews

     

    https://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/news-2024-leigh-matthews-jimmy-bartel-revive-rules-review-committee-to-resolve-umpiring-issues/05cc9f4b-5f53-4a6b-98f8-9e9421593d2c

     

    Didn't realise the rules committee was no more

    So nobody listens to us and everyone listens to (Geelong) them

    Presumably they are harder done by than us.(joke)

  • Quote
    • Angry 2

      On 13/05/2024 at 19:43, Dee Zephyr said:

    Scott is 100% correct when he says the AFL should look at other sports to improve the advantage rule. Soccer refs are brilliant at it, this is one rule that does my head in. They have absolutely no idea how to officiate it here.

    The Umps have no feel for the game. But I'm not sure soccer is a great yardstick, Yes they do it  well but AFL has so many more Frees

  • Quote
      On 13/05/2024 at 22:39, BigFez said:

    Did you see the one where Curnow almost punched Rivers' head off his shoulders?  No free. Then seconds later I think it was Max barely touched a Carlton player's shoulder and a free was awarded at CHF for Carlton.  I think Riv even had to come off and get strapped up.  No doubt it has been mentioned on this or another thread before, but that was also up there.  Almost made me switch the TV off.

    Didn't Rivers have to come off with the blood rule after being belted by Curnow? They stopped play.

    Then the ball was thrown up and a free given against Max yeah?

    As for the rules committee. The only problem with them at the time was that to feel like they were doing their job, they kept changing rules. They introduced some stupid ones.

    The MFC does not make enough noise with these poor umpiring performances. We're way too polite.

  • Quote
    • Like 4
    • Clap 2
    • Author
      On 14/05/2024 at 10:01, Brownie said:

    Didn't Rivers have to come off with the blood rule after being belted by Curnow? They stopped play.

    Then the ball was thrown up and a free given against Max yeah?

    As for the rules committee. The only problem with them at the time was that to feel like they were doing their job, they kept changing rules. They introduced some stupid ones.

    The MFC does not make enough noise with these poor umpiring performances. We're way too polite.

    MFC does not make enough noise with these poor umpiring performances. We're way too polite.👏👏

  • Quote
    • Like 5
    • Clap 2
     
      On 14/05/2024 at 04:36, loges said:

    Thus leaving the fans wondering if they are being stitched up for some preconceived agenda . And who can blame us.

    Given the AFL answers to nobody, it is entirely plausible.

  • Quote
      On 14/05/2024 at 01:26, Willmoy1947 said:

    Why does MFC have to overcome their opponent as well as  every week a barrage of poor bias decisions and try to win each game every week, and it doesn't matter who we play, and  then carry on as if there is nothing going on?

    Very poor sportsmanship on behalf of all umpires if that is the case?

    I would say gamesmanship rather than sportsmanship. 

  • Quote

    • Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

    Guest
    Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
    Reply to this topic...
    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • PREVIEW: Fremantle

      A month is a long time in AFL football. The proof of this is in the current state of the two teams contesting against each other early this Saturday afternoon at the MCG. It’s hard to fathom that when Melbourne and Fremantle kicked off the 2025 season, the former looked like being a major player in this year’s competition after it came close to beating one of the favourites in the GWS Giants while the latter was smashed by Geelong to the tune of 78 points and looked like rubbish. Fast forward to today and the Demons are low on confidence and appear panic stricken as their winless streak heads towards an even half dozen and pressure mounts on the coach and team leadership.  Meanwhile, the Dockers have recovered their composure and now sit in the top eight. They are definitely on the up and up and look most likely winners this weekend against a team which they have recently dominated and which struggles to find enough passages to the goals to trouble the scorers. And with that, Fremantle will head to the MCG, feeling very good about itself after demolishing Richmond in the Barossa Valley with Josh Treacy coming off a six goal haul and facing up to a Melbourne defence already without Jake Lever and a shaky Steven May needing to pass a fitness test just to make it onto the field of play. 

      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • NON-MFC: Round 06

      The Easter Round kicks off in style with a Thursday night showdown between Brisbane and Collingwood, as both sides look to solidify their spots inside the Top 4 early in the season. Good Friday brings a double-header, with Carlton out to claim consecutive wins when they face the struggling Kangaroos, while later that night the Eagles host the Bombers in Perth, still chasing their first victory of the year. Saturday features another marquee clash as the resurgent Crows look to rebound from back-to-back losses against a formidable GWS outfit. That evening, all eyes will be on Marvel Stadium where Damien Hardwick returns to face his old side—the Tigers—coaching the Suns at a ground he's never hidden his disdain for. Sunday offers two crucial contests where the prize is keeping touch with the Top 8. First, Sydney and Port Adelaide go head-to-head, followed by a fierce battle between the Bulldogs and the Saints. Then, Easter Monday delivers the traditional clash between two bitter rivals, both desperate for a win to stay in touch with the top end of the ladder. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons?

        • Like
      • 87 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • REPORT: Essendon

      What were they thinking? I mean by “they” the coaching panel and team selectors who chose the team to play against an opponent who, like Melbourne, had made a poor start to the season and who they appeared perfectly capable of beating in what was possibly the last chance to turn the season around.It’s no secret that the Demons’ forward line is totally dysfunctional, having opened the season barely able to average sixty points per game which means there has been no semblance of any system from the team going forward into attack. Nevertheless, on Saturday night at the Adelaide Oval in one of the Gather Round showcase games, Melbourne, with Max Gawn dominating the hit outs against a depleted Essendon ruck resulting from Nick Bryan’s early exit, finished just ahead in clearances won and found itself inside the 50 metre arc 51 times to 43. The end result was a final score that had the Bombers winning 15.6 (96) to 8.9 (57). On balance, one could expect this to result in a two or three goal win, but in this case, it translated into a six and a half goal defeat because they only managed to convert eight times or 11.68% of their entries. The Bombers more than doubled that. On Thursday night at the same ground, the losing team Adelaide managed to score 100 points from almost the same number of times inside 50.

      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PODCAST: Essendon

      The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 14th April @ the all new time of 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we dissect another Demons loss at Kardinia Park to the Cats in the Round 04. Your questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human.

        • Clap
      • 59 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: Fremantle

      The Demons return home to the MCG in search of their first win for the 2025 Premiership season when they take on the Fremantle Dockers on Saturday afternoon. Who comes in and who goes out?

        • Clap
        • Haha
        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 371 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • VOTES: Essendon

      Max Gawn leads the Demonland Player of the Year ahead of Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Kade Chandler and Jake Bowey. Your votes please. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

        • Like
      • 24 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland
    View All