Jump to content

NEW UMP. INTERPRETATION.....

Jumping Jack Clennett
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

Posted

I noticed on Thursday, and especially today in the Mudpies match, the umps are being strict on not allowing players much time to take their kick after a free or mark. After about 5 sec. they yell "play on!" , and woe betide the guy with the ball if an opponent is a yard behind him. He gets grabbed and pinged for "holding it".

This is an error of understanding the game from the umps. In fact, if a player has a mark or free ,the rules state that he must have 5 m. leeway. The ump. should not call "play-on" if someone's less than 5m. from the guy with the ball. In fact, by absolutely exact interpretation of the laws, it should be 50m. for not being 5m. away.

Tomorrow we should pick up on this, and make sure that a defender "sneaks up" from behind on a player with a mark or free who's having trouble finding a clear option upfield. As soon as the ump yells "play on", pin him , and cause the vital turn-over.

Conversely,if it's our free , we should be ready for this error from the umps, and realise we're "fair game" from a defender less than 5m. away when we have free.

Have any other Demonlanders noticed this new interpretation?

  • Quote
    •  
    • Author

    I just went back to the TV to see the final minutes of St K /Sydney, and what happens? Hall lurks behind Schneider who takes too long,(about 6 sec.) looking upfield after a free. Hall tackles him from behind when the Ump calls play on. Turn-over, pass to Davis at 50m. He misses. The result of the game could have changed as a result of this new interpretation, and rejection of(or ignorance of the law about) the 5m. radius of protection afforded to the player with the free kick.

    Demonlanders(and the MFC footy dept) are notoriously uninterested in these niceties.

  • Quote

    You make a valid point.

    It is something that I have seen over recent times as well.

    It is a shame that the one player who has the ball is now targeted instead of protected by umpires these days.

  • Quote
    •  
    Demonlanders(and the MFC footy dept) are notoriously uninterested in these niceties.

    OK, is it me or is this man trippin? How can else can the above sentence make sense?

    Yeah it must be me......... cool!

  • Quote

    jjc i agree. i like the rules the way they are and think the interpretations stink. you should have 5 metres protections at all times. the other rules that get me are:

    a player who has possession and is running and bouncing, is tackled and spun around in a circle and then handpasses. he has already had prior oportunity so the tackler should win the free kick for holding the ball.

    if the player with the ball hasnt had prior opportunity then he gets tackled in a circle, before the ball is locked to him the umpire usually calls 'ball up because he didnt have prior opportunity'. this is also wrong. he didnt have 'prior opportunity' but he did have opportunity while being tackled and therefore it should be holding the ball. it should only be a ball up if the ball is pinned to him before he has a chance to get rid of it.

  • Quote

    • Archived

    This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • GAMEDAY: Rd 16 vs Gold Coast

      It's Game Day and the Demons are back on the road again and this may be the last roll of the dice to get their 2025 season back on track as they take on the Gold Coast Suns at People First Stadium.

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 546 replies
      Demonland

    • PREVIEW: Gold Coast

      The Gold Coast Suns find themselves outside of the top eight for the first time since Round 1 with pressure is mounting on the entire organisation. Their coach Damien Hardwick expressed his frustration at his team’s condition last week by making a middle-finger gesture on television that earned him a fine for his troubles. He showed his desperation by claiming that Fox should pick up the tab.  There’s little doubt the Suns have shown improvement in 2025, and their position on the ladder is influenced to some extent by having played fewer games than their rivals for a playoff role at the end of the season, courtesy of the disruption caused by Cyclone Alfred in March.  However, they are following the same trajectory that hindered the club in past years whenever they appeared to be nearing their potential. As a consequence, that Hardwick gesture should be considered as more than a mere behavioral lapse. It’s a distress signal that does not bode well for the Queenslanders. While the Suns are eager to remain in contention with the top eight, Melbourne faces its own crisis, which is similarly deep-seated but in a much different way. After recovering from a disappointing start to the season and nearing a return to respectability among its peer clubs, the Demons have experienced a decline in status, driven by the fact that while their form has been reasonable (see their performance against the ladder leader in the Kings Birthday match), their conversion in front of goal is poor enough to rank last in the competition. Furthermore, their opponents find them exceptionally easy to score against. As a result, they have effectively eliminated themselves from the finals race and are again positioned to finish in the bottom half of the ladder.

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 4 replies
      Demonland

    • NON-MFC: Round 15

      As the Demons head into their Bye Round, it's time to turn our attention to the other matches being played. Which teams are you tipping this week? And which results would be most favourable for the Demons if we can manage to turn our season around? Follow all the non-Melbourne games here and join the conversation as the ladder continues to take shape.

        • Like
      • 287 replies
      Demonland

    • REPORT: Port Adelaide

      Of course, it’s not the backline, you might argue and you would probably be right. It’s the boot studder (do they still have them?), the midfield, the recruiting staff, the forward line, the kicking coach, the Board, the interchange bench, the supporters, the folk at Casey, the head coach and the club psychologist  It’s all of them and all of us for having expectations that were sufficiently high to have believed three weeks ago that a restoration of the Melbourne team to a position where we might still be in contention for a finals berth when the time for the midseason bye arrived. Now let’s look at what happened over the period of time since Melbourne overwhelmed the Sydney Swans at the MCG in late May when it kicked 8.2 to 5.3 in the final quarter (and that was after scoring 3.8 to two straight goals in the second term). 

        • Clap
        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 3 replies
      Demonland

    • CASEY: Essendon

      Casey’s unbeaten run was extended for at least another fortnight after the Demons overran a persistent Essendon line up by 29 points at ETU Stadium in Port Melbourne last night. After conceding the first goal of the evening, Casey went on a scoring spree from about ten minutes in, with five unanswered majors with its fleet of midsized runners headed by the much improved Paddy Cross who kicked two in quick succession and livewire Ricky Mentha who also kicked an early goal. Leading the charge was recruit of the year, Riley Bonner while Bailey Laurie continued his impressive vein of form. With Tom Campbell missing from the lineup, Will Verrall stepped up to the plate demonstrating his improvement under the veteran ruckman’s tutelage. The Demons were looking comfortable for much of the second quarter and held a 25-point lead until the Bombers struck back with two goals in the shadows of half time. On the other side of the main break their revival continued with first three goals of the half. Harry Sharp, who had been quiet scrambled in the Demons’ first score of the third term to bring the margin back to a single point at the 17 minute mark and the game became an arm-wrestle for the remainder of the quarter and into the final moments of the last.

        • Clap
      • 0 replies
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: Gold Coast

      The Demons have the Bye next week but then are on the road once again when they come up against the Gold Coast Suns on the Gold Coast in what could be a last ditch effort to salvage their season. Who comes in and who comes out?

        • Thanks
      • 372 replies
      Demonland
    View All