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The only way to clear this up is to take the medal off Cripps and award it to the rightful winner, C. Oliver (Melb.).

More details have emerged about this disturbing story. It appears that the umpire tried to flee police by running backwards and didn't stop until the copper yelled "Stand!".

Gamble responsibly.

The fact that an umpire has been arrested in relation to this makes it an absolutely huge story. If they were involved in this sort of corrupt behavior, what else might it have extended to? The voting process itself? Decisions on the field that may have influenced betting lines in games? Decisions that may have influenced games entirely? Naturally, not making any direct allegations but it throws their entire umpiring career into dispute

The AFL's rank hypocrisy and double standards when it comes to betting is off the charts. It serves them right to have to deal with problems of this nature that are 100% of their own making.

The AFL and SEN love betting They shove it Down our throats Daily Disgraceful

I keep saying it but until we get a replacement for Gil from outside the old boys club this and numerous other problems will continue. How many on going disasters is Gil saddled with now. He should go asap as his reign as CEO is riddled with poor performances.

Well the AFL is known for being the bastion of integrity, honesty and accountability. Who could have possibly foreseen this ever happening!

I'll take a punt and suggest there are no envelopes at all and that the votes are lodged through some online process. We'll know if that's the case next year when some Russian hackers threaten to release the votes before the Awards night unless the AFL pays a multi-million dollar ransom.

PMBangers from Bigfooty who is a pretty keen drafter watcher did an upgraded phantom draft over the weekend. Pick 15 - Melbourne - Matthew Jefferson Oakleigh Chargers | VIC Metro Tall Forward 195 cm 84 kg Snapshot; A low possession but high impact key forward, Jefferson rarely goes a game without impacting the scoreboard. Although he plays closer to goal most of the time he's shown a good capacity as a tall that can push up the ground and help more with link up play. His marking is his biggest strength, even without being super strong as it stands he's a good one-on-one mark and displays solid body work Rationale; They need a young KPF to pair with JVR in the long run, and the styles of the two would compliment each other well. I think with Melbourne's game style a player like Jefferson that can take some ridiculous marks and smart leads will thrive with their ball movement forward and damage in transition where he could get one-on-one inside 50 Considerations; There's interest in Ed Allan and this is probably the first pick of the draft I think the club will actively be trying to trade up with. The next couple of picks in Olli Hotton and Jacob Konstanty might be of interest, as might Lachlan Cowan with Jayden Hunt leaving and other options getting older. Elijah Hewett plays like a Melbourne player as well

The Herald-Sun has named the umpire as Michael Pell, thus muddying the Pell surname. I'm surprised his name wasn't withheld so that a betting market could be framed as to his identity.

I must say I'm surprised that this thread hasn't gone absolutely ballistic. Just consider this. We have an umpire , an umpire, arrested over the leaking of voting information for the AFL's most prestigious award and ...... the award is based on umpire's votes! Further, as a couple of posters above have indicated, the possible wider implications of this are enormous. This could go as far as questioning the integrity of the competition! It is a bombshell !

“Love the game, not the odds”

Hi. Not surprised an ump is involved. Betting interests have way too much influence.

Paging @Clintosaurus!

North have gone under the radar this year due to their tough draw and low ladder position, but they are absolutely a top 4 side. Their only losses were to Melbourne (2 pts), Adelaide (14 pts) and Brisbane (7 pts). They've won 1 final on defense and 1 on attack, so they seem to be getting everything working at the right time of year. We are going to need to play well to win this one (and kick a lot straighter than we did in round 2).

A key defender got a vote. Probably what touched off the investigation.

Gil what a sendoff..

spot-betting on individual rounds - four arrested some maggot gave up who they had voted for from the sounds of things imagine the inside info - "hot tip: a midfielder is going to poll 3 votes - don't tell anyone"

Haris Rauf and the Toump!

For the AFL to say it didn't impact the Brownlow shows how far off the mark they are. Multiple bets were made based on information released resulting in wins. It appears it wasn't just about the Brownlow. In addition whether true or not the feeling will be that there was an awareness that Cripps was well-placed vote wise and it makes sense of the ridiculous lengths, Carlton went to in order to get Cripps off. It had to happen sooner or later because the sheer volume of gambling on sports and the exotic bets lend themselves to this. Now an insider has broken the code and cheated. I was surprised that the maximum jail term is 10 years.

It’s also yet another reason to make the umpires 100% professional, salaried and tied to the AFL. To have outside contractors have such influence over the games results and the competitions biggest award is just asking for things like this to happen. It may not completely stop it but at least having someone whose primary profession and source of income is as an umpire increases the incentive not to do things like this. With the number of lawyers who umpire AFL as a side hustle I’m sure this umpire won’t struggle for representation, might even represent themselves 😜!

It is paywall 37. Melbourne – Sam Gilbey (Claremont/WA) Defender, 187cm, 73kg Jordan says: The Demons got their young forward earlier and now, given the star power and balance of its list, they can afford to take a slight risk. A risk because he is recovering from a broken leg, not because of his talent. Battled injury and Covid earlier in the year, too, but Gilbey has more class and composure than plenty of others in the draft. Reads the play so well in defence but, given the time he gives himself with ball in hand, has shown glimpses of the tall midfielder he could become.

Mental gymnastics indeed. As I understood it he got off because no one had specifically called his action a “bump” until the tribunal did in its decision. Why that would make any difference to an action when Cripps hit with his body, with his arm tucked in, , in an action which was the very definition of a “bump” ……. It was a ridiculous decision. This whole scandal is huge. As has already been said, if an umpire will leak the votes which have been given, presumably for gain, what else would they do?

Spot betting. Intentionally designed to cultivate addiction. Might as well have also been designed to cultivate corruption.

IF an umpire is involved, this shapes as the biggest scandal ever in AFL/VFL history. To say it is staggering is wildly insufficient!

Demonland exclusive: The 'missing' Demons Holiday Gallery tapes... Jordan De Goey eat your heart out!

There is a simple solution to this: make sports betting on categories where one person has full control or could have specific inside knowledge illegal, and only allow betting on categories where integrity cannot be entirely compromised by a single persons action. So for Brownlow bet on player total, club totals and overall winners. No one person can know these outcomes unless envelopes are compromised, widespread collusion, etc. For individual match votes you could even have betting before that match has commenced but not after. Bad luck if it reduces overall categories.

I assume the thread relates to this: four-men-arrested-over-suspicious-brownlow-medal-betting "The investigation, alongside Sport Integrity Australia and the AFL, has focused on the illegal release of umpire votes from matches through the home-and-away season. Victoria Police alleged in a statement that a person with knowledge of the voting tally distributed the information to a group of people known to them". It may not have been an umpire.

I think the football media really disrespects the individual capabilities of our players and hope we smash the opposition in the next 2 games (I hope that anyway). An example is this view of the AA team selected from the squad in which I feel we were light on anyway (How Birch didn't get in for one)...only one player in this team. https://www.womens.afl/news/114433?_ga=2.239003458.338698434.1668390080-728946649.1646431770

So you're making assumptions about women's football based on watching other teams? An elimination final no less? This is Geelong's first finals (in the past they've been pretty ordinary) and North, whilst at times been a good team, finished 8th. Some argue they're making up numbers in the finals this year. Neither North or Geelong play like Melbourne play, Dees play for possession rather than bombing it forward, and their communication has been outstanding. In fact the Dees men can learn a lot from the Dees women in that respect. I suggest you watch Melbourne v Adelaide Qualifying Final. I'd say it was one of the best games they've played.

Got my tickets! Feeling a bit nervous...but if we bring our best, we can do it.

At this stage we are all speculating who JT and the recruiters, coaches and TL will pick when they get to our pick 13, I believe the club is holding their nerve and have not given other clubs a clue what their thoughts are and thru out the speculation that they have an interest in Ed Allan so West Coast will pick him using pick 12 giving them the player they really want? I have a gut feeling they have a player in mind who no one at this stage has picked for pick 13.

I don't think we are interested in him.

If that were to happen, the betting would still happen but just be with illegal bookmakers. The likely reason these arrests occurred was because legalised betting means the licensed betting operators have agreements with the AFL Integrity Unit (I know, an oxymoron) to share information of concern. Presumably, one or more of the bookies identified suspicious patterns and alerted the AFL to the problem. In short, banning the bet type might actually make things worse.

Can you be sure the votes are all in sealed envelopes? These charges increase my suspicion that that isn't the case. Might also explain the ludicrous appeals in the Cripps case.

9. Ginbey (Eagles) 10. Mackenzie (St Kilda) 11. Busslinger (Carlton) 12. Hollands (Bulldogs) 13. Allan (Eagles) 14. Jefferson (Melbourne) 15. Weddle (Sydney) 16. George (GWS) The relevant section of the HS phantom draft. I still think trade up is a possibility but increasingly unlikely. Trade down for an early 20’s pick quite possible. Weddle, George and Jefferson all have similar merit if we stick to the original pick.

Maybe that’s why I’m so keen on him! 🤣 I’d love Philipou, but seems like he’ll be gone for our pick. Could be gone as early as pick 5 now.

I couldn't agree more. They're carrying on like Brisbane are the only club in contention for the cup.

Absolutely Brownie. My wife had no interest in AFL at all until we met 12 years ago. She is definitely a MFC men's fan (she will nervously watch them even when I'm not home) and happily talk footy with anyone. She still struggles with the technical aspects and tactics of the game but importantly can instantly tell you if a free was there or not. Simply, if Melbourne YES, Opponent (loudly) NO. Also, very early on she developed a hatred of one club and one club only. Geelong. Mention Joel Selwood and you will see a sneer to match Billy Idol and hear language to that rivals Sid Vicious. What a woman! 😁

Confidence is a wonderful thing. That goal from running around her mark last week is testament to that. It's so great to see!!

You can see the improvement. She used to run to the ball and stop, now she's starting to run through it and take it with her. As she gets better at this no one will catch her.

The exciting thing about Bannas is that she's only 20 years old. She's only going to get better and better and better.

Thank you, WCW. I think it looks amazing. I was hoping for a traditional panel scarf. It's a ripper. The past few years' designs have been super busy. I like the simplicity of it

In 2013 the No 13 selection was Patrick Cripps probably number 1 today, recruiters who picks 1-12 must be now kicking themselves. If you have a look at the history of pick 13 it is scattered with some exceptional players over the years some like Jack Riewoldt, Taylor Adams, Shane Crawford, Robert Murphy, Daniel Talia and Nick Dal Santo just to name a few others. So a slider sometimes turns out better than the number 1 of that year.

If that’s the case, it pretty much sounds the death knell on the NGA system for the non northern states. Emile-Brennan is a 2022 Vic Country representative. If an academy player in that category can’t be selected within the first 40 picks but isn’t thought of as worthy of selection beyond 40 then there doesn’t seem to be much scope for NGA players. Unless the AFL subsidises the system, it’s looking like a complete waste of money going forward.

Bloody Grundy influence.

Out of the NRL box

Just the bit about there not being enough suitable ovals in the City of Adelaide and therefore the need to schedule some of the games to be played at selected regional venues. I've heard they're considering Snowtown with the names of the two competing clubs to be drawn from a barrel.