deanox

while they often don't directly effect the game ie free kick gives the winning goal after siren, i think they often have a lot to do with momentum of a team. i couldnt believe how many holding the ball decision weren't paid on sunday, both to melb and PA. but i thought we tackled and harassed very well, moreso than PA, and we weren't rewarded for it. in regards to the previous post maybe given that both coaches complained the umps will give both sides a fair go and we will get a well umpired match? we can only hope. to me a well umpired match is one when you walk away and didnt notice the umpires - sort of like when you watch a vfl match. why do the afl umpires have to make so many controversial calls?

thats what i was thinking jaded but its good he is versatile and can kick a goal as well. when i was watching the sydney game i was very impressed but kept thinking oh no why are we moving him, he was doing so well there, just let him settle. apparently he is up to it...

i reckon that statement goes a long way to demonstrating the umpiring inconsistancy. if the umpires are directed that some players are ball players and some hold on and some push in the back and some get held every week, how can the umpire make an impartial call on the action in front of him. it is different if say a player approaches an ump and says , hey mate he is holding onto me, but if the umps are directed to protect the 'ball players' mentioned above, what are the chances they will get more free kicks than others who arent protected?

i hadnt thought of that good point...

i think ive already done it once this year but heres my 2 bob worth for this week... 6 - jones - easily our best ball winning midfielder. 18 touches 6 tackles 2 goals and how many clearances? he played like a vet. 5 - bate - his best game for the club. 2 goals should of had 3 or 4. marked well - 24 touches 10 marks. was a shining beacon up forward. 4 - white - his best game for the season. he broke even in the ruck (20 hit outs) with lade who i rate as the best ruck in the comp. and beat him around the ground with 24 disposals. i know he looked silly at the end but honestly, if you told jeff white to stand their and try and tackle and then told motlop to run around him who would you expect to win everytime? you cant blame jeff for that, thats not his area of expertise. 3 - bell - deserves votes if only for his effort to chase down and stop that goal at the punt road end. he runs, he tackles he harrasses he spoils he gets the ball and gives drive. with 15 touches sun. should be leading our best and fairest. 2 - yze - has turned himself around. he is not the damaging precision yze of yesteryear but is working for his ball. 29 touches, 3 tackles and a goal (and even a right foot kick!) makes him one of the best on the field. 1 - bruce - what can we say? he isnt as damaging as he should be but 26 touches, he was in it all day... big apologies to petterd who had 24 and 14 marks, yes he was there but he needs to be just a little bit more damaging. he is doing a great job though. and rivers who will never win a brownlowe no matter how talented he is because he is a backman who reads the play and spoils. he will rarely get the votes he deserves because he is flashy. but well done all the same. a note about godfrey. he played well restricting SB to 9 disposals and getting 11 of his own. he has been doing a fantastic job but im not sure where a tagger rates in these rankings systems...i gave 1 to bruce who got 26 touches around the ground. has he played better than godfrey who got 11?

i actually watched rivers a bit this week and it was very interesting to se him read the play, he would follow his man on the lead but he would watch the player with the ball and change his direction based on where the kick was going...ie he would peel off his man to be 3rd man up before the other player had put boot to ball. you think this might be dangerous but it doesnt seem to be a problem for him...

is he going to be a backman or a midfielder? he is playing in the back at the moment but i get the feeling he will be a tough little wingman given the opportunity, and a pretty solid tagger in the centre for a while as while (although we have godders for that at the moment)

im an ex umpire but im also an ex rugby front rower the umpires problem is that they are told one thing but that doesnt mean it is the rule. jjc you have seen vfl games and the umpiring is completely different, but as soon as these guys are in the afl the decisions change. the rules are the same so how can this be? i think we worry about show boating in the afl way too much. jjc, my call on picketts season to date is a little different than yours. i agree he has been dissapointing (maybe im being too nice), but he brings something to our team that no other player does. a toughness, that champion aura. he is dangerous, has the ability to hurt the opposition, both physically and with the footy, and the opposition are wary of him because of this. even if he doesnt have 20 touches he always lays a couple of good tackles, a bump or two and scares opposition players into rushing a couple of kicks. he might look slow but he can turn it up when he needs too as im sure you've noticed - you cant tell me that kane cornes is slow. pickett, in all the years at the club has needed time to get his match fitness up. he has had an interupted start to the year, problems with his mums health and the hamstring injury, but he came but only 85g overweight which isnt bad at all... with respect to godders i see your point. personally i think godders has had a fantastic start to the year, possibly his best too date. a couple of scalps, a few goals the other week, he is playing good footy. he will never be our no.1 midfielder, but he busts his guts anyway. the reason the two are different? pickett can fluff as many kicks as he wants but which player is going to rise to the occasion and have a blinder? which player is gonna win it for our team? pickett could win a game by himself. godders is a vital part of the team around him. in summary: picket brings so much more to our team than simply possessions.

it wasnt a soft tissue injury it was a broken bone so that concern is invalid. if its a bone its either healed or its not. if its healed the issue is fitness. it wont be a worry about reinjuring him...

disagree ash i wished we said it more. hird came out and slagged the umpires then got a golden run for a while. collingwood always slag the umpires off and bring attention to it. the swans whinge about barry halls treatment and he starts getting free kicks. richmond whinged last week. its about time we complained when we get bad decisions. maybe we'll get a good deal next week...

there was nothing meant by this remark at all. we have played just about everyone he is right. there is no one left to play is a figure of speach clearly. the reporter who asked the question had no idea of what was going on at melbourne but had read about gasper retiring because of a youth policy and wanted to get a story on melbournes youth policy. anyone who had done research (ie read the last weeks papers) would realise that there is no youth policy because there are no players left to bring in... don't read too much into that comment at all.

did anyone see this? was there head high contact? if there wasnt why was he cited at all? if the ball is within 5 metres there is nothing to say you cant bump someone in the chest or simply front on. as long as you dont touch his head, especially as long as the player is bending over the ball.

interesting on the pies scarfs. what ive noticed is that the only stickers i ever see on cars are melbourne. if you were new to the city you would think everyone barracked for us...

i couldnt care less if the umpires came out and umpired netball rules. as long as they do the same thing for 4 quarters it doesnt matter. they can change it week to week, game to game, but for 120 minutes it has to be the same thing...

yeah the only solace i got from yesterdays game was that we arent as bad as that mob and we're not on the bottom any more...

you know what jjc i often agree with you. but not on this one no way. he tackled him. fairly. he grabbed him, tied him up and took him to the ground. they were moving at pace and the player had the ball. it was unfortunate how it panned out but it is part of contact sport it will happen occasionally. would you ban the speccy in case someone falls and hurts themselves? you cant have tackles and then complain that some tackles are too hard. thats just stupid. you are trying to introduce more grey into the game instead of leaving it black and white.

i used to umpire and the pay was great. there is no reason why the umpiring at afl level shouldnt be good enough for a national competition.

how tall is his wife? a 200 or 202 cm jeff white with jump and run would be a bonus in the f/s. pencil in 2025 for that one

how hypocritical is that statement? by your logic if we all turned up and supported we would have more chance of winning. which i believe is probably true. more supporters more money more noise etc we would be more successful overall. you cannot say the players have to be successful before you'll take part. we are all in this together. the board, the volunteers, the cheer squad the players the supporters. all have their job to do. to be successful we all need to pull as one, not sit around and wait for someone else to start performing first.

he had 21 touches til 3/4 time...someone suggested he went off injured? any word? he has looked impressive though. he hasnt been particularly damaging but he gets a lot of it which is important. getting more touches than sylvia anyway...

he is the best true in and under hard ball winner we have.

TJ spent quite a lot of time forward yesterday against port and had one on the lead before neitz came over from the side and spoiled it. all day yesterday TJ's player held and tugged the jumper, around packs, while he was going for he lead. he was not protected by the umpires like he should be.

if picket goes it will be close to the worst decision since maloney went for nearly bumping someone. he tackled him fairly. the arms were pinned to stop him handballing. that is how you get holding the ball. a tackle is part of the game. if you are both running and fall it is an accident. you cannot be reported for an accident can you? it certainly wasnt intentional, reckless or negligent...

we need to set up an mfc breading program. calling all eligible females: physical attributes required: height, pace off the mark, strength, endurance. blond hair (valuable for those brownlow votes). long arms (for key defenders). must be fertile and willing to put up with footballers. anyone with a history of soft tissue injuries need not apply.

he didnt smash the bloke...it will be an absolute joke, and afl true to form, if he gets suspended for that...