Ethan Tremblay

All those years ago. And was Josh Kennedy a gun then? If that’s the closest and most recent example, I suppose that goes to proving my point.

Do you have photographic evidence of this? I’ve never heard of one being spotted in the wild.

When was the last time a gun player was traded to a club for another gun player? Andrew Brayshaw extended his contract less than a year ago until the end of 2025, he isn’t going anywhere and I won’t be drawn into the hypothetical of “but what happens if he asks to go to Melbourne?” I will donate an eyeball to science if Andrew Brayshaw is involved in the trade of Luke Jackson (not that I think LJ is going anywhere. Your anxiety over the issue doesn’t mean he is leaving..)

Mel and Steve have purchased a mansion in Toorak and LJ has a new set of diamond grillz. Make of this what you will…

Any updates on this juicy goss LN?

Uncanny. I was just about to create a thread asking if Ben Brown was shrinking.

Can confirm I have plenty of information.

Concussion can be hidden and a player can continue to play. A dislocated shoulder or ACL can’t be hidden and the injured party can’t continue to play.

Not interested in joining the pile on - it’s all far too negative and to be honest, all quite inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Try looking for positives in life instead of constantly looking for negatives, you’ll be much better off.

West Coast are struggling, they have very little talent coming through, do they want to put all their eggs into one basket like they did with Tim Kelly? I’m not a recruiter (I probably should be though) but paying overs for one player isn’t the answer when you have holes all through your list. At the moment, I don’t see the point on guessing what picks we’d ask for or what would be required to facilitate a deal. I doubt Jackson even knows what he’s going to do at this point.

That’s only because the AFL will end up silencing the supporters as well. Heil Gil.

These aren’t emotionally subjective though. At the present, the umpire decides if the player raised their arms in a demonstrable way. A player raising their arms has to be a free or not, it can’t come down to how the umpire “feels”. Totally different to the subjectivity of a cricket umpire calling an lbw…

If the umpire feels threatened by a player raising his arms, whether it’s appealing for a free, contesting a free or in confusion, it’s a free against that player. This is where the rule falls down, it comes down to how an umpire personally felt by the action. What other sport in the world has subjective rules?

Per sip?

Yes, understood. But you’re asking the umpire to officiate based off how they felt. Personally, I would never feel threatened by a player raising their arms and looking or walking towards me. It’s a subjective rule. It’s beyond me that people can’t comprehend this. I’m sure any instructional videos released by the AFL would just confuse the players and everyone even more. “This is a threatening arms raise” “this isn’t”. Seriously?

If a player raises their arms during play and advocates for a free, the umpires have been instructed to penalise via way of a free-kick against the player who has raised their arms. It doesn’t matter if they’re appealing a free or for a free. I’ve attempted to explain this as simply as possible, it’s an absurd rule.

Do you agree with a player being penalised 50m for raising their arms when appealing for a free or when confused by a decision?

You can’t have rules that are subjective and based on how a person (the umpire) ‘feels’. Yes, absolutely stamp out abuse, verbal or otherwise (a clenched fist, middle finger etc), but penalising a player for simply raising their arms, demonstrating confusion or appealing for a free kick, is ludicrous. It’s beyond me how a rational person can support that part of the rule. It’s bordering scary that an organisation has the power to stop someone from raising their arms in that manner.

Not our best.

Well done to Brad Scott for quoting Spider-Man “with great power comes great responsibility”.

Absolutely agree. That’s why it will be interesting to speak with my mates son. I couldn’t have done the job as a young fella without any or much life experience. I would have cried getting yelled at by the supporters in the crowd.

Be interesting to see what Brad Scott has to say in his upcoming press conference. I can’t see the AFL backing down but I’d like to see them get rid of the raising of the arms rule. Just that, thank you.

I have a couple of mates who umpire in the WAFL, to them it’s just water off a ducks back, sticks and stones and all that and they also understand that things are said in the heat of the moment, it’s not a personal attack. To be fair though, they’re both coppers so probably use to the abuse 🤷. One has a teen son who not long started umpiring as well, I haven’t spoken to him since he commenced, will be interesting to get his take. Pre-kids I umpired the colts for a few seasons, I loved the banter, I just gave it back and shot the players down. Then we had a laugh and shook hands at the end.

Appreciate the balanced and considered reply. On cricket, don’t the players raise their arms when appealing or when questioning a decision? Under the new rules, AFL players can’t even appeal for a free kick by raising their arms.

You can’t punish an emotional response where there’s no abuse/swearing included. It’s an absolute joke, sport is emotional. Think about the rule, raising the arms in confusion, without any verbalisation, is a 50m penalty. If anyone agrees with that, thinks the game is better for it and that all players will stop doing it, would have survived well in Nazi Germany. Speak up, don’t suppress your feelings, it’s not good for mental health. But don’t instinctively raise your arms in confusion.. far out.