Mazer Rackham

Take out all "intention". Example: soccer has no problem with the "last touch" rule. The AFL would dress it up with all kinds of junk about if the player really meant it, etc. Soccer: nope, doesn't matter how it happened. You touched it last. The AFL have made a rod for the back with the concept of "interpretation", which is bogus and harmful. The rules & their officiation will never be black & white, but the AFL seem to love to blur it into grey at every opportunity.

I see this as one more skirmish in the AFL's war against the NRL. A new front has been opened regarding head trauma. The NRL don't quite know what to do about it, but they know it's affecting junior uptake of the sport. The AFL want the mums of the land to say "you're not playing rugby" and they further want them to say "but that AFL is okay ... they try to protect the head". As in all things, the AFL is inconsistent and erratic on this. That's why they can let certain pieces of thuggery go as "part of the game" and other things, clearly "in play" (eg the Geelong guy who got tackled

I was also upset at how we played. I have this weird fetish that in the highest level competition in the land, the umpiring should also be of a high standard. But it's literally amateurish, and the stewards of the game don't care. That's how I can be upset at bad calls.

There were many lousy decisions in a long weekend full of them. Short kicks. Moore ran 30 metres across the goal face. The annual sole free for "ran too far" paid against us. A kick out on the full paid a mark. A zillion players running through the "protected" zone. Clarry monstered but hey that's footy. Umpiring in crisis but the AFL do not care. Upset win so exciting!!

All fair points. My opinion: Weed is going backwards and at some point we have to accept he's not going to make it. * although Gawn developed into something a lot more than a good average serviceable player.

1. do we want good average serviceable players (esp KPF) when at long last, it appears we've got a shot at a flag? 2. how long before he emerges from his chrysalis as this vaunted good average serviceable player? 1 year, 2 years? 3. do we want to make a habit of keeping players on our list for 6 or more years, so that they can slowly and steadily develop into good average serviceable players?

Everyone's been saying for years, but what about Hawkins? He took a long time to come good. He was useless and then one day a switch was thrown and he was a star. But Hawkins is actually the exception. And even he didn't hang around like a shag on a rock until something suddenly clicked. He put in his good days and good quarters. Look at the forwards at other clubs. Himmelberg, King x 2, ThilThorpe, McKay ... everyone's showing what they've got in various doses. Sam has gone backwards to where we're playing one short. He is never going to click. Unfortunate, but the experiment is over.

They were blocking our leads with a player in space and none of our forwards could get a run at it. Nonetheless. It was extremely irritating to see their two NQR makeshift KPFs running around getting their mitts on it seemingly at will.

In the social club indoor soccer team

I watched some other games this weekend. All the teams I saw have key forwards who, even in bottom teams, or whose side was losing on the day, or was individually under duress from defenders, were still able to take grabs, create opportunities, and cause defensive havoc. Weed did none of those things. (The only one -- apart from Weed -- who looked right out of it was the King from GCS but he is too early in his career, and shows too much promise, to make any call on.) Weed may be the ultimate confidence player, but it's now clear he will never get confidence at this level. What star

Injury sub

But only after the siren! Bizarre and stupid rule.

CARL GROTH!!! SLOWLY I TURNED ... STEP BY STEP ... INCH BY INCH ...

So it's Collingwood, Carlton, St Kilda and now Giants. Quite the smorgasbord for Yze to choose from.

The best umpires are the ones you don't notice