BoBo

I was going to write a whole thing to respond but I worked 13 hours today and I’m stuffed. Dangerous tackles are a category for suspension as far as I know (could be wrong). I don’t reckon Danger has a case to answer to be honest, but I’d bet a lot of money, that if this was a no-name player from say, St Kilda, that this 1 week suspension would be upheld. If nothing else, to show as an example. It isn’t the rules I have a problem with, it’s the inconsistency of application.

I distinctly remember players being given a week(s) years ago on the grounds that ‘both arms were pinned’ and therefore players can’t protect their heads from hitting the ground. So it’s a ‘dangerous tackle’ categorically and one in which the AFL was super keen to get rid of because: The tackler has to take the health and safety on board of the oppo player. But maybe only danger can do dangerous tackles. No consistency yet again.

Hmmmm, there’s a big difference between a 22y.o. and a 28 y.o. going through something like this. It’s only 6 years yes, but at 22, you’re still a ‘young adult’ essentially, but 28 is in reach of being in your 30’s in which your priorities are waaayyyy different. No idea what’s in Traccs mind but the fact this has happened to him at 28 means the likelihood of him seriously weighing his future is much higher than if he was 22. He seems like a genuinely good and level headed person so whatever he chooses is going to be the right call.

Pretty sure I remember in round 0 or 1, commentators noticing players purposefully hitting their heads into the ground to milk frees… I’ve also seen identical (and I mean exactly the same) incidents to May’s happen at least 2-3 times this year. Player gets tackled, purposefully bends their neck, head touches the ground and then they put their hands on their head like they’re injured. But it’s the AFL so who gives a flying [censored] about consistency.

I’m watching less and less neutral games to be honest. It’s absurd how inconsistent the umpiring has been allowed to get and it’s frustrating to watch.

Couldn’t be at the game or watch but obviously we lost yeah? Lol

In the 2nd quarter, Chad Warner kicked it inside the swans F50 blindly around the corner after just picking up the ball and it went out in the pocket, without a Sydney player being within 15 meters of it and it was called as thrown in. If a defender was doing that, but kicking it out of D50, again blind around the corner type kick, it would be insufficient intent 100/100 times.

Oh dear… just seen the Port score 😬😬 Can someone briefly fill me in? Were Brisbane firing on all cylinders and/or were Port terrible?

Play on. Siren goes. Still a goal. LOL

I just switched in the tv and was very very confused. Why are they wearing those colours???

I’ve never heard him say which he would prefer and I wouldn’t believe anyone… and I mean anyone… on here that claims to know what any player prefers/thinks/feels about anything. He has foot injuries which are notoriously difficult to get over completely and I can only infer from his movements this year that he is: Struggling to get across the ground Is completely lost in the forward line Is suffering from being bereft of confidence. That is being as charitable as I can because my own personal speculation (which could absolutely be wrong) is that he has checked out and wants to go home as well as physically struggling for a few reasons. If he and Goody were on different wavelengths, then playing a guy out of the position he wants to play, round after round, after he has offered basically nothing, says to me that the coach is choosing players illogically and inexplicably and I am EXTREMELY worried. I don’t think that’s what’s happening, I reckon he’s got foot injuries (he moves like a freight liner) and he isn’t as invested. Just my opinion.

Geez, excellent awareness of distance/space

We’re going to win by 23 points. And if we don’t. I’m going to win $550. haha

I personally don’t put much blame on umpires at all. They are instructed to umpire in a particular way. And it’s inarguable that the way they umpire is allowed to drift away from initial set standards. Umpires change the way they call things as soon as the AFL tells them to do it. The question is: why does the AFL allow umpires to slowly divert away from rules that are clear as day written down?

Yes absolutely they don’t care. This is like, THE basic facet of sport: Apply the written rules of the game consistently. And yet, here we are.

IMO this isn’t hard to fix up. If the AFL advised the umpires to: Enforce rules that are ALREADY IN THE BOOKS and monitored that interpretations of the rule were kept consistent, so they don’t drift away into places like the recent holding the ball fiasco. That would take care of a lot of issues and the AFL are the only ones able to enforce it. Evidenced by the very fact, that in the space of a week, they addressed the holding the ball interpretation. If it starts drifting away from what they initially told umpires in how to call it, bring it back to the initial advice. The gap is that the AFL is reactive and not proactive. They allow interpretations to drift for months or even seasons until they everyone gets so annoyed that the AFL has to do something about it. This is all avoidable. Secondly: You can set up thresholds for objectively incorrect calls round by round or in groups of rounds. If a round sees too many incorrect calls and it crosses a threshold of a particular rule: Advise the umpires to look out for it before we again spend months/years asking why said rule isn’t applied correctly. Will there still be incorrect calls? Yes. Will there be subjective 50/50 calls? Yes. But the aim is to minimise the amount of objectively incorrect calls AND re-implementing rules that for some ludicrous reasons just aren’t called any more. Apply the rules of the game. Monitor and get on top of when this doesn’t happen in the interpretations that the AFL wants and be proactive about it. Pretty simple.

There has been a crazy amount of games that have been decided by bad calls or bad non-calls of free kicks over the last couple seasons. Not 50/50 calls, just flat out wrong. The AFL fixed up the holding the ball fiasco in 1 week so there’s no reason they can’t fix up the rest. There’s been two goals (can’t remember which games) this season that have been paid, the replay has shown it was touched after going back to the middle and the commentary team just… didn’t really say anything? The off field umpire just missed the footage that everyone else saw? Doesn’t get spoken about again? It’s all amateurish at best or the AFL just likes the results so it’s ‘meh’, sooo I guess they literally aren’t interested in games being umpired properly. So that’s nice. I won’t even mention how you basically don’t even have to try and get rid of the ball anymore if you get tackled which is a rule called ‘insufficient attempt’. [censored] crazy

Ahh ok, thank you 🙏

Any mention of how long?

Darcy Byrne Jones looks like a ginger that is trying to hide that he’s a ginger by dying all his hair black.

Yeah they have that belief that they’ll just grind any team down and win

Sydney look so quick. Both with the ball and closing speed applying pressure.

Thanks for the study @bing181, I would argue that the purview of this study is only applicable if we are expecting a dramatic turn around in up to (like the conclusion states) 20 matches before or after. This is only my opinion but I’m not expecting a massive turn around in 20 matches *IF* we changed coach now (to which I don’t think is a good idea, mid season). I would agree changing coaches now is way more destabilising for the club than at seasons end (even if the review I put forward meant Goodwin kept coaching). My concern is beyond this year (I mention we’re the 3rd oldest list) and I fear that option of us sticking with the current set up of the club in the scope of us bottoming out just when Tassie comes into the comp means we see ourselves in Norths position.

I would let Goodwin see out the season, employ an impartial party (which ideally includes Paul Roos, Jordan Lewis considering the set us up in the first place and Brendan Gale whilst he has a gap between Richmond and Tassy) to do a review and essentially make him, the assistant coaches and the board re-interview for their jobs to said party to justify their positions and what they can add for our future. Gawn is 1 bad injury away from retiring and then we are screwed. We’re the 3rd oldest list and Tassie is what, 3 years away from taking all the best draft picks? Do we bottom out with Goodwin the year before Tassie takes up a generations worth of draft picks? We have next year which is our last (unless we recruit in the off season unbelievably) chance at a flag. All the while other clubs are clearly surpassing us. We can think ahead for a second and weigh up where we sit and act now or just continue in the hope that everything just works out with the current set up. Just to reiterate - (not to you specifically Beelzebub) but our forward 50 connection has been criticised since at least 2018 and it’s STILL NOT FIXED. I’ve been listening to Gary Lion talk about this for years and years and it hasn’t been addressed. As Schwartz said, that is a systemic failure of coaching.

John Worsfold if he’s keen.