sue

Yep, forget ducking your head, it's getting to the point that the easiest way to milk a free is to stumble over a player laying on the ground.

That. I'm not sure whether I find the positive commentary when we are winning more or less annoying than the negative when we lose. I try to avoid both. I guess if we were winning continually, I may feel more relaxed about the positive commentary, but till then it just reinforces my MFCSS.

Even if you don't accept conspiracy theories or the more subtle influences I mentioned in an earlier post, to just simply say 'accept the fact the game is impossible to umpire' is just weak. Sure, the game is difficult to umpire, but it is foolish to dismiss discussion of ways of making it less difficult and more rewarding to watch.

Being old and sad, I still watch whatever free to air games are on and I can tell you that you are only missing more examples of umpiring that cause me to tear out my few remaining hairs. And the game gets uglier week by week. I won't comment on the commentators......

Any chance the MFC has had a word to the AFL?

And another thing.... The nomination of rucks at ball-ins/ups. What justification is there for not simply penalizing a third man up? (assuming we actually want to do so which is another debate) The only things I can think of are that: 1. it is not clear who the umpires should insist are a metre apart. But why insist on that in the first place. What does it matter if the 2 nominated (or not nominated) ruckman are wrestling before the ball is thrown in? Just apply the usual rule about not taking a player out if the ball is beyond 5 metres from the contest. 2. Players will try to block the ruckman and the umpires won't know that the blocked player was a ruckman. But once again, just apply the usual blocking rules. So I see no argument in favour of nominating ruckman. Am I missing something?

I don't think you have to believe in a planned conspiracy to bribe the umpires to see 'rigging' in the AFL. The umpires are human (yes, it's true) and pick up the AFL's vibe about TV revenue, favoured teams with large memberships etc and it is likely to affect them. We all know how susceptible they are to crowd noise in WA, so it would be foolish to think they are not susceptible to other influences.

The 50m penalties are proof positive that the AFL is run by complete idiots.

Good grief, there is a distinction between X happening and players thinking that X is acceptable. You assume the players have accepted (defeat, lack of effort, incompetence, whatever). But just because they have been defeated etc does not necessarily mean they have accepted it. They might just not be good enough.

Just because you think it is unacceptable does not mean the players have accepted it. But that seems to be the lapse in your logic that leads others to ask what do you mean by accepted.

Wise MFC supporters acquired foam rubber bricks years ago.

much more likely. Throwing around suggestions of lack of respect for supporters is like assuming what we say on DL affects what happens in the club beyond 0.001% level. I expect the players of all teams care first and foremost about their own game and that of the team mates, not whether I've thrown a brick at my TV.

nah, more like Charlie Brown trying to fly a kite. It goes up and gives you some hope before it gets entangled in a kite-eating tree.

I guess I'm ignorant about cricket but I don't see how being captain of a cricket team means leadership, especially in footy? What does a cricket captain do that is relevant (besides not being a total introvert)? Genuine question.

Since for many years a team only had 1 chance in 3 or getting into finals and now it's 1 in 2, you could argue that 11 is not so bad. But I wouldn't dare do so.

True, but it's sure better than being a cellar dweller though. Just because some supporters got carried away with our performance pre-QB, is a not reason to be gloomy. One step at a time.

Didn't know those 2 players were in the team. What numbers do they wear?

Typical Rance - forearm/elbow into head/neck while Buddy was on the ground.

try the radio options on the AFL site. Some are not much of a delay at all.

Whatever one's view of our current failings or potential, 'many decades' of the past is not relevant since so many things have changed. The only thing that is constant over those decades are the supporters, some of whom will never recover from MFCSS.

I sometimes wonder when these articles appear if the clubs have pressure from the marketing gurus in the AFL (and maybe the club itself) to keep feeding the media. I can't see any reason why a player or a club would do so otherwise. I cannot see how it helps the player improve nor makes the supporters feel better. Even the most casual supporter will see that he is playing poorly and only an idiot would think that the coach and the player don't know it and are not trying to fix it without being told in this article. Publishing this trash doesn't help fix it - just sets the player up for more unwelcome attention.

seems a bit weak given he was found guilty of intentionally striking, not careless striking.

Ridiculous. And not even the weak excuse that the ball was in play in one case and not the other case. But not unusual - umps hardly ever pay a free for a push in the back after the ball goes over the line, even though the player is pushed towards the fence. You have to hit the fence hard to get a free. AFL umpiring is a disgrace.

I'm barracking for Essendrug. I'm feeling unclean. Will need therapy.

Easy to say, but do you not think that the C'wood players were not "burning up" to put the boot into us again and cement themselves into the 8. We can't rely on these sort of revenge motivations to win games over other motivations. While there are clear cases when the performance suggests motivation was lacking, I don't think that match was such a case.