sue

that's what would be so disappointing.

Though the opposition will not be so frantic as in a one goal game, we should practice that when we are 5 goals ahead with 2 mins to go

Why does the AFL care how many coaches are squeezed into the coaches box? And if some were outside the box, how do you limit the number of people coaching? Does advice from Demonlanders in the Match Day thread count as coaching......

Only because Channel 7 felt they needed more ads. Make it 7 metres everywhere (with sane interpretations when players try to get away) and the game will be more interesting.

True, but it's hard to see any rule changes that limit the number of easy goals purely for commercial reasons. A prize to anyone who can tell me why a mark anywhere in the goal square is taken from directly in front. Doesn't save much time and no skill is involved whatsoever. Or why the space given to players kicking from the boundary is so big (doubtless related to the farcical 10m exclusion zone) so that players now hardly ever miss. Sometimes the umps are slack about enforcing it and players sneak in to within 7 metres and then there is some real pressure on the kicker. Much more interesting but fewer ads I guess.

see my cynical remark in the Umpire thread

Typical head-in-the-sand attitude by AFL. Yes, legal within the current rules, but no consideration that the AFL needs to make sure that the rules can't be 'played' to the detriment of the game. And in the rare cases where this may be impossible to prevent, then the umps already have authority to rule on whether a free kick is deserved or staged.

I'd be prepared to bet that some supporters of other clubs say the same thing about their club. There is such a thing as an honourable loss, though of course an honourable win (or even a dishonourable umpire-assisted one) is better. How about this on the 'goodness' scale: Win > Honourable loss > typical drubbing we used to have all the time

But the AFL is ahead of the NRL where the teams employ ex-referees to coach players into how to cheat. Some AFL clubs don't use ex-refs, they get the active umps to do it. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-24/nrl-clubs-accused-of-coaching-players-to-cheat/10029500

What amazes me is the number of Demonland posters who said we'd be beaten easily by Geelong, at Geelong, and because we came within an inch of beating them but didn't win, all of a sudden we're dining at the restaurant at the end of the universe. Of course it hurts our final chances and shows all sort of deficiencies in our game, but only Marvin the Robot would be so depressed. Pardon me for breathing, which I never do anyway so I don’t know why I bother to say it, oh God, I’m so depressed. Here’s another one of those self-satisfied doors. Life! Don’t talk to me about life..

yes and no. No reason to attribute the loss to a single reason. IT was both umpiring and mistakes. But yes to your second sentence.

I hope the club at least whinges to the AFL about the lack of 50 penalty. FCS you can get a 50 for gently pushing a player a bit too late after a mark. The Cats forward appeared to try and shove Fritsch in the chest, instead catching him in the face in what was a clumsy incident. However, the Demon was fine and able to take his kick.

If it did indeed happen at that time, the club should raise this with the AFL. I wonder what happened about raising the Dangercon incident?

It would be very interesting to know. Umpires got very slack about paying these frees though I think they have got a bit tougher recently. Still not tough enough IMO.

True, but those games show that we are not far off being really competitive should ease some of the pain.

What a quiet crowd. 7 can't even find a GWS supporter to point their effects mike at. Has GWS even managed to get a cheer squad there?

Does anyone who has mastered the ladder predictor have a view on whether it's better for us for Port to beat GWS or vice versa. I'd assume top 4 is gone for us and Port will be in the 8, so keeping GWS out is best (if unlikely). Or is there a likely scenario where we and GWS are in the 8 regardless of today's match so I shouldn't care if GWS beats Port, or even welcome it if it takes the pressure off R23 for them?

I did watch it, originals and replay, and the only thing silly is your response. Of course I was not saying Dangerfield was 40 metres away etc. I was illustrating the point that the rule was being 'played' by asking where you'd draw the line. 40 metres, 30, 20 10, 5? Will be fun in a close grand final when no one can hear anything even if all payers are within a few metres. Gil will probably suggest stopping play so the nominated ruckmen can don jerseys.... (Yes, that is silly).

yeah, yeah yeah. Glad we have a supporter who doesn't mind bad umpiring. Yes we made mistakes and lost the match. Doesn't mean that gifted goals to the oppo and missed frees in front for us are irrelevant to the result.

So you'd be happy if an oppo player nominates, runs 40 metres away and then runs into a MFC player 30 metres away and claims a ruck infringement?

What a load of absolute crap. I can see it now. Players whispers to umpire he is going up, moves 10 metres away and then runs into an oppo player who was too far away to hear who nominated. Painted ears! What a troll. There is a far more sensible way of avoiding third man up. Pay a free if more than one person from a team goes up. If 2 from each team do so, pay a free to the first one you see making contact/blocking, like many other frees are paid. And of course, if you didn't happen to have the best ruckman, you might even ask what's wrong with third man up - it often reduces congestion as well.

Makes our loss to St Kilda look better. Yes I know that's a difficult task, but at least we tried hard at the end of the last Q.

and to think I almost stopped watching at 1Q time...... Suns will win now

GC only 6 points behind Swans despite very wasteful Q1. Can always hope.

yeah painful; might be best just to not watch or follow the match and just live with the result.