sue

He's certainly down after that but the camera pans away quickly so you can't tell how long he was down. Some have posted it was in the last 90 seconds. Since JCB spotted him later on, maybe he was taken off much later. Or only replaced at the last minute (but why would we do that?)

Yes, but if it really was 90 seconds to go (?) and we had the game in the bag, why would you put the sub on the ground at all (even if he may be formally 'on'). Can't see any gain in doing so - can only see possibility of injury.

Why not? They seem content to play half a quarter under one set of rules and half under another.

Salem available to play according to MFC website

Unbelievable - if that is the 'interpretation' why is it not simply stated in the rules? But even that statement is unclear. Which players - all players, or the player disposing of the ball? What an amateur organization the AFL is despite its doubtless generous exec salaries.

If our players made more of a fuss when the deliberate was not paid I wonder if the umps, having time to reflect on their error, would have mysteriously plucked a free out of the air at the throw in or ball up.

Courage is required as well as training. Not everyone is suited to umpiring I used to be a referee of a sport which only rarely needed the ref to adjudicate. I decided being a ref was not for me when I found myself requiring a toilet break every time I saw a difficult situation developing.

I just read the Fox reports and report in the Age. I guess all those commentators are MFC supporters. By live, I meant wihtout slo-mo. I expect many at the ground breathed a huge sigh of relief when the panealty was not applied. In any case, the umpire did not see it in slo-mo. And since a deflection is not relevant to the player's intent unless he intended an entirely different direction and the ball suffered a major deflection, even if the umpire thought it was touched, it shouldn't change the call. Even if it goes out 1 metre from where he intended, it is still deliberate if OOB was his intent. The one I am waiting for is a deliberate within the goal square under pressure intended for a behind which hits the point post on the full but may have shaved Gawn's beard. Enjoy slo-mo-ing that.

I'm intrigued by the number of posters who will spend hours looking at slow motion videos and splitting hairs to justify an umpire's ignoring an deliberate out of bounds when almost everyone who saw it in real time has no doubt, especially when compared to some of the dubious DoB calls we see all the time these days. I suspect many of them are motivated by wishing to to put heat on the club for not closing the game down earlier, but that is not the issue. Bad inconsistent umpiring that may lose you the GF is.

Any news of how sore he is?

No it's not the end of story. Saying the umpire bottled it is not the same as saying he cheated. And yes, it is possible for every team that loses after a bad decision in a close game to be told they should have won the game earlier. So what? The issue is bad umpiring. BTW, let me open another front on the rules. I noticed that the Adelaide coach in trying to raise a smokescreen said maybe he was trying to handball through the behinds but just missed. Of course he wasn't but if that was true, I think he was beyond the goal square and we'd have got a free (but not the point as well ?)

Answer to question in thread title: Correct, the GF is in September.

That makes it clear. Intent is the issue. If it hits a seagull on the way out the intent was still there. I am astounded by people continuing to say it matters that it hit Salem a glancing blow.

Where in the rule does it say anything about deflection or hitting a seagull? It’s all about intent. So unless the deflection changes the balls direction significantly it is deliberate

It doesn't appear to be working. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hElq-cmsP70

This may be the live stream being tested?

Sorry, unless the touch greatly affected the ball's direction of motion, it s still deliberate,.

As someone posted earlier, still unclear: https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/940358/vfl-team-round-6

Of course a please explain won't do any of the two things you mention. But an appropriate whinge about bad umpiring by top teams is likely to do them some good in future games. Just as umpires are influenced by the home crowd, they are also influenced by not wanting to be seen making another big mistake against the same team shortly thereafter. Neither are professional, but then the umps aren't very professional and are human. There a lots of bad decisions that are excusable and within the usual range of iffy decisions. I'd put the non-holding the ball which led to their last goal as an example. Clearly a free, but what the heck, it happens all the time. Maybe the ump's line of vision was blocked or whatever. The non-deliberate was in an entirely diferent class. Blatant and no excuse for the umpire. Goodwin won't even spend the 0.01% of time that Swooper mentioned on it with the players and coaches. I don't think any of those whinging about the umpiring or calling for a please explain would expect him to.

Don't expect an apology quickly from the AFL. They don't even seem to have a text report on the match on their website.

I bet we won’t.

I've not seen that clip before, but I am appalled that anyone would think that roughing up a player well off the ball (injured or not) is a mark of a team standing up. Spirit of the game? Why not use a machine gun and do it properly. Some of these blokes belong in the Juarassic (when there were no humans).

Reckon Brisbane players have worked out how to tackle him. Don’t go for the waist but raise both arms and come down on him from above.

I reckon even Demonlanders would learn something sitting on the bench near the coach and watching the positioning etc. But I expect there is more to it than performing in the VFL, eg matchups, training performance, weaknesses with alternatives to play the role. The coaches know more than us and at 9-0 it is hard to say they are getting things wrong (not that we can't criticise/opine).

No that is wrong. Kayo sent me mail on April 16 saying they would be streaming VFL from the start of the season which was that day and I watched the round 1 match on Kayo, We played Richmond in round 2. So they did not stop Richmond from streaming it. So unless something has changed (unlikely), there seems to be no reason why clubs can't stream their VFL matches, at least when Kayo is not doing so (with free access). So we should be able to see all VFL matches for free if the club would stream it when Kayo is doing 3 other matches. So I ask again, what is stopping them when we can see from 'all the goals' on the MFC website that someone did video it (with/added Casey radio commentary)?