sue

I agree. I recall that years back the umps were told that if a player looks at the clock call play on. I dimly recall it was enforced. Was it? If so, when did it change?

If Melk gets banned for that, the AFL should take up running a croquet competition. Players are always pushing opponents out of the way so they can take a mark. If the do it with hands in the back, or too early before the ball arrives it is a free. I was suprised the ump thought it was a free rather than a mark (but little suprises me these days as inconsistency had reached stratospheric levels). It is common for the opponent bumped out of the way to then contact another player (of either team). And unfortunately and inevitably, once in a while that contact will result in injury. There is no way you can say the player was being reckless with the oppos' safety. If the intent of the bump is to get the ball that should be the end of the discussion. If the player actually gets the ball, then case closed. Either that or AFL croquet.

I agree. Having forked out to get a Kayo sub, I'm watching a lot more games where I don't really care much who wins. So my usual biases are not in play. I find the umpiring is truly a mess. And not just due to the competence or otherwise of the blokes in pastel shades. The AFL needs a thorough review of the rules and how umpires are instructed to rule. Won't happen.

Get him in against C'wood at least.

Sadly you may be right. But I recall being just as passionate and interested in games when it was just a bunch of part-timers playing in the 60's.

He's no saint for sure - but 'assailing'?. The suspension at the end of 2024 was wrong and either motivated by his previous record or the effect on the MRO's favourite team. Probably both.

A genuine question, just curious: You apparently read, reply and react to other people's posts as evidenced by your above post which is only intelligible as a response to someone else's post. While I can understand you or anyone not wishing to get involved in a stream of argumentative counter posts, why do you feel it necessary to add that? You can simply not respond to responses if you wish. Not that I expect a response....

Kayo unuseable at present. Krappo.

Insufficient intent has gone completely insane

I agree. I doubt that in the heat of the moment Langdon would be saying to himself "I won't kick it to Fritsch because <Insert reason I don't like him here>".

I'm pretty sure I saw him playing in the 3rd quarter, if not longer.

Which led to an amusing post on another thread suggesting that if he marks a long way out of goal, an opponent should deliberately give away a 50m penalty.

If he gets 3 weeks kozzie should have got about 1 minute

You may have hit on the reason he doesn't qualify.

And now in general play, the shot is so close up that often handballls go out of frame. I'm sure they do this to make it more exciting for the viewer, not knowing whether the handball has gone to a teammate or whatever. I mean, how boring if it goes to a player well in the clear compared to not knowing what might happen next. (More apologies for being off topic.)

Sorry to go off topic, but your mention of that is what makes me so mad about the way they do the TV broadcasts. I'd like to see a wide shot as soon as someone marks the ball or gets a free. Instead we get a close up of the player with the ball. I don't care if he shaved that morning, I want to see what's ahead of him FCS!

Sadly I think it has come to the point that he should be told to try to kick a point on the right hand side of the goals. When he starts scoring points (and not on the left side!) he can be asked to aim at the goals again.

Even when we were playing well, you'd have been feeling nervous with both May and Lever not playing. There's always 2026.

If we lose, I'll wait for next week.

Please bring back the English commentator. please!

Of course it is not difficult to distinguish when nothing is happening.

ah, but is there not clickbait here as well? Why did I click on this thread knowing it was going to be just what it is.

Surprising that Yze thought they couldn't change the rules mid-season. From his time at Melb you'd think he knows they change anything when if suits the AFL. (I expect he does know, but said what he said regardless)

At least that could be consistenly applied without requiring umpires with mind-reading skills.

A damn sight better than a dishonourable thrashing IMO. If people can't take some comfort from a close result against a supposed top 4 team, however frustrating, then I'm not sure they should be following footy.