Dr. Gonzo

Pefect timing for when Maxy is looking at retirement 🤣

My kids are wearing their Demons guernsey's/hoodies everywhere they go these days. They get upset when they have to go in the wash! Only solution is to buy more 🤣

Ever since I've been following the game, players who ducked their head were not rewarded with a free kick. Not sure why that's changed in recent years, if anything it leads to further encouragement of players putting their head/neck in danger by milking free kicks. It's simple, if you duck into a tackle or initiate the contact it is not a free kick and you will be deemed to have had prior opportunity to dispose of the ball. If you don't and the tackle sticks it is holding the ball against you.

You'd be wrong. The AFL commissioned a report into this and that came in as 8th on the list of reasons at 6% of responses. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-12/afl-umpire-shortage-in-community-australian-rules/100903628

I'm not talking about my view or your view though, I'm talking about the difficulties faced by umpires that have contributed to the crisis in umpiring in community footy.

The concern is that the contradictory rules and "grey areas" particularly around interpretation makes the game extremely difficult to umpire. Combine that with having to be an endurance athlete to qualify as an umpire and having to master a skill (bouncing the ball) it is one of the toughest games to umpire in the world. The AFL exacerbates this with their rules and interpretations.

Long term it leads to disengagement though.

That's great but you didn't answer my question. My problem is not with the umpires it is with the AFL, it's rules committee and whatever department Brad Scott is in charge of.

I agree there will always be grey areas but they can be minimised. There are also the farcical situations where the same action could be deemed a free kick either way depending on how the umpire interprets the situation eg player A goes to kick off the ground while player B dives at the ball causing player A to fall. Is it kicking in danger or taking out the legs?

I agree with your premise but not your conclusion. The AFL needs to do far more than pay mere lip service they need to actually take responsibility for the debacle they have allowed grass roots footy and umpiring to descend into.

Early in the game. Now imagine its in the dying minutes of a tightly fought game, ala Hewett from Carlton against Port. Putting these demands on players is downright idiotic and I doubt it is something the umpires even asked for. It has been dictated to them by head office because of the disaster they've allowed to fester at grass roots level. Instead of actually doing anything to fix up that abomination they are demanding grown professional sportsmen be treated like pre-schoolers. It is a farce.

Essendon, Collingwood and Richmond are all having poor/relatively poor seasons. WA still has restrictions in place for attendances (or did, not sure if that's changed now but I don't believe so). If those clubs were not impacted so much by performance/restrictions we would not have the 3rd and 7th highest crowds for the season. Essendon have been rubbish for 20 years and have had a disappointing start to the season yet still got a higher attendance than us against an interstate team with minimal support. This was also on Easter Sunday when many people actually have family functions on as opposed to the Saturday fixture. St Kilda only drew 2k fewer than us on Saturday despite our performance. You can find excuses all you want, the facts are the crowds have been disappointing this year especially considering our performance.

The old "umpires don't overturn their calls" is the biggest strawman. Of course they won't but they may be more inclined to be skeptical next time Hawkins takes a dive and not pay the free, theyve also been known to pay the square up the other way.

Whether they stop or not is irrelevant. Putting your arms out or pointing to the screen is not worthy of a 50. Abuse of an umpire should be 50 no doubt, this is Mickey Mouse stuff.

Noone would've even seen it if the 50 wasn't paid. They just brought attention to it. Could also make a similar argument for the Oliver one. The Andrews one was a complete joke, just embarassing.

What's lost in all this is umpires are also being castrated, taking away their ability to control the game and determine for themselves when a player has been abusive towards them. You want umpires to be respected, this is not the way to go about it. You have put them in an unenviable position of either paying 50s they don't think are actually there or being seen to be incompetent for not paying them.

50 for abuse is fine 50 for questioning a decision or expressing frustration is embarrassing The AFL trying to equate a professional sport with umpiring at grass roots is laughable. The AFL usurped governance of the sport from the ANFC and has allowed grass roots footy including umpiring to fester and rot for 3 decades. Now they think some lip service in treating professional sportsmen like preschoolers is going to fix the problem? It's a band-aid solution and they are a farce of an organisation.

The crowds in rounds 1 and 3 were also disappointing.

I'm the same, although someone said to me they were booing the free kick not Hogan. I hope so because he doesn't deserve it, we kinda forced him out anyway on top of all the issues he he to deal with on top of leaving home earlier than most draftees.

You can stand this year, you don't have to sit in an allocated seat anymore Also beers are $10 now (and mid strength at night games)

Ok

Quick tip it tastes sweeter after a victory 😉🥃

Exactly even in previous years this would be a poor crowd. 25-27k would be the average for games against interstate teams in previous years where we were going ok. This year the club would be hoping it exceeded 30k you'd assume. Obviously there are a multitude of factors impacting attendances, I think the club needs to get on the front foot with promoting and marketing our home games. I was surprised at the lack of promotion for the Giants game last week knowing it would be a low drawing game. We have another poor timeslot home game coming up, 110pm against the Saints on Mother's Day. Will be interesting to see the crowd for that one.

Not speaking for others but I don't have an issue with people who are getting away for the weekend. I don't expect people's lives to revolve around the footy, we all have other stuff going on. It's more those who could've gone but opted not to because it was easier to watch on TV.

I'm not getting worked up, I'm pointing out the crowds so far this year have been disappointing for us and I'm sure internally the club would agree. It is possible to both enjoy the success of the team and critique the turnout of our supporters. Comparing us to other clubs who have struggled for two decades is a poor comparison when we are the undefeated reigning premiers. It's apples and oranges.