Dr. Gonzo

🤣🤣 So very true.

You'll get shouted down for being spoilt but I agree. I watched the 3rd quarter from last week several times but the rest I haven't really felt compelled to go back and watch. I put it down partly to the wins and getting that flag - in the past I'd obsessively watch trying to identify areas for improvement etc because I'm a maniac who acted as though he was in the FD. Now I'm just enjoying banking the wins til we get to the business end of the season.

Plus Lynch's first goal was an absolute gift.

Agreed, we were very fumbly all over though and part of it is down to the pressure from the Tigers. They went all in on making sure we couldn't dispose of it without pressure but they didn't have much going back the other way. Once we got the game played in our forward half they had nothing really other than those 3 quick goals at the end of the 2nd quarter. Agree with the sentiment here, that really was a 10+ goal win we just didn't convert so many that we usually would, ANB x2, Gawn, Pickett, Petracca, Harmes - I'm sure theres probably some others too. Both teams seemed to play as though it was quite slippery which was weird considering how beautiful it's been in Melbourne this weekend but walking out after the game it felt like the temp dropped at least 5 degrees on exiting the stadium so perhaps there was plenty of dew on the grass to make it a bit tricky. Players falling over and fumbling uncharacteristically on both sides.

On the Deebrief podcast they mentioned one of their mates was at a business lunch with Kate Roffey and he told her he was a Melbourne supporter. Apparently during the discussion he made a comment along the lines of "it's great but still waiting for it to fall apart" - she looked him in the eye and said "we are not that club anymore." Demons by 40

Disagree, he's taken contested marks against Essendon and GWS.

I like the decision to keep in Weid He has been ok in his 3 games and needs some regular games to build consistency and synergy with his teammates. He has started clunking marks which should be the main aim at the moment. Do that and the rest will follow. TMac may feel hard done by but can bang down the door in the 2s to demand a spot back. He was brilliant early last season but hasn't been to that level since probably the Port game last year.

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.