Webber

Great post @Kieren from Canberra. The club and team intent are indeed trustworthy. The application of that intent on game day this season is however a bit more fickle. But that’s just footy, which we should all (myself) understand, despite struggling with the very concept. What I have lost complete trust in is both the intent and application of the AFL, reflected most egregiously through the complete shambles that is umpiring, and obviously the current actions of the MRO, a predictable extension of that shambles. And we should all be deeply concerned about this. Predictable, consistent, TRUSTWORTHY adjudication of the ‘rules and laws of the game’ is central to its survival. Watch any AFL game you like, and the standard of adjudication is simply appalling. Many invoke the idea that predicting umpiring decisions is akin to a raffle. This is no longer hyperbole. Even as an impartial observer of non-Dees games, it’s wholly depressing (laughably even, because it isn’t the MFC) how utterly spectral are its umpiring decisions. As many have suggested, it’s making the game close to unwatchable, and for this central reason. Yet nothing happens. There is no accountability, because the AFL dictate total silence from everyone in its employ, at risk of punishment and censure. Even questioning the quality of umpiring is ‘outlawed’. There’s a word for this type of authority. And we should all want to know how this has come to pass? It’s killing the game. rant over.

It’s a spectrum of severity obviously layzie, but a tear is a tear. Assuming understanding and compliance from the injured person, any activity that’s pain free, and erring on the side of less stress to the hammy is ok. Regardless of severity however, the healing time, hence time-frame of diminishing risk, remains. None of this is to say that some don’t take the risk, and get through. It’s really about risk management. The Steven May 2021 GF is a great example. They knew that he might make the existing tear worse (whence he’d have 3 months to rehab). He didn’t, as we know, AND played out the game. Was a win, but could’ve been different

Was waiting til the official word from the club @rjay. A ‘strain’ is a tear. Not sure why they insist on using ‘strain’, when they could just use the tear grading (1-3). Nobody’s fooled I suspect. Anyway, all hamstring tears begin at 3 weeks. Straight clinical epidemiology tells us that if you bring even a minor tear (grade 1) back inside 3 weeks, the risk of re-tear is markedly greater. Needless to say, the longer the rehab, the lower the risk. I’ll assume Clarrie’s is grade 1, in which case he ‘should’ miss the next 3 games, to avoid such risk. Desperation does strange things though.

Read the question Jaded. They’re not to blame for any of that. They are to blame, under the auspices of the AFL, for making our great game growingly unwatchable. Umpiring of AFL football in its present state is an outright shambles.

Me too. It’s a horrendous blight on the game, and frankly kills my enjoyment dead too often. And what does the AFL do about it?…………………….

For anyone suggesting we can’t blame the umpires for appalling umpiring, and tonight it was truly atrocious, who then should we blame for it?

Currently we don’t have that ability. At this stage we’re simply not going to challenge.

Another game ruined by umpiring. How many will it take, and affecting which clubs, will it take to force an improvement? Because that was truly disgraceful. On another matter, having let Noah Anderson and now Zak Butters make us look ridiculous, can only imagine what Nick Daicos is gonna do.

And once again, umpiring ruins a game of football. Absolutely disgusting.

Top 5 most disgraceful umpiring exhibitions in my memory.

This is just cheating now

Thinking they might want to make him a bit more accountable, otherwise just give him the Brownlow for this game alone.

Getting embarrassing now

Every weakness we have (and they are significant) is being exposed. 1. Our inability to hold the ball in attack…..Port are simply easing themselves out of our attacking 50. 2. Our inability to prevent fast ball movement through the middle and across angles. 3. Our own inability to move the ball with any degree of innovation out of defence = they’re just waiting create a ground ball and pushing easily back inside 50. 4. And this might be the worst, an inability to match the best sides for pressure and contested ball when they bring that game to us. We’re being out-worked, out-run, out-contested, out-tackled, basically out-played by every measure that counts. At the risk of going early, cos somehow we’re still in this game, we’re not legitimate flag contenders.

Looking forward to this pod, boys. A cheeky question for binman. Given Harry Petty’s excellent showing before being subbed on Saturday, his continuing presence in the forward line, and Goody’s clear intentions from his post-match presser, is binman prepared to accept that Petts will be a forward going forward (David Neitz 2.0, as I’ve been predicting since 2019), and not be shuffled back to defence as an expression of our ‘best team’? 2021 is 2 years ago…..things evolve. A cheeky question for George if he’s on. Is George prepared to accept that Nibbler is in the first 10 picked weekly? And if he doesn’t accept it, will he ever? 😉 Excellent podding boys, and only getting better.

On the plus side, he was running well and marking like a master after his foot started giving issues, and arguably could’ve kept playing (according) to Goody. On the minus, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a ***ty little fracture. Fingers crossed!

Why they waited til that quarter to play the ‘How to beat Melbourne’ method, who knows. They aren’t good enough to make it last of course, and don’t have the efficiency, but boy does it show once more how we can lose control of the game when ANY team plays that way. Troubling…..

I’m sitting level 4, and heard the Viney head clash from here. He just shook it off, kicked a bullet to JVR, goal. I know we all know about Jack’s hardness, but FMD he’s hard!

Because much like prostitution and drug use, it’s obviously historically pointless to make it illegal. We HAVE to accept that humans will ALWAYS engage in certain things whether they’re illegal or not. It’s simply juvenile not to accept this. Better that you de-criminalise them, regulate and educate. In the case of boxing and footy, there must be an educated acceptance of the risk, whilst putting things in place to minimise harm (which the JVR suspension will NOT do), and then it comes down to personal choice. Rendering these things illegal is plainly ridiculous, if only for the fact that it doesn’t work, and thus makes ‘illegal’ outcomes worse.

And of course they will go for the spoil, Jaded, because if you take that option away, the game is dead. We all know this, or at least “reasonable” people know this (see what I did there?), which is why the commentariat is outraged, and this will be thrown out. How they let it get this far doesn’t just defy reason, but logic, and in fact sanity.

I think the issue we’re so rightfully angry about is that this WON’T happen. It WOULD fundamentally destroy the game if it was enforced, making this decision a ‘bubble’ precedent. This incident is scapegoating for appearances only. If the AFL, or the tribunal were accountable in any way, they would have to explain why dozens of incidents this coming round alone don’t result in suspensions. They’re in a position of not having to explain or justify anything to anybody. Much like the ongoing umpiring malaise. One complaint from anybody in clubland about any umpiring decision, or a publicly heard negative value judgment on anything to do with umpiring, and the AFL penalises the complainant, with absolutely no obligation to discuss the complaint or judgement. AFL house is simply a collective autocracy.

Monday rant supported @Redleg. I reckon most of the issues stem from increased media attention and proximity in as commercialised a market as we’ve lived through. Which is a mighty double-edged sword. On the plus side, we get a screen spectacle like never before. It’s fantastic. Not like being there of course, but as close to that as possible. The downside is that everything is subject to scrutiny, on and off field. Umpires are hopelessly prone to second-guessing, and adjudicating according to expectations from too many quarters, media/TV particularly. They’ll never be perfect of course, but ludicrously, they still aren’t full-time professionals, so obviously struggle to maintain consistency, within and between themselves, across games and through the season. The corporate-executive nature of the AFL is I think more egregious. It’s too profit oriented, at the expense of almost everything that guarantees satisfaction with and for the future health of the game. As you say, what a ridiculous waste of money on executive process. Imagine what the grass roots clubs around the country would do with a share of that $4 million? Then look at the fixturing. Collingwood and Essendon simply don’t play in Geelong. Other clubs (we seem to be in that camp), play there every year. In a competition that has excellent equalisation measures otherwise, this is just plain wrong. The AFL makes a fantastic profit every year because the game is intrinsically, culturally embedded. We love it for that. The AFL does not however respect or seem to understand that it should be managed and administrated beyond profit through media. Could go on….

The appeal will result in a quashing of ANY penalty, which seems obvious to anyone with half a brain. The bigger question, which many of you have raised, is why was he given a penalty in the first place? Why is there no process of oversight to make sure these ridiculous judgements aren’t made to begin with? The cynic in me thinks it’s deliberate attention seeking…..clickbait driven by controversy. Otherwise it is just amateurish beyond comprehension.

We seriously tried to choke ourselves out of the win. Don’t really know how they got there. A mere shadow of a contender at the moment. You pressure us hard at the stoppage and the contest, and our defensive system becomes very very fragile. Dare I say jittery and slow. Congrats to Noah Anderson, phenomenal. Also Jarrod Witts, based on that he might be the best stoppage ruckman in the league. Gotta feel for Bailey Fritsch, his confidence was utterly shot. A lesson to Kade Chandler, JVR and Dan Turner also. Despite the 4 points, hard to draw anything positive

Getting rolled in the stoppages, and their ripping through the guts on the turnover or from the contest is the standard ‘how to beat Melbourne’ model. If they improve their disposal efficiency, they win. If we defend the run-off from the contest better (haven’t done this well against anyone) and improve stoppage possession/control, we win.