Webber

Nailed it. And yet, what do we hear from the AFL?……………..(forever waiting)…….

Great pod again guys, so good that it puts me in mind of a quote from that recent font of all wisdom, the current-day, cinema Barbie - “I have no difficulty holding both logic and emotion at the same time, and it does not diminish my powers”.

Well put by Ian Munro, but IMO he doesn’t go hard enough. There will need to be a persistent chorus of outrage (directed at the AFL, not the umps) around the inconsistent and illogical adjudicating of the game to force change.

Hmmmm…..you can’t re-write what’s already out there, Caleb.

Agree. And it’s becoming near impossible not to conclude as such. We know they are media obsessed, of which the wildly uneven venue fixturing is just one example - Collingwood to play at the Cattery anyone? - but everything they do now seems designed to fuel the controversy fire. And during the quiet weeks, something always crops up to stoke it again - protecting the head, sling tackles, the ‘stand’ rule, 50m for dissent and so on, the adjudications of which all sink into the umpiring mud-pile as the season rolls forward. Meanwhile, despite the brilliant structural designs of the draft and salary cap, how they run the competition as a whole merely entrenches a ‘haves and have-nots’ mentality. The big clubs (we all know who they are) vs the minnows. It’s short-term dollar-driven, reflexive, and takes no account of the game’s long term future. The need for fixes across the game are now glaring, but the AFL couldn’t give a rats, as long as the punter is fixated on click-bait, media-fertilised, changes-every-week issues. What to do? A soft revolution is needed, but how?

What a shock!

Was at the game yesterday, and Spargo was outstanding with ball and without, huge running efforts and making position, efforts which were often ignored or just bypassed his teammates lack of awareness. Tommo was excellent (as usual). Tmac was horribly short of a run. Struggled to accelerate, get any elevation, and was gassed after moderate efforts. I’d be staggered if he gets anywhere near fit enough for promotion over the next month.

If it were likely to provoke change, this entire thread should be sent to the AFL. Would that they listened! Brilliant stuff, terrific reading. For those who can’t accept that umpiring affects results, think about the illogic of that. ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING that happens during a game is sanctioned, or not, by the umpires. Otherwise put, the game doesn’t even start, and no result is achievable without their action or inaction. If you think all W-L results are ‘perfect’, i.e. every W-L result is ‘right’, it’s saying that across their 120 minutes of decision-making, the balance of their decisions is also ‘perfect’. I hate to be conceptually pedantic, but this is nonsense. At its fundament. The fact of umpiring’s imperfection renders occasional ‘imperfect’ results. By definition. The problem with AFL umpiring (and as so many of you have rightly said it’s on THEM, not the umpires) is that it’s never been more imperfect. The question then to ask, and as you’ve all astutely outlined, there are obvious, simple solutions, is why aren’t the AFL improving what is a horrible shambles?

Watched the Casey game yesterday with @binman, and needless to say, in the gorgeous sunshine falling onto a perfectly grassed Princes Park, we (by which I mean he) had happy solutions for all the chinks in the Dees armour, all despite Casey falling frustratingly short (poor goal conversion in the last was the killer). So listen in to the podcast, Demonlanders, between @Demonland Andy’s MFCSS in flux, @george_on_the_outer’s rational wisdom, and positive binners happy contextualising, it’s gonna be a CRACKER! By the by, Harry Petty was there in his moonboot. I doubt he’s had surgery yet. They’ll be waiting for the acute foot to settle, making for a less irritable reaction post-surgery. He looked relaxed and happy, as did Max. Charlie Spargo was another level yesterday, ran all day, and more than anyone else gave Casey its best looks at a win. Tommo dominant down back as always.

Pretty sure Razor Ray was the closest (very close) ump. He wasn’t interested, then got the call from ump further back….hence the delay. How his whistle wasn’t in his mouth immediately, only he could know. Mind you, it was open slather on pretty much everything for RR all night. Crazy stuff.

This! Feeling your anger and frustration binman (as was Goody in his presser, but as ever, he was masterful in his restraint). And for all those who say, “you can’t blame the umpiring for the loss, if we’d played better we would have won, DESERVED to win even”, that’s a wholly different point. The umpires in the last quarter made it an uneven playing field. Fact. Bad umpiring changed the course and the result of last night’s game. Fact. No different to the Adelaide shambles in ‘21, for which the AFL issued a mea culpa afterwards. Will they do it this time? No chance. And what’s been done to fix this shambles, what’s REALLY been done? A fourth umpire? It’s just added 33% more confusion and inconsistency. Spare me! Not full time professionals, not better technology. Nothing. It kills our game. KILLS IT. This result could affect our flag chances this year. It’s that simple.

Just watched Goody’s presser, and he was, as usual, superb. It’s obvious he was seething, but addressed the questions about the umpiring with enormous calm. He left no doubt however (with a pause and a smile) that he was angry about it. His restraint is remarkably evolved. Which gets to the truly concerning thing. It is simply ludicrous that he (or anybody within the AFL’s employ) cannot pass judgement or even have an opinion about the shambles that is the adjudication of our great game without being sanctioned or punished by the AFL. How will the umpiring ever improve if it can’t be criticised by those closest to the game, those with the most at stake? I’ve said it before (frankly bore myself to tears with the repetition), but the damage bad umpiring does to this game is embarrassing. That the AFL have an autocratic refusal to even have the issue raised from within is shameful.

That was the Rivers sling. Extraordinary incompetence once more. Theme of the night.

dazzle, seriously, there’s ample evidence on here already to make a nonsense of your ‘finger moving’ theory. His hand was nowhere near it. Fact. Give it up, man, it’s ok.

No it doesn’t. If it did, they would have said so in the review. You’re making stuff up. The call was ‘insufficient evidence’ to overturn the call.

Agreed. It’s not their fault. What we should be doing is jumping up and down about the standard of all AFL umpiring full stop. It’s the AFL that fails the umpires and us all. No other professional sport is so consistently embarrassed by its adjudicating.

Rubbish. His hand was certainly moving, but it more definitely wasn’t because of the ball.

The goal ump was obviously influenced by Marchbank’s insistence. He was guessing. AFL umpiring remains pure amateur-ville. It demeans every other aspect of the game.

Look at the side view. His hand was nowhere near it, so what fingers moving are you talking about?

1. Bad umpiring ruins our great game. 2. Carlton are the best team in the AFL as of this moment. Just a shame it was blighted by the umpiring. It’s the AFL’s greatest shame and embarrassment.

I’ve never seen the kind of pressure Carlton are dishing up. It’s beyond extraordinary. Playing out of their skins. They can’t possibly keep it up, and when it drops, we’re in. Well done boys, hold your cool.

24 inside 50s to 4! And only 3 points down. Wow! I say WOW!

Likewise, hoping for a relaxed and happy watch after a win against the Blues. Spent a couple of years at a residential college over the road from Prinny Park, and would regularly pop in for the last quarter for free (full game for Dees, obviously). Should be nostalgic.

If AI is asked to do the same for each club’s female supporters and a replica of @WalkingCivilWar isn’t the Dees rep, we should just shut AI down.