Macca

Who is going to admit that they don't want to be an umpire because of the potential abuse? Truthful answers? I doubt it The numbers aren't real ... it's like the polls in the USA before the 2016 election. Numerous people wouldn't admit that they were going to vote for Trump but did so anyway And he trailed in every poll bar 1 ... often miles behind You need to read between the lines

Breaking point??!! Hysterical much

I'm not arguing against full time umpires What I am saying is that the grey areas will still be there So we'd have total professionals trying to make correct decisions in grey areas that are to say the least, contentious But make them full time as it will help I believe the AFL are going to go hard on dissent & abuse and try and stamp it out So it will remain a big topic especially with the 50m penalty involved But towards the end of the season, we may not see too many indiscretions ... let's face it, in a lot of cases a 50m penalty leads to a shot on goal So dispute the umpires decision and it could easily cost your team a goal So the free kick count per game amounts to about 40-50 per game ... that's about 1 free kick per player, per game Is it asking too much for a player to keep his emotions in check once per game? (on average)

I don't want our players wasting their time talking to an umpire Just get on with it and play the game

And that's a good story and I don't doubt you for a minute ET ... but we do have an issue with the umpiring of the sport (can we make it easier please) And at junior level there has been a huge shortfall of umpires for decades (in other words, the shortfall is not a new thing)

I like your optimism but the grey areas are in abundance. And have been for decades. People were talking about umpires in the same way in the 60's Marking contests, In the back, holding the ball, holding the man, around the neck, ruck contests, chopping of arms, the bump etc etc are all contentious Good luck trying to get all of the above clear-cut. Making the umpires professional will help but the myriad of other issues will remain (unless we change the make-up of the sport)

That would help but what about all the grey areas? That's the real issue but to eliminate all the grey areas you'll get bruise-free footy You really want that?

I have never met a person in my entire life that would ever entertain the thought of umpiring a game of football I wouldn't even bother asking as I know what sort of reaction I'd get. It's a thankless task with not a lot of upside. And I played 50 seasons of sport across 4 sports How many here have ever done it (umpired) on a consisent basis? Close to zero I'd imagine ... and none of us were ever AFL quality standard as footballers As previously stated, fix all the grey areas and you'll solve the problem But do that and you've got AFLX Make the umpires full time and they are still adjudicating on any number of grey areas

As I have said to you on numerous occasions, the umpires are going to make errors in a chaotic sport with more grey areas than a Melbourne winter The sport itself lends itself to any number of interpretations on any number of rules You want perfection, you're not going to get it. You won't even come close

Different sport and appealing to the umpire in cricket is part of the rules In fact, if you don't appeal, the umpire is under no obligation to give a player out I played in a final once where the umpire after the game told us we should have appealed for a bat-pad We lost and the bloke in question made a ton As per the footy, there are going to be teething problems and don't be thinking that I agree with all the 50's handed out But in principle, I agree with the crackdown

I disagree With the odd exception, I reckon players would predominately know what has happened with regards to a free kick decision So for the few times that they do not know, they should learn how to cop it Self discipline is something that all sportspeople should have at the top level

I would have thought it was quite obvious Anyone going into umpiring at any level knows that they are going to cop a torrent of abuse And in this day and age, there aren't nearly as many who are prepared to cop that

So we don't get to find out Why is that a problem? If we respected umpires we'd take their word for it I know I do.... you should do the same

That's your opinion ET and fair enough. Each to their own I believe that the players will eventually learn how to just get on with it We're going to have some teething issues and it might take all season to sort it all out. And some tweeking might be required None of us are experts on the outcomes here. Why? Because it's a new rule and we're not sure where it will end up However, the new ruling needs to be clear cut and in our sport, zero tolerance can often work quite well (but not always) In my view, the umpires need to be respected a lot more so I welcome the new ruling In my experience at local level nearly every player had the utmost respect for umpires & their decisions. In footy you would be sent off for dissent (and weeks) and in cricket you got weeks on the sidelines for the same sorts of indiscretions And that's at pure amateur level I rarely even heard of a player crossing the line. We all knew the consequences

Fair enough If that is what happened then we need to cop it (the team that is) I didn't have a problem with the decision at the time as I was assuming that one of our players had transgressed

And the clear reason why we have a shortfall of umpires is because of the levels of abuse So cut out the levels of abuse (at all levels) Do you agree?

The reason we don't have enough umpires at junior level is because of the abuse It's not rocket science Circular argument? What a load of rot. I'm pointing out what the issue is

Why? I would have thought that nearly all players know what the indiscretion is when they transgress Take the Lever example (and I'm not taking sides) ... he clipped the GWS player high. A soft free kick yes, but that's the way the game is umpired And Lever would have known what he did too. So under the new ruling Lever must accept the umpires decision, shut up and get on with it Now, I'm not blaming Lever for the 50 ... for all we know another player might have reacted the wrong way The issue for the spectators is that the players aren't mic'd up so we have to accept the decision not knowing what might have been said or done

You'd want a lot more than $500 a year to umpire at junior level ... more like $5k as umpires at junior level often have to umpire 3 or 4 games per weekend (due to the lack of numbers) That's if you'd want to do it anyway ... who would want to cop abuse left, right & centre just because you're trying to umpire a sport with more grey areas than a Melbourne winter? And that abuse often comes from parents. How pathetic is that? It's any wonder there is such a shortfall of umpires (at all levels) So it starts at the top ... the AFL needs to set a real example with regards to respect for umpires

The consensus here seems to be that players need to be able to react to a free kick paid against them ... I disagree. Habits can be changed especially with a zero tolerance approach as a punishment Players will adapt and they will need to do so quickly. The coaches will be in their ears with "Accept the umpires decision, don't react, shut up and man the mark. Don't punish the team any further, you've already given away the free kick, right or wrong" And if you think the coaches won't be instructing the players that way, you'll be wrong Eventually the spectator ire will be pointed towards the offending player (not the penalty) ... and that's already happening with a few here pointing out the player error (with regards to exasperated reactions)

One thing that we will probably all agree on ... we don't need another adjudication with grey area attached So whatever the ruling is, it needs to be clear cut ... and zero tolerance eliminates doubt And it looks like the AFL could double down on the ruling as well so the chat about the ruling will continue

At first I thought the waving of the arms (in exasperation) may have been harmless and only a misdemeanour but it could get out of hand (so stamp it out) If players are strongly disciplined enough so as to be able to stand on the mark and not move, they should be able to not wave their arms in exasperation as well Of course, the players need to be able to man the mark with their arms outstretched and vertical but doing that in comparison is easily identifiable

The 3rd quarter avalanche of 10 goals reminded me of the recent Richmond team at their very best ... retaining possession at breakneck speed whilst moving the ball forward (quickly) until ultimately scoring a goal from not far out around the hot spot Pressure, pressure, pressure until the other mob cracks Total team footy and we're very good at it And 10 different goalkickers in that same 3rd quarter was quite remarkable Another observation is the team finding a way to 'save the legs' in the last quarter of games ... every game this year so far? The FD is just so professional now ... something that we probably could never really see happening But it is happening so enjoy the wins

Bombers lose, Pies lose, Tigers lose, Cats lose DEMONS WIN!!! That's almost as good as it gets (just missed on the Blues)

Blow the siren!!