Macca

Those who believe that the umpires cheat are more likely to be flat-earther types Conspiracy theorists who delight in jumping the almighty shark any time a free kick is paid against their little army (their sporting team) I'd like to see the evidence of the cheating and therefore the sound reasoning on why umpires cheat But there is no evidence, never was and probably never will be. And the sport is over 160 years old The umpires just pay free kicks as they see them ... and it's nothing personal. In a sport where it's impossible to get all the umpiring decisions right (grey areas) You can throw up free kick counts, the mentality of the mob (and all other such nonsense) but that will not change anything

The tide is turning with the AFL taking the huge step of making sure the players respect the umpires and their decisions on the field That will filter down to the junior leagues and soon enough, more people will take up umpiring at all levels Eventually that can lead to full time umpires at the top level with continuous fine tuning of the rules to make the game far easier to umpire I understand that many just want to lash out at the umpires and that will never stop but I care about the sport as a whole, not just about self-interest You should take up the same stance

And it bears repeating too. I'm sending an important message As a society we are so much more enlightened in so many areas these days. Minority groups no longer have to put up with undue prejudice or narrow minded thinking. They've got a voice But not footy umpires it seems ... they are almost the last group of people treated as fair game. All based on an idiotic myth that they are somehow cheating How about the bloke on the game-day thread who has called the umpires ××××××× cheats about 500 times over a 10 year period Acceptable behaviour? Why don't you pull him up about repeating himself? He'll be on the thread next weekend. There's nothing surer

Every time I put the onus back on you, you come back at me as if it's my issue It's others that are blowing the foofa valves, not me. I'm just trying to save them from a lifetime of angst. But apparently, according to sue ... "People enjoy the whinge" Me, I enjoy the actual game whilst taking very little notice of the umpiring decisions ... is that a crime?

And there is a way of ignoring all the umpire 'references' on the game-day thread Just put those perpetrators on ignore ... however, that leaves only about 5 posts per page! I did it last year and the game day thread became an enjoyable and informative read. True story

Sorry dc, I don't give up that easily. Why walk away when something can be fixed? The harder it gets, the more motivated I become I'll keep battling way, thank you very much. And if the biggest issue is the umpire bashing (on the game day thread) why is that a problem for you? After all, it's not like you are with me on respect for umpires. And if I'm wrong on that, can you point me towards your posts where you have gone into bat for the umps

Influencing is probably the wrong word ... more so alerting those who's minds can be conducive to change We are creatures of habit so if we have a certain view on umpires and that view is very strong, we're unlikely to change But at any age, we can change our minds or have our minds changed for us when a balanced view is presented So I see all the errors made by umpires that most do but ... I blame the circumstances, the game itself, the grey areas etc etc Otherwise, every umpire that has ever umpired at the top level must be incompetent (such is the torrent of dissatisfaction shown towards umpires that we constantly witness) But that argument lacks logic ... how can they all be incompetant? Year after year after year? Decade after decade? The argument against umpires doesn't make sense (to me at least) Could anyone name the best 6 umpires in the game? Does anyone even know the names of 6 umpires? Most often umpires are addressed as a number (and often done in a disdainful way) 80% of all game-day posts here are to do with umpiring decisions but what about the opposition and the way that they're playing? Barely a word As for how we're playing, not a lot either apart from the contributions of p-man, layzie, Chook and 1 or 2 others

Reckon we'll re-sign both Gus & LJ One is a future star whilst the other might have found his niche on a HBF (and is dominating in that position) However, a couple of others might be squeezed out because of salary cap constraints (as a consequence) ... especially if those others are looking for a decent salary increase as well We've got a lot of good players to look after (money-wise) Salem on one HBF with Brayshaw on the other HBF has a good look about it Rivers to a wing? Bowey is another consideration down back. Hunt with his lockdown role We are blessed with talent right now

What can I say ... I like winning! Is that arrogant? haha

At a high rate (most generally) games are decided by skill levels & good coaching And sometimes teams that have got high skill levels & top level coaching can have a off day Or a shocker as in our encounter at the Crows last year ... not that that game curtailed our premiership chances, on the contrary, that loss might have helped the team. Who knows, but it is often said that teams can often learn more from a loss than an easy win So many supporters were focused on that last decision by the umpire (and it was a poor decision) but the coaches & players would have been focused on the next encounter (and to make amends on their poor showing against the Crows) So we came out and beat the Bulldogs easily next game up ... built up a 6 goal lead by 3/4 time and then locked the game down in the last quarter (1 goal vs 2 goals) A sign of things to come ... eerily similar to nearly every game this season (and many games last season) What's all that got to do with umpires? Not much at all And that's the point that I'm continually trying to make

There's the 'We' again And my arrogance? Just returning fire ... you go down the path of using the word 'We' against one person and that's not pure arrogance? We, as in 'The rest of the site' don't agree with you Macca Have a good look in the mirror ... you need to be taking my advice, not vice-versa. And if you're up against the mob like I am on this issue, you need to be sure of what you're saying If that comes across as arrogance, I couldn't care less. I'm not here to be popular It's time you and many others pulled in your collective heads in and started showing true respect for umpires and the job that they have to do You should try it one time, you seem to be an expert on all things umpiring ... instead of just taking potshots from the sidelines like you've always done

A mate also mentioned that we don't play on from a free or mark when we are in lockdown mode Tempo footy, Demon style I'm not sure that the opposition are aware of when we make the switch either

Pickett no longer plays for frees like he used to ... not that he was doing it at Selwood levels but nonetheless, he was playing for high contact from time to time And I reckon one of the reasons he's generally stopped doing it is because it didn't work. Might have had the opposite effect thus the lopsided frees for and against to his name So it doesn't always work but it does for those who have, dare I say it, turned it into an artform More than 10 years ago I was advocating that high contact frees should only be paid for flagrant high contact. Otherwise play on or 'holding the ball' If nothing is done, we are going to see an even bigger glut of high contact frees. More and more players are becoming adept at milking high contact frees

Because it is hilarious, that's why. I suppose people whinging about the umpires (constantly) is quite funny. Bit like a Monty Python sketch *People enjoy the whinge* I post about umpires very rarely, but because my views go against the grain so much, they stand out Meanwhile, many here have to endure countless numbers ruining every game-day thread as well as the post match threads with their constant moaning about even the most innocuous of free kicks By the way, that other thread about the 50m penalty handed out for abuse & dissent has gone awfully quiet hasn't it, sue? Tried to tell you that you had nothing to worry about. Got that one right too. Ho hum

We are polar opposites on this issue, willmoy I put my views forward on umpiring in order to perhaps influence 10% - 15% of this site Did the same with the drafting debate ... now there is barely a person here who doesn't admit that the draft is at least somewhat flawed Beforehand there was a belief system (shared by many) that the drafting numbering system was entirely accurate So in that area, my work is done. In summary, I see the constant questioning of umpiring decisions as sweating the small stuff There are many who probably believe that umpires have a huge influence on games ...buy by my reckoning it's less than 5% (influence of umpires) So why not take in the other side of the argument? After all, I've been hearing your side of the argument for my entire life. Along with 1000's of others all saying the same thing. Over and over and over again On nearly every one of your posts you find a way to complain about umpires Where's your footy anslysis? I've never seen it

The 'We' evaluation? Do you talk on behalf of everyone on this site? Is it a rule that everyone here is supposed to moan about umpiring decisions? "People enjoy the whinge" Ha ha!

And I've never had an issue as to when free kicks are given either ... or whereabouts on the ground either Games are decided by skill levels and good coaching When we were poor ar both those areas we rarely won ... now that we are excellent in both areas, we rarely lose

So does that mean that we are being deliberately favoured by the umps?

The umpiring has always been inconsistent and probably always will be We are asking people to differentiate free kicks in a sport full of grey areas ... stands to reason that umpiring mistakes will eventuate and those decisions won't be consistent Our team is so good that a few questionable umpiring decisions matters not And because we are so good, we are able to win more frees as a default outcome *Play in front, win more frees* By the way, there are not many top players who don't play in front. In fact, I can't think of 1 top player who consistently plays from behind

It's actually quite easy for me to not focus on the last moments of footy games At half time (amongst Demon mates) I've been known to point out the lucky free kicks that we've received and the free kicks the opposition should have received! Doesn't go down well and I'd never do it on the game-day thread here!! haha

Not forgetting that the team put in a 4 out of 10 performance that day against Adelaide (a much bigger factor for the loss, obviously) We had 1 standout player that day - Oliver Daylight to our 2nd best player A footy match goes a lot longer than just the last minute of play So we didn't turn up and that was the main reason why we lost against the Crows

It's not theory, it's fact You play in front you'll receive a far greater proportion of free kicks especially if a player knows how to milk frees. Playing from behind and what are the chances? Holding the ball for a player you are tackling? How many frees are awarded for holding the ball? Not many so it's a bad percentage play ... especially if you are a forward All the yelling for 'Ball' by the masses often ends the same way ... abject futility However, backmen often play from behind or on the left or right shoulder of their opponent so as to keep an eye on their opponent (but not always these days because of the zoning) Good backmen are also adept at not giving away free kicks And a good backmen will know when to take the front position especially against a forward who is weak playing from behind Certainly not many decisions (holding the ball) in relation to high contact, in the back, chopping of arms and holding the man - all decisions rewarding the player in front If one has ever played they would have been told to fight for the front position 10-15 times per week by their coaches. So 200 games = 2000-3000 times the coaches will tell you to play in front. It gets drummed into you for good reason But you don't have to have played to know the value of playing in front. Just watch the games without any anti-umpire bias But there's no bias, umpires do the best they can in a very difficult sport to adjudicate and they don't cheat The whole free kick count differential is a furphy. Just more numbers that doesn't tell us much exceot for the 2 outliers (and those 2 outliers are easily explained) For instance, last season our club was overall -16 free kicks for the season proper. That's less than 1 free kick per game What does it matter?

Man City put on a clinic against Newcastle and I'd be surprised if they were to drop points in their run home ... maybe a draw could happen but they are 3 points ahead so they are going to have to lose a game to surrender the title. And then there's the goal difference Just too much talent and their passing to set up the goals yesterday was absolutely supreme. First rate in fact

And which player might put the biggest dent in our premiership chances if they were somehow unavailable? Gawn? Oliver? May? Petracca? Langdon? Salem is a star but we haven't looked like losing a game without him I'd say it's Gawn but it might be May? But Oliver & Petracca are absolute gun players

So if we include Brayshaw we've got 11 bona-fide AFL standard backmen on the list ... T-Mac being reserve to the tall back-ups (as Mitch Brown is to the KPF's) Langdon is another who regularly picks up possessions on 1 half back flank May, Lever, Salem, Rivers, Petty, Smith, Tomlinson, Bowey, Hunt, Hibberd & Brayshaw make up the 11 4 years ago we didn't even have 4 defenders who were AFL standard (and ongoing) What a remarkable turnaround!