Macca

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!!

GWS play a bruise-free style. Lots of nice skills but no substance. No fight Our blokes won't have too many sore spots ... 8 days off and we'll be fresh as for the Tigers (and that won't be bruise-free)

Been a good game to watch The Geelong big blokes up forward might end up being the difference (already 6 goals combined)

Well that's good to know ... I'll mention that to my mate (who prefers to stand at the games) By the way Gonzo, do a quick check on those footy fans that you know who went away for Easter. My friends/acquaintances stands at about 40% who are out of Melbourne And apparently the traffic is gridlocked (Peninsula?) heading back today $10 for a mid strength ... there's another category staying away - The Drinkers! (and there's a few of them!)

I was talking in general terms looking ahead and involving all the teams & games. Not just our team, GtB In principle, the players will end up clamming up so we shouldn't see many 50's given. I reckon it would be harder to stand still on the mark than to not remonstrate and nearly every player knows to stand still on the mark (now) The Lever incident and subsequent 50 stemmed from a ruling in favour of the GWS player (a ticky-touchwood high contact free kick that I've never agreed with) High contact should be paid for deliberate targeted actions only, otherwise players will exploit the grey area of high contact frees (and they have done, for decades) So if that Lever incident is play on, there's no remonstration The around the neck ruling (or high contact) is a blight on the game so much so that many now know how to milk high contact. Players cheat and they are allowed to get away with it (by the rulemakers, not the umpires) More than 10 years ago I said the exact same thing (here) But that's just my view. Most disagree on incidental high contact ... they want to leave the rule as it is. Therefore, the punters have to live with the consequences of ticky-touchwood high contact free kicks (and the subsequent frustrations that come with it) I might add that deliberate high contact is obvious which can and should remain reportable (much as it is with regards to League & Union ... incidental high contact is plan on with those sports)

Definitely going for the Hawks today ... not sure they are an ultimate threat (Hawks) but it would be great to see the Cats incur a setback

Like your post GtB but we don't know for sure what the 50 metre penalties are paid for ... we can't necessarily hear what a disgruntled player (or a player in the vicinity) is actually saying The waving of the arms may not be the reason as to why the penalty is applied but if that is the only reason (waving of arms), then I'm in agreement with others that the penalty doesn't fit the misdemeanour But we don't know for sure what is said and that's not likely to change as the players aren't mic'd up And as Axis pointed out in a post prior to yours, the players will fall into line much like they have with regards to standing still on the mark (allowing for the odd indiscretion)

Like all the other teams, we have a supporter base who have been locked up for 2 years so who can blame them for getting away on a long weekend? Because that's what a lot of people have done (gone away for Easter) That's apart from the myriad of other reasons as to why the crowds in general have dropped off. And there is not one particular reason ... more so the cumulative effect In no particular order ... No walk up access ( or cash customers) The tedious and long-winded ticketing system which again, especially effects the oldies ... and for all the trouble we go to we still could be sitting next to someone (for 3 hours) who has contracted covid (who can then pass covid on to the unsuspecting) The unnecessary noise (loud music) thrust upon spectators on a constant basis at the games Those who don't want to expose themselves to covid within the madding crowd (especially the over 50's) With covid, many are picking and choosing as to when they want to allow themselves to be exposed to the disease The state of the actual game ... the congested era has taken its toll. We might be addicted to the winning and the tribalism but a lot of games are unwatchable. Why would a neutral attend given that possible likelihood? The public transport system (which is often unreliable and often packed) Large 4k TV's to watch footy live as opposed to going to the game (that takes care of a lot of neutrals) The cost of food & beverages ... $9 for a beer is obscene Many would-be attendees often make a decision to go to the footy at the last moment ... or, that's what they used to do. That effects the walk-ups The lack of parking near the venues Bragging rights? At the ground one would much rather beat Essendon as opposed to GWS. The punters love the big occasion People being out of town on long weekends (such as Easter) The confusing timeslots and the lack of Saturday afternoon games (which many prefer - old schoolers) Nights games making it difficult for country members and kids to attend Many prefer to 'Stand' at the footy ... that can't be done anymore. You must sit in your allocated seat And people don't just buy a membership to attend games ... many buy a membership to support their club and have no real intention of attending many games. This is borne out by the percentage of actual attendees vs actual membership numbers (across all the teams) In summary, the biggest factors are covid related and thus, the neutrals and the covid-shy are the no-shows So the money is in broadcast rights, sponsorship, membership and the corporates. The AFL is losing out on cash customers and the walk-ups but do they care? Overly large crowd numbers is way less important these days As an example, the broadcast rights in 2017 amounted to about $2.5Billion ... in turn, because of that cash-cow amount of money, the dividends handed out to the clubs amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars (every year) Like most sports, AFL has become a TV game so the reality is that the AFL is following the money trail ... and the TV product improves every year. For instance, the use of the wide-angle this year is a real improvement For many, the TV 'experience' is really good ... and a much cheaper alternative. The Pubs are losing out too ... just put on the BBQ and invite people around The keen ones will still attend the games

Paris-Roubaix on tonight on SBS And there is already a large breakaway group

Did the rider of Big Parade lodge a protest? If not, I'm not sure that the stewards ever lodge by default In the UK & USA the stewards often do lodge autonomous protests but I can't remember the last time that has happened here Big Parade might have run it's race thus no protest ... just watched the replay - Big Parade looked spent

Got the early double with our picks along with the 5-1 win odds I got for Mamounia on Wednesday Had your pick to win in the big paying multi but was happy to use the place odds for 'WS' in a couple of other multi's And get this; I backed Kementari and it won - that's a first!! So Deep Speed (DZ's pick) will deliver a decent payout if it salutes!

I'm well and truly alive in my multi's with WS running on for 3rd. Got out to 3.10 the place as well Good get, Gorg

All 3 winning paying about 100-1 Using Witchchar Star for the place with the other 2 winning, the dividend is about 25-1

Grandslam has been scratched!