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Gieschen, this is no laughing matter
31 May 2004 Herald Sun
EITHER Jeff Gieschen or I have it badly wrong.
Gieschen's umpires are having a negative impact on the way football has been played with such massive appeal for so long.
Not all the time, but certainly too often. Saturday night at Telstra Dome was the latest example.
Brett Allen, Brett Rosebury and Shaun Ryan umpired as if they had been assigned to a running gangland war.
Only 29 free kicks for the night, yet frees and 50m penalties that seemed inappropriate in a body-contact sport, one in which the discipline of the participants is generally outstanding.
The main source of player frustration is the technical nature of so many penalties, the variation in interpretations on rules such as "prior opportunity", and a lack of understanding of the player mentality.
A vigorous attempt to spoil, an aggressive tackle, a brief push and shove, the odd angry response, incidental contact ? they're all part of this game.
All of the above were deemed unacceptable at Telstra Dome on Saturday night. Yet, at the same time, Sydney's Barry Hall was all but molested at the SCG.
We can't be sure, but Hall's frustration at his failure to win a free kick might have been a a major factor in whatever action put Chris Grant down behind play.
Veteran Roo Glenn Archer said yesterday he had grown out of becoming upset by umpiring decisions as his career progressed. Until recent times.
"If I could air my thoughts about the umpires, I'd get a $2 million fine, not a $20,000 fine," he told Garry Lyon on The Sunday Footy Show.
Seven of the 22 goals in the Collingwood-Roos game came from free kicks.
Even allowing for the principle that free kicks should be paid whenever and wherever they occur, that's a lot. The seven other games produced a total of 21 goals from penalties.
What Saturday night's umpiring style at Telstra Dome does is encourage the insidious habit of staging for free kicks.
Collingwood's staging was a blight on the game. Not just Saturday night's game, the game.
When Chris Tarrant conned a free kick that resulted in a goal in the third quarter, he embarrassed himself and the umpires.
Ironically, it was Magpie coach Michael Malthouse who said just five weeks ago he detested the practice of players staging for free kicks.
"It's a pet hate of mine when players take a dive," the coach said.
"I absolutely detest it. I think it's cheap. I can't stomach it. If it ever happens, the player knows about fairly quickly." Hopefully, Mick will be faithful to his word.
Hopefully, also, Gieschen will use a tape of yesterday's Brisbane-Melbourne match to show the rest of his umpires how a game can be controlled without being heavy-handed and officious.
A sound performance all round. At one point, Hayden Kennedy was content to look on when Brad Scott and Peter Vardy tested each other out, physically and verbally.
It was animated, more animated than Tarrant and Shannon Watt had been on Saturday night, yet it didn't bring a free kick or 50m penalty. It wasn't threatening, nor did it harm the game's image.
It's an emotional game, football. Where's the harm in players briefly airing their emotions? They're not robots, nor are they going to go over the top because they know they will fall foul of their coach, their teammates.
Being in charge is one thing; being excessively strict is something else.
That goes for the AFL, too. Surely Matthew Richardson won't be pinged again for whatever he did with his finger walking off Subiaco Oval on Saturday. It showed him to be human and disappointed, nothing more. It did not damage the game's image in the slightest.
Let's all lighten up a little
31 May 2004 Herald Sun
EITHER Jeff Gieschen or I have it badly wrong.
Gieschen's umpires are having a negative impact on the way football has been played with such massive appeal for so long.
Not all the time, but certainly too often. Saturday night at Telstra Dome was the latest example.
Brett Allen, Brett Rosebury and Shaun Ryan umpired as if they had been assigned to a running gangland war.
Only 29 free kicks for the night, yet frees and 50m penalties that seemed inappropriate in a body-contact sport, one in which the discipline of the participants is generally outstanding.
The main source of player frustration is the technical nature of so many penalties, the variation in interpretations on rules such as "prior opportunity", and a lack of understanding of the player mentality.
A vigorous attempt to spoil, an aggressive tackle, a brief push and shove, the odd angry response, incidental contact ? they're all part of this game.
All of the above were deemed unacceptable at Telstra Dome on Saturday night. Yet, at the same time, Sydney's Barry Hall was all but molested at the SCG.
We can't be sure, but Hall's frustration at his failure to win a free kick might have been a a major factor in whatever action put Chris Grant down behind play.
Veteran Roo Glenn Archer said yesterday he had grown out of becoming upset by umpiring decisions as his career progressed. Until recent times.
"If I could air my thoughts about the umpires, I'd get a $2 million fine, not a $20,000 fine," he told Garry Lyon on The Sunday Footy Show.
Seven of the 22 goals in the Collingwood-Roos game came from free kicks.
Even allowing for the principle that free kicks should be paid whenever and wherever they occur, that's a lot. The seven other games produced a total of 21 goals from penalties.
What Saturday night's umpiring style at Telstra Dome does is encourage the insidious habit of staging for free kicks.
Collingwood's staging was a blight on the game. Not just Saturday night's game, the game.
When Chris Tarrant conned a free kick that resulted in a goal in the third quarter, he embarrassed himself and the umpires.
Ironically, it was Magpie coach Michael Malthouse who said just five weeks ago he detested the practice of players staging for free kicks.
"It's a pet hate of mine when players take a dive," the coach said.
"I absolutely detest it. I think it's cheap. I can't stomach it. If it ever happens, the player knows about fairly quickly." Hopefully, Mick will be faithful to his word.
Hopefully, also, Gieschen will use a tape of yesterday's Brisbane-Melbourne match to show the rest of his umpires how a game can be controlled without being heavy-handed and officious.
A sound performance all round. At one point, Hayden Kennedy was content to look on when Brad Scott and Peter Vardy tested each other out, physically and verbally.
It was animated, more animated than Tarrant and Shannon Watt had been on Saturday night, yet it didn't bring a free kick or 50m penalty. It wasn't threatening, nor did it harm the game's image.
It's an emotional game, football. Where's the harm in players briefly airing their emotions? They're not robots, nor are they going to go over the top because they know they will fall foul of their coach, their teammates.
Being in charge is one thing; being excessively strict is something else.
That goes for the AFL, too. Surely Matthew Richardson won't be pinged again for whatever he did with his finger walking off Subiaco Oval on Saturday. It showed him to be human and disappointed, nothing more. It did not damage the game's image in the slightest.
Let's all lighten up a little
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