Umpiring in general

[Matt79]

Perhaps it is just my one-eyed point of view, however, IMO we are viewed differently by umpires.

The big standout is the lack of 50/50 decisions we seem to get compared to the opposition...the inconsistency drives me nuts.

Here are the last 6 matches and are frees for and against...

Verses FOR AGAINST

Melbourne 17 29
Richmond 14 16
West Coast 15 19
Carlton 14 27
Fremantle 16 20
Geelong 26 32

[stellation]

You should have included the total for dramatic effect!

[Glenn]

Ended up on the wrong side of the count 29-17 today IIRC, Meridith leading the way in the yellow maggot stakes.
How hard is it to see a push in the back when it happens right in front of you, and then the softest frees for Melb.
Melb on the end of some dodgy get squares as well, especially for a deliberate OOB when they picked up 40m's from a clearing kick

[Matt79]

You should have included the total for dramatic effect!

OK.....

FOR AGAINST

102 143

[ugg]

The inconsistency is just frustrating. Similar free kicks that are paid to the opposition aren't awarded to us. The Wheatley in the back against ROK is a good example of it today.

[liz]

Forget who got the better or worse of it today. (The Dees got loads of soft frees, but there were periods where we got a string of them too.)

I thought today was just an all-round dead ordinary umpiring performance. The umpires seeming forgot that a good umpire is one who isn't noticed.

A good illustration of umpiring gone mad was when McVeigh marked inside 50 on an angle, squared up the ball to a free man almost in front of goal, and the umpire pulled him back because he was two inches off his line if he was taking a shot for goal.

[anniswan]

In our local U16s game today they allocated us with 2 umpires that would have been lucky to have been 14. They were intimidated and didn't pay obvious frees as they appeared scared. The game could have easily turned nasty but luckily didn't.

My son took what would have been a spekky, but dropped it, and they awarded the mark, we were in disbelief, but another kid was coathangered and they called play on.

Umpiring is hard and its all subjective at the end of the day. but the inconsistancy is frustrating

[Hazcam]

In our local U16s game today they allocated us with 2 umpires that would have been lucky to have been 14. They were intimidated and didn't pay obvious frees as they appeared scared. The game could have easily turned nasty but luckily didn't.

My son took what would have been a spekky, but dropped it, and they awarded the mark, we were in disbelief, but another kid was coathangered and they called play on.

Umpiring is hard and its all subjective at the end of the day. but the inconsistancy is frustrating

Were the maggots wearing white or yellow today? I guess they should be commended, someone's got to do it, and if no one wants to at club level then the quality will be poor in the AFL level.

I think you should complain to Kevin Bartlett and the rules committee or at least ask them for an explanation of the "coat hanger" interpretation!

[cruiser]

Paul Roos isnt happy about it either: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/foo...E19742,00.html

[reigning premier]

A bad umpiring decision never cost a game.....

Let's just all get over it and let it go.....

[floppinab]

Maybe it's a little bit of a blind perception but I think we've had a better run this year compared to the previous 2 or 3 (last Sat. notwithstanding). I was thinking at the while listening to game and Luffy popping up with the free kick count every five minutes that I'm glad they're giving is a crappy run against crappy opposition. Let's hope they're over it by the time we get to the Lions and Pies in a couple of weeks.

[Danzar]

A bad umpiring decision never cost a game.....

Let's just all get over it and let it go.....

But 'umpiring in general' certainly has, which is the point of this thread (I'll also add that there's nothing to get over; no one's really jumping up and down).

In the context of yesterday's game, it's pretty hard to say whether we were or were not over-policed.

The Dees never took the game to us. They were hardly in the contest, were atrocious at manning up (the amount of space we had was mind boggling) and were hesitant to make a contest and hold us accountable.

So, it's natural to see a free kick count go against us (hey, we won anyway).

The one time this year I truly believed we lost due to umpiring was against the Bombers; not because of that incorrectly allowed goal that was kicked from OOB. It was the umpiring in general that killed us. The biggest umpiring danger comes from being over-policed compared to the other team. Every call can be technically correct but when the same rules aren't applying to the opposition, it's so difficult to settle and build momentum. Your team then plays poorly and loses. It's all well and good to say that if your team had played well, then the umpiring wouldn't have mattered but that really only applies to outright dodgy calls. Being over-policed can actually make good teams play bad on the day.

[reigning premier]

Call it a pre-emptive strike....

Just didn't want all the whingers to start moaning on how we're always ripped by the umpires....

As for yesterday, well the free kick count matche dthe possession. We had it all day and the only way they could get the ball was via a free kick!!!

And the Bummers game??? I reckon us playing the first and/or the second quarter would have made more of an impact to the result than one dodgy decision in the last 2 minutes...

[Danzar]

Call it a pre-emptive strike....
And the Bummers game??? I reckon us playing the first and/or the second quarter would have made more of an impact to the result than one dodgy decision in the last 2 minutes...

Ahhh, dude, read my post again. I wasn't talking about the OOB call.

[reigning premier]

Ahhh, dude, read my post again. I wasn't talking about the OOB call.

Fair call......

But We also played like Narwee under 21's 3rds for the first and second quarters.... Considering the margin, I still think THAT would have made more difference to the end result...