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During the Collingwood game there was a period of about 5 minutes half way through the 3rd quarter when the umpires completely lost control of the match. I don't recall the specific events because my brain was going into meltdown, but there was about 5 contentious Holding the Ball decisions in a row and not one person in my immediate vicinity had any idea what the Hell was going on. When is the AFL going to wake up and realise that the majority of umpires a) do not understand the 'holding the ball' rule or the 'incorrect disposal' rule and b) that an entire review is needed on the way the game is adjudicated. I'm reaching the point where I find some games unwatchable because of the embarrassing way in which they are umpired. I've been following footy for 27 years and some decisions still have me confounded.
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Damn that Sorcerer! Twenty gold pieces and I'm wankered on rohypnol! -
Whatever the interpretation, it's just too random. Just when you think the trend is that it's OK to drop the ball in a tackle someone gets done for it. -
Complete lack of consistency.
Sometimes prior opportunity matters, sometimes it doesn't.
Sometimes you get time to dispose of it, sometimes you don't.
Sometimes when the ball is knocked clear it's play on, sometimes it's dropping the ball.
Sometimes you can try to break through a pack and it's holding the ball, sometimes it's a ball up.
Sometimes you can dive on the ball and force a ball up, sometimes it's a free.Captain Logic is not steering this tugboat.
"[T]here are things that matter more and he's reading and thinking about them: heaven, reincarnation. Life and death are the only things that are truly a matter of life and death. Not football."Comment
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could not BELIEVE some of the calls.....
i dont think ive ever shouted at the tv so much
my mates mum thought i was crazyComment
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With this holding the ball rule and the hands in the back rule it's been a pretty hard year to enjoy watching AFL. Guys busting there guts to win possession of the footy first are penalised. The hands in back rule should revert to a stronger interpretation of push in the back. I always thought Hall got away with a lot using his hands in the back of defenders in front of him. (But rarely gets anything back the other way!)Comment
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One of the more comical calls i've witnessed is when a player is immediately tackled with no prior opportunity and the ball is held with one arm and no possible chance of releasing or getting rid of the ball. The ump will magically award HTB and while the player questions the ump, his response is: "You had one arm free."
Go figure?"In some ways we?re less predictable to ourselves and sometimes that can be detrimental because we don?t really know where we?re going" - P.RoosComment
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I can no longer work out what constitutes "holding the ball" anymore. The interpretation seems to change every week. As for "hands in the back" i give up. It seems a player only has to touch the back of an opponent to be pinged. The umpiring situation is just ridiculous and is ruining the game for we spectators.Red & White forever.Comment
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You have to remember that a player can kick the ball as well as hand pass it, when tackled.
That is, if the arm you have free is the one holding the ball, the umpire must decide whether the player has the opportunity to kick the ball. If he does have that opportunity and doesnt kick it, then its holding the ball.
Having said that, I agree that the umpires' interpretations this year have been very inconsistant . And, to throw the AFL's words back at it, inconsistant umpiring brings the game into disrepute.Comment
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One of the problems for HtB and the Swans, is that many of our players do one of the following two things when tackled:
- do nothing and wait for the ball up
- do a poor imitation of attempting to get rid of it
In both cases the umpire will frequently call HtB, even with lack of prior opportunity.Captain Logic is not steering this tugboat.
"[T]here are things that matter more and he's reading and thinking about them: heaven, reincarnation. Life and death are the only things that are truly a matter of life and death. Not football."Comment
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But if a player does try to break a tackle and fails, even if he has absolutely no prior opportunity before being wrapped up, the umpires will often take that as a sign of HTB. Hall has been pinged like this a couple of times - not this season but I remember a couple from last year. Basically it's a lottery what call the umpires will make in many cases.
I don't think the Swans are overly hard done by with HTB decisions. We get some tough ones against us but we've also had a fair few dodgy ones go our way where O'Keefe and JB, in particular, have been able to wrap up an opponent in our forward 50 and drag the ball back in themselves before winning a free kick.
The whole approach of the umpires needs to be looked at, IMO, in the context of not unduly penalising a player who is trying to make the play unless he really does have time to dispose but instead tries to take opponents on.Comment
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Yes, they give those too. I didn't say they were consistent.
Agreed. Still, I think they should consider prior opportunity in a team context too.The whole approach of the umpires needs to be looked at, IMO, in the context of not unduly penalising a player who is trying to make the play unless he really does have time to dispose but instead tries to take opponents on.Captain Logic is not steering this tugboat.
"[T]here are things that matter more and he's reading and thinking about them: heaven, reincarnation. Life and death are the only things that are truly a matter of life and death. Not football."Comment
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I thought the non HTB where the Pies player was swung around 360 degrees, buried and then a second swans player came in over the top was crazier than anything considering some of the ones we were getting pinged for.I wish my weed was EMO so it would cut itselfComment
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