Umpiring

[SCGonasunnyday]

Deserves a thread.

I can't recall more one-sided umpiring at the SCG. Every soft free was paid against us and time and time again the same frees were not paid for us. The worst I remember was when one of our players was slung to the ground without the ball, text book free every game, not paid.

I'm a fan of fewer free kicks than not and would prefer umpires letting the game flow without paying a free kick every other contest. But to have soft frees paid largely only to one side and not the other was just mind blowing.

It was as if they were watching the swans players only looking for infringements.

[Industrial Fan]

Essendon 07.

[10Totti10]

Thought the same thing mate. Umpiring was terrible.

[573v30]

Essendon 07.

Lucky their influence didn't cost us the game this time around.

[ScottH]

On TV it didn't look any worse (or better) than normal.

[Big Al]

Essendon 07.

Yeah... that was the worst. Today was up there though.

[BRISWAN]

Lucky their influence didn't cost us the game this time around.

Sorry, but we were very sloppy and repeatedly gave away stupid frees.

[top40]

The most bias umpiring I have ever seen! Even worse that Round 15 2006 game against West Coast in Perth, or that 2007 Essendon game at the SCG where the boundary umpire fatally stuffed up.I just hope the Press give it SOME attention.

[Legs Akimbo]

Albeit watching stream on a 2mm x 3mm screen with players being a couple of red and white pixels, but it seemed one of those games where they were watching us more than them. It's the lack of consistency that frustrates the most.

The general standard of umpiring at the moment is as bad as I can recall.

[lwoggardner]

Watching the replay looked merely mediocre compared to at the ground. More soft frees against us than for, but most were there.

"Prior opportunity" does seem to have a different definition for the swans players though.

[Rod_]

I must admit I was one of the many that booed them (umpires) off... I have a sore throat after yelling at the green slim...

Not very becoming of me however, it was almost cheating IMO. So one sided..

It was to the point that I no longer was watching the game I was abusing the umpires.. They are ruining a good game. Umpires should not have so much impact on a game. (There but not noticed)




Rod_

[alison.z]

It was when a swans player (richards??) was going back or a mark only for the richmond player not looking at the ball to hurtle in to him and the call play on ....

unbelievable ... the richmond player didn't even attempt to get the ball and was just trying to take the man out!!!

[Matt79]

It is the incosistency today that frustrated me no end.

Richmond had the run of the green (literally) with the umps today. Every soft free went against us.

[SwansFan1972]

We get the rough end of the pineapple every week.

I tend to question myself and ask if I am just too one-eyed, but unless we are all under some kind of mind altering spell, there is clearly something amiss.

I bumped into a friend on the way out of the ground today and the first thing she said was how woeful (meaning unbalanced) the umpiring was. We can't all be having one big group delusion, so there has to be something in it. Given it was a a pretty good and exciting game, how sad that the first things we said to each other were about the three blind mice!

I watch a lot of other games also, and week after week there seems to be one side or another that needs to beat 21 on the ground. The AFL needs to stop hiding behind their ridiculous "no criticism, it hurts recruiting" excuse for shutting down all debate and acknowledge that the way they are handling the umps is doing no-one any good.

[giant]

I can think of (at least) three occasions when we kicked goals or were walking into score an easy one when the umps called it back for nonsensical frees to the Tigers. They certainly kept Richmond in the game in the first half (even the goal after the siren for a copy book spoil from LRT to rub salt) and they certainly didn't hurt their chances in the second half.

After a very good umpiring performance last week in a loss, that was a very ordinary effort even tho we snuck over the line.