The umpires need to be investigated.

[bloodsbigot]

The tin foil hats are out tonight....

You truly sound like a Hawthorn supporter.

As soon as any notion of umpiring bias is brought up people throw around the word 'conspiracy' in order to shoot someone down.

Hardly anyone is suggesting Hawthorn pay the umpires off and there's a grand conspiracy against the swans. Although the trade ban we received doesn't exactly help the AFL apologists.

Most people are merely suggesting something is fishy when umpires go on holiday with Hawthorn players. At the very least the integrity of the competition is being compromised and the league needs to tweak their rules a bit.

[jono2707]

You truly sound like a Hawthorn supporter.

You should be banned forever - that is the worst, lowest insult you can throw at someone here ????????????

[RogueSwan]

You should be banned forever - that is the worst, lowest insult you can throw at someone here ??????

Woah, steady on, he didn't call you Gillon MacLachlan!

[crackedactor]

This sums up the current stage of play in the AFL perfectly. The outcry and accusations of Sydney cheating when we got Buddy, was heard many times over the sports radio stations. Obviously Victorian umps have taken this on notice as well. This is demoralizing to think we have to play our best to beat Hawthorn, yet they are given an arm chair ride. Its 4 flags in a row for them that will keep Gill quiet happy.

[Danzar]

Hey jono2707. I am not claiming any master conspiracy. It just the odds are against us and some of the officials and umpires are unconsciously swayed and then take biased actions against the Swans unknowingly due to all the noise.

My rationale?

Many more Victorian followers who have followed the game over generations on talk back radio, in the industry etc. If something goes wrong for the Swans, who in Melbourne screams about it? But if something goes wrong for one the Melbourne clubs that benefits a northern club - it goes on and on and the AFL even if they say they are immune to bias, some will be swayed by the repeated baying that the Swans are cheaters and rorters of the COLA etc.

Victorian followers see Brisbane win three premierships in a row due aided by salary cap concessions. What happens? Victorian clubs scream blue murder, it isn't fair etc. Brisbane loses the concessions starting a decade long decline.

They see Sydney win two premierships with with COLA. The see us get Franklin and Tippett despite being near top of the ladder. They (and McGuire has publicly said this) think the system is unfair because traditional clubs like St Kilda and Melbourne are decades away from a premiership due to the help being given to the non-Victorian clubs. What happens? COLA gets phased out. We get a trading ban despite losing Mummy and Malcieski to make room for Franklin and Tippet, and also losing White, Everitt and Membrey.

We get Heeney after spending years and hundreds of thousands developing him. What happens? Victorian clubs and supporters scream and they introduce a points based system.

We get Mills after trading away our highest pick for other picks - that other clubs were willing to give us for the higher pick - to get more points to allow us to get him and some other players. Victorian clubs and supporters still not happy. What is happening? Ruminations of removing the 20% discount - though this is partly due to GWS success as well.

Let's look at just the rule changes/penalties. How many have been to the detriment to the Swans (ignoring start up concessions for GWS/GC) and how many have been to the detriment to Victorian clubs?

Now the umpiring. I am not silly enough to think the umpires are cheats. But all that noise about the Swans being rorters of the COLA, doing underhand secret deals to get Buddy and Tippett. Some of that mud sticks and I think some of the umpires are unknowingly more willing to pull up a Swans player for something than a Hawks player.

Good post.