Match Thread: Swans v Demons.

[mcs]

Sick of people criticising the umps. It is a near impossible job. They don't get replays, have to see through a mass of bodies and often have to make subjective decisions re prior opportunity, genuine attempt to dispose of the ball, control of the ball in a mark, realistic attempt at a mark, distance run, distance ball travelled etc

Yes Mr Stevic.... Just kidding!

No one says they do it on purpose or it is an easy job - but imho the standard of umpiring in general is not improving and getting more inconsistent by the year. Partially driven by the obsession of the AFL with tinkering, partially driven by the ongoing unwillingess of the AFL to admit that they should have made umpires truly professional a long time ago. But also driven by the fact there are some umpires out there that individually are simply not very good at being an umpire at this level either.

I've long been a critic of the AFL for not doing enough to help the umpires out - but I do think the standard of umpiring is getting worse, markedly this season again.

And do note the criticism in this case was at 'umpiring' (I.e. the action not the people).

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What we do with the second ruck is a big issue. Sinkers just isn't good enough, McLean is not a ruckman and Reid is made of tissue paper and should never be risked in the ruck again. Maybe when Naismith is ready we play him and Hickey and drop Sinkers and McLean.

Very hard one to nut out - but its a key issue, because as the season wears on, Hickey will need more consistent support, in particular if we are in genuine contention to make finals and make a stir.

[SwanSand]

I reckon the difference was only with composure with the ball when we had it vs when they had it. That is only because of ability to absorb pressure and take the right option - comes with more games under the belt. We are on the right track - in fact more than right track.
We are not getting enough contested marks in a game of footy anywhere on the ground. We need to fix that.

[Wardy]

Yes Mr Stevic.... Just kidding!

No one says they do it on purpose or it is an easy job - but imho the standard of umpiring in general is not improving and getting more inconsistent by the year. Partially driven by the obsession of the AFL with tinkering, partially driven by the ongoing unwillingess of the AFL to admit that they should have made umpires truly professional a long time ago. But also driven by the fact there are some umpires out there that individually are simply not very good at being an umpire at this level either.

I've long been a critic of the AFL for not doing enough to help the umpires out - but I do think the standard of umpiring is getting worse, markedly this season again.

And do note the criticism in this case was at 'umpiring' (I.e. the action not the people).

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Very hard one to nut out - but its a key issue, because as the season wears on, Hickey will need more consistent support, in particular if we are in genuine contention to make finals and make a stir.

Agree with This 100% !! those of us who’ve been watching this game for over 50 years have seen the decline in umpiring over that time. And after paying $400 for a ticket to the GF in 2016 and witnessing the diabolical umpiring on display that day - I’m going to complain about umpiring if I bloody well feel like it.

[Bangalore Swans]

Papley is turning into a player I don’t admire:

- Always staging for free kicks
- Abusing umpires and giving away a 50.
- Not using teammates when they are in better position.
- On a performance level he is dropping marking opportunities and fumbling the ball.

Maybe it’s time to trade him out.

[dimelb]

Umpiring - the hardest position in the game.

The thing that surprises me is that you almost never see someone get pinged for throwing the ball. It looks like a quiet change of the rule. Not that I mind it - the game goes more quickly - but it should be official.

[Kafka's Ghost]

Great effort, though we didn't get the win. It was a good effort to get within nine points of the side I consider to be the premiership favourites.

Some positives:
* A nine-point margin is closer to the rampant Demons than any other side has come this year so far.
* We won the last quarter (by one point). Melbourne has won every other last quarter this year. We were the first side to go with them for the whole game.
* We got no injuries in the game so far as I can tell.

Spot on. A great effort, and a little more polish inside 50 would have seen a different result. Buddy looked very rusty, but neither the conditions nor the fact that May is in career-best form helped. I recall May doing a good job on him playing for the Suns.
Hayward does my head in; capable of winning the ball brilliantly, a second later he turns it straight over. The 11 point turn-around after he missed that shot proved really costly. It stopped our momentum, and gave it to the Demons.
Nevertheless, this is a team on the right track. Never gave it up for a second.

[Bangalore Swans]

Umpiring - the hardest position in the game.

The thing that surprises me is that you almost never see someone get pinged for throwing the ball. It looks like a quiet change of the rule.

Still talking about umpiring. Time for the coaches DRS challenge to come in.

[stevoswan]

* We got no injuries in the game so far as I can tell.

But I reckon Paps will have a sore nights sleep.

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Papley is turning into a player I don’t admire:

- Always staging for free kicks
- Abusing umpires and giving away a 50.
- Not using teammates when they are in better position.
- On a performance level he is dropping marking opportunities and fumbling the ball.

Maybe it’s time to trade him out.

Oh dear.....another agitator? Seriously BS, that is a strange, strange thing to say. It's BS.

[Wardy]

Papley is turning into a player I don’t admire:

- Always staging for free kicks
- Abusing umpires and giving away a 50.
- Not using teammates when they are in better position.
- On a performance level he is dropping marking opportunities and fumbling the ball.

Maybe it’s time to trade him out.

You are joking surely???

[mcs]

Papley is turning into a player I don’t admire:

- Always staging for free kicks
- Abusing umpires and giving away a 50.
- Not using teammates when they are in better position.
- On a performance level he is dropping marking opportunities and fumbling the ball.

Maybe it’s time to trade him out.

There is pretty much a crazy post a week I reckon - this one wins this week

Still talking about umpiring. Time for the coaches DRS challenge to come in.

Mamma Mia, here we go again.

[COB]

Umpiring is just crap in general I think!

Agree with This 100% !! those of us who’ve been watching this game for over 50 years have seen the decline in umpiring over that time. And after paying $400 for a ticket to the GF in 2016 and witnessing the diabolical umpiring on display that day - I’m going to complain about umpiring if I bloody well feel like it.

No denying that we got a bad deal in 2016 gf and that umpiring probably is worse than 50 years ago but it is also a MUCH harder game to umpire plus their weren't 6 million camera angles and replays to reveal whether a decision was correct or not. Give it a go at a decent level of footy with the crowd roaring before you go to hard at them. Agree with MCS that umps need more support and maybe should go full-time.

[barry]

Why does sinclair go for marks one handed, in the rain?

[liz]

I didn't think there was much wrong with the umpiring - at least in terms of it being biased. It was a lot better than some other games this year. I'd probably have paid McLean one or both of his very close "contested marks" but I guess that's with one eye shut.

At half-time I feared we were going to be beaten convincingly. We seemed a bit timid, too respectful of the Demons in that second quarter. But excellent second half lift by our midfielders, especially.

I thought the defence played well at ground level but clearly we lost it in the air at the back. Our forward line was well-blanketed by the Dees' defence, so that's something to work on.

Given we are still in a learning / development phase, that wasn't too bad an outcome. But when I say learning/development, that's a short term thing. I hope they can made considerable strides within this season. Remember we were hardly playing premiership football at the midway point of 2005. That's not to say I'm expecting a premiership this year but I think we've shown that we didn't just get an early break on less prepared teams at the start of the year. We can grind it out with the best. We just need to work on that polish, and hope our younger mids gradually gain more confidence in their ability as the season wears on.

[Mel_C]

* We got no injuries in the game so far as I can tell.

The radio said that Rowbottom limped off the ground towards the end of the game after he was caught holding the ball. They mentioned his knee because of the strapping.

[Bangalore Swans]

You are joking surely???

I’m sorry. I don’t like it when players abuse umpires and give away
50s.

This happened didn’t it?