Round 7: the other games. Time to get out the black texta?

[Nico]

Are the WCE worse than we were in the 90's under Buckerina?

[Thunder Shaker]

The Sunday afternoon games are Collingwood v Gold Coast and Western Bulldogs v Essendon. I'll be interested to see what sort of reaction Cody Weightman gets from the Essendon fans, after he stated that he considered staging for frees to be part of his skill set. Will the reaction be hostile every time that he goes near the ball, or will it largely be barely remembered yesterday's news. Either way, I think it's stagers like Weightman, who will cause the end of the AFL's strict interpretation of their umpire dissent rule. That is, somebody will get a free from throwing themselves on the ground under no contact whatsoever, the aggrieved defender will make some sort of diving gesture and promptly get marched 50 metres. The stager will then smugly saunter to the goal square, to be further rewarded with an easy six points. This will then lead to much after game discussion, on whether we really want to give further incentives to blatant cheats.

If such cheating was penalised more harshly, there would be less incentive to do it. Cracking down on umpire dissent without also cracking down on staging for frees has left the game vulnerable to this farce.

In soccer, it's called "simulation" and attracts a yellow card. If we apply this to the AFL, staging for a free would be penalised with a $3000 fine for a first offence, plus suspensions thereafter. In addition, simulation that's caught by the umpire (or in a review bunker) should be penalised like an interchange infringement: a free kick from the centre, plus a 50-metre penalty, or a free plus 50. That's how harsh the penalties have to be to send a message that it's a blight on the game. Finally anyone who is found guilty of a staging offence loses their eligibility for best and fairest awards, including the Brownlow, because cheating is not fair play.

[Thunder Shaker]

Are the WCE worse than we were in the 90's under Buckerina?

That's difficult to judge after only a few games. At present, I would say no. We were quite awful in the 1993 season under Buckenara due to a lack of fitness. Then Barassi took over and got the team fit, and by the end of the year we had gone from losing to bottom sides by 20 goals to losing to a top side by a point. I am forever grateful to Barassi for what he did to get the side competitive again, and I have no problems at all seeing Barassi enjoying Melbourne's current success.

West Coast is having issues because they have not had any team cohesion. Only three Eagles players have played all seven games so far. Sides like Brisbane have had about 15 players play all games. One can only make so many replacements in a side before team structure is compromised. The Eagles are also down on confidence. I expect they will get back some team cohesion and be more competitive later in the season, but I still expect them to finish last.

[liz]

A starting point might be to instruct the umpires not to pay a free kick where they see exaggerated reaction from the player, regardless of whether the actual contact/action did merit a free kick. That might start to persuade players not to actively play for free kicks, especially since doing so frequently takes them out of the next play if they don't receive the free.

Following up with fines (and shaming) for the most egregious of instances (those where there was no contact at all to warrant the reaction) might further ram the message home.

[Aprilbr]

That's difficult to judge after only a few games. At present, I would say no. We were quite awful in the 1993 season under Buckenara due to a lack of fitness. Then Barassi took over and got the team fit, and by the end of the year we had gone from losing to bottom sides by 20 goals to losing to a top side by a point. I am forever grateful to Barassi for what he did to get the side competitive again, and I have no problems at all seeing Barassi enjoying Melbourne's current success.

West Coast is having issues because they have not had any team cohesion. Only three Eagles players have played all seven games so far. Sides like Brisbane have had about 15 players play all games. One can only make so many replacements in a side before team structure is compromised. The Eagles are also down on confidence. I expect they will get back some team cohesion and be more competitive later in the season, but I still expect them to finish last.

All good points, TS. I read that WCE have not had a top 10 draft pick for 10 years! Some of that is due to their high positions most seasons, but a lot of it is deliberate - trading out draft picks to buy in ready made players like Kelly (a disastrous trade given what they gave up) and Yeo.

Compare them to us over the past 10 years. No big name signings since Lance (free agent) at the end of 2013, trading out reasonable players for draft picks (not always by choice eg Dawson) and going to the draft every year. Of course, the Academy has provided us with Heeney, Mills and Blakey which is elite talent by any measure.

[Aprilbr]

Are the WCE worse than we were in the 90's under Buckerina?

We lost 25 in a row in that period around 1993. The worst team since then was Fitzroy who in their last season of 1996 only won a single game for the season. I don't think the WCE are anywhere near as bad as either of those two sides.

It was sad to watch the death throws of a failing club with a long and proud history. I live next to Fitzroy and some of the pubs there eg Napier still have loads of Fitzroy memorabilia on the walls - they treat the move to Brisbane as the death of their Club. This contrasts with us South supporters who largely embrace the Sydney move.

[KSAS]

A starting point might be to instruct the umpires not to pay a free kick where they see exaggerated reaction from the player, regardless of whether the actual contact/action did merit a free kick. That might start to persuade players not to actively play for free kicks, especially since doing so frequently takes them out of the next play if they don't receive the free.

Following up with fines (and shaming) for the most egregious of instances (those where there was no contact at all to warrant the reaction) might further ram the message home.

Instructing umpires not to pay exaggerated free kicks is the most direct solution. As for penalties, I would look at players being penalised with demerit points. This gives flexibility to penalise points based on level of exaggeration, repeated offences which then leads to suspensions. I think this will be more of a deterrent than just fining players, considering the wide range of pay scales players are earning.

[snajik]

One of my fondest memories as a Swans supporter:

The Swans on July 19, 1987, scored 30.21 (201) in defeating the West Coast Eagles by 130 points at the SCG.

Both sides were making a claim for a spot in the finals at the time.

[707]

Agreed. There is something fascinating about watching a train wreck. I vividly recall watching the Dees being slaughtered by Geelong by 30 goals in 2011. It cost the coach his job that week. It was strangely compulsive viewing.

Incorrect, 186 points = 31 goals :-)

[Aprilbr]

Incorrect, 186 points = 31 goals :-)

It was a real shellacking then!

[Aprilbr]

One of my fondest memories as a Swans supporter:

The Swans on July 19, 1987, scored 30.21 (201) in defeating the West Coast Eagles by 130 points at the SCG.

Both sides were making a claim for a spot in the finals at the time.

I assume that was part of that great run when we walloped several clubs including Essendon, one after another. I think Richmond was in there too.

[stevoswan]

Scores level at half time but Freo's inaccurate kicking denies them what should be a healthy lead.....currently 4.7 to 5.1. Cats only scored a behind in that second quarter and that was in the first minute. Dockers should probably be leading by 2 to 3 goals.

[stevoswan]

Crows bubble has burst as the Giants put them to the sword. 59 pts down at half time.....eeek!

[stevoswan]

Cats just got their first goal in nearly 2 quarters......still 12 pts down. Freo not making the most of their dominance.

[snajik]

I assume that was part of that great run when we walloped several clubs including Essendon, one after another. I think Richmond was in there too.

That's correct. 3 200+ scorelines across three weeks, (or was it 3 30+ goal scorelines?). Essendon and Richmond were the teams and all three I think were played on the SCG. Sadly everything went horribly wrong after that run of brilliance.

Didn't see that much improvement coming from the Giants. Or is Adelaide believing the hype?