Under the same interpretation as Saturday night, yes I think that would be a free kick. Fletch could have tried to keep it in, i.e hit it left or right or pick it up and handball to team mate Pears who was right there. Harsh, but I don’t mind the rule.
But the rule wasn’t in force then so he didn’t have to make that decision.
It’s a moot point.
Correct.
The irony of the Tigers faithful’s butthurt over the deliberate rushed behind. We likely wouldn’t have a rule had we first not had the Joel Bowden incident. Clarko is on record as saying that incident (where he walked through 2 or three rushed behinds took time off the clock and maintained possession for the team), was the impetus for their 2008 tactic of kicking it through if they couldn’t find a target they liked.
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Spot on. Was searching for that incident today to educate my son on the matter.
Apologies in advance for any anger caused
I didn’t see it yesterday. Thoughts?
There was some atrocious assisting of gws.
Among the multiple shocking decisions yesterday, the most perplexing for me was the one against Colyer right before the final siren.
Has there been an interpretation announced that when a player handballs in front of himself he is deemed to still be in possession? If so, I have missed it, and so too must Colyer have missed it.
He, clear as day, handballed the ball out in front and attempted to run back onto it around his GWS opponent, who tackled him without the ball in an attempt to stop him from getting away. Somehow the umpire didn’t see it that way. Truly amazing.
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I thought Tippa standing still whilst a gws player fell over the top of him whilst TBell took a mark, being called a block, was the real turning point in the game. That was one of three instances where we had our tails up and then the umpires made inexplicable calls against us, and we either lost momentum, or were left flat footed by a “play on” call.
I don’t think it was coincidence.
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Most perplexing?
There are too many rules where it’s possible to be completely arbitrary about, that being one of them.
With the “sliding rule”, no-one knows who the free kick is going to…too many times you think “below the knees” and they give it the other way.
Too many times, the “chopping the arms” is completely ignored, and like yesterday, one gets pulled from somewhere up one umpire’s upper intestine. Three umpires let it go, one thinks it’s a free, and the others are too gutless to tell him to get back in his box. It wasn’t punching the arms, the ball ended in the grandstand.
Advantage call…if players stop, call it back. Of course, I can see how that could be abused where players are coached to stop if they know it’s against them.
Toby Greene ducks into a tackle, we’re told that constitutes prior opportunity, but they ball it up, and they goal.
I don’t even mind the deliberate OOB or deliberate behind rules, but it shouldn’t be a free if the ball is escorted out à la Kelly-Simpson early this year. Nor do I mind hands in the back.
And this isn’t even mentioning the horrid non-frees to Goddard or Merrett in the last, the awful blocking free against Walla or the non-mark that went 25 metres.
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Not only that, but TBell had hit a target with his kick (forgotten who) in space about 55-60m out with an open paddock ahead.
The rule is that you can’t go out of your way to impede an opponent from competing in the marking contest unless you are attempting to play the ball yourself. If you happen to be in the way, and have not deliberately gone there to impede an opponent, then you shouldn’t be penalised. Tippa was running to where he thought the ball was going and almost ran into TBell taking the mark, and had stopped and braced for contact from TBell or anyone else. He clearly wasn’t trying to shepherd anyone away to protect TBell.
The other horrendous decision was the non holding the ball against Shaw about 35m out from our goal, when he paused with the ball to pick an option, and was tackled from behind, with the ball being knocked out of his hands. Clear prior opportunity and failure to dispose. Easy shot at goal gone begging.
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Once again in the freemantle game this evening 1 umpire called a duck play on the other gave a free kick same as the Stanton 3/4 time incident.
Now if that along with the toby greene ducking incident tells you that the umpiring department has no farking idea…its pretty simple if the man in the street understands the ducking your head rule yet the umpires cant!~
3 umpires is enough why have 4 and get 4 different interpretations!
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The rules are ridiculous and some are even a contradiction…
Take a “block” like the one of Tippas, yes it was a crap call, but the rule itself is strange, as if you hip and shoulder someone off of a loose ball it’s all good, yet do it before a marking contest and it’s a free. I’m sure it used to be ok if the ball was within 5 metres?
We all know holding the ball / incorrect disposal / prior opportunity is plain broken.
It hurts my head to even think about our rules / umpiring these days.
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Pretty certain they called advantage and play on to GWS and when they stuffed it up, they called it back and allowed them to take the original free kick. There were so many “unlucky” calls (and/or non-calls) that went against us, you have to wonder whether luck played any part whatsoever.
Luck played no part imo. I had no problems with umpiring last week, nor the week before. But sometimes it is just so off and seemingly so biased you do have to wonder.
And I am of the firm belief that the afl does not want EFC anywhere near a finals series until the 12 have gone.
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going from memory i think Tip blocked Mummy, a bloke who ways about 120KG and is constantly poleaxing blokes at will.
the other way the rule is interpreted differently is when you shepherd a ball through for a goal, it never gets paid as a block.
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Surprised this doesn’t get more scrutiny - Greene deliberately dropped his knees to try get the high contact, should have been HTB, then resulted in a goal. Proves he is an absolute dog of a player and arguably sealed the game for GWS.
What is the rule on this? I know ducking won’t get you a free, but is it to the point where that is your prior and if you don’t dispose then that’s htb? That’s what I was yelling at the tv yesterday anyway.
The umpire made up a free kick to give GWS a shot on goal at 3/4 time yesterday.
That goal cost us from really being in the game in the end.