The "FFS umpiring, FFS" thread

I just hate the farrcking magots…I dont care who they are.

They are like auditors…no mates and are angry at everyone about it

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I have been told that the holding ball rules have been changed. Essentially if you do not have prior opportunity and get tackled then you can get rid of it however you like - including dropping the ball etc. as long as you are trying to dispose of the ball it doesn’t matter how you dispose of it.

Apparently there was a briefing to all clubs about the rule change last season but only a third of clubs actually attended. One of which was the bulldogs who use the rule to their advantage and essentially throw the ball away when tackled without giving a free away - provided there was no prior opportunity.

The focus is on prior opportunity.

And shoot KB.

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That IS the rule (not interpretation) and has been so for many years.

Whether it’s applied as written (every time) is a different question, of course.

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I didn’t realise that the rule had been changed. Based on what I heard the old dropping the ball or illegal disposal essentially doesn’t apply if there was no prior opportunity.

no it happened way before that it is the reason James mentioned it he knew it was only a matter of time before some from the crowd did something stupid the tension at some games was terrible

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it is now interpreted did he take one or two steps did he take the man on etc the excuse changes when ever they feel like it

I remember one Anzac Day game where we got 6 free kicks for the whole game & 3 of those were for out on the full !! we gave away about 22 all I can say is Collingwood were ■■■■■■ good at not infringing in that game…the next week of course they gave away about 21 frees !!! not rigged wanna bet !!

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In most people’s jobs there are unspoken things that they know their boss or organisation is trying to achieve. They know that it would be good for them if they help achieve that outcome and bad for them if they contribute to that outcome not happening.

I am sure that the AFL is not stupid enough to explicitly instruct the umpires on what outcome they would like in any particular game. For most games they wouldn’t care, however there are some games where the AFL has a strong interest in getting a particular outcome. In those cases the umpires, along with the vast majority of the public know what the AFL’s preferred outcome is.

It is just human nature that, within the bounds of what they can arguably justify, the umpires would try to assist in getting that outcome.

Cases in point:
The last Grand Final - everyone wanted the Dogs to win. Surprise, surprise, they got an armchair ride early on, until they were well on top. Then there were some blatant soft calls the other way in the dying minutes to even the stats up once the preferred outcome was locked in.

Back in the early days of the saga, in 2013 when Essendon was flying and this was a huge problem for the AFL. We had a game where we got just 3 frees (not counting OOB on the full) and lost badly (against Hawthorn I think). Next week we got a similar free kick count and our bubble burst. You would have to believe in the tooth fairy to believe that that was just random “bad umpiring”.

As we have seen with the saga, the AFL will use any tools in their arsenal to get results they want. Remember the contorted, confected Match Review decision that ensured Barry Hall could play in the Swans premiership back in 2007 after he had hit Matt McGuire behind play in the preliminary final.

Why would umpiring be totally objective and independent when nothing else the AFL controls is?

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It wasn’t until 2009 till we actually had more frees than Collingwood on ANZAC day! Overall they are +70 up on the day. Again to Heffsgirl (I think it was) who said her husband thought Collingwood were hard done by - they are used to getting looked after.

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Exactly… James just said what everyone else had been saying for quite a while.

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Its also important to remember the agenda the AFL had against the Swans after Colless made comments about Fitzpatrick & also the way they pinched buddy from under the AFL’s noses when they wanted him at GWS. They friggin banned the Swans from trading for 2 years W.T.F??? Now I think it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving club after Sydney had been spoon fed for years on & off the field but if it had been any other club then I have no doubt it would attract far more attention. Banning a club from trading for no defined breach of any rule is corruption. The umpiring in last years GF was almost as blatant.

I guess 1 thing we can all agree on is that umpires have a lot of ability to impact games & possibly more so than any other team sport. This is not something I believe lovers of the game wanted to happen & it is very much the AFL’s doing.

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But you have to change the rules when someone has an advantage that doesn’t suit your overarching agenda.

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My dear ol Dad was convinced there was a conspiracy against us. He passed that view on to me and my siblings in the '70’s. I, in turn, have passed that view on to my children also.

■■■■ em, its a conspiracy!
No, i’m not paranoid!! What are you looking at?!!

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Id love to see the competition free kick count since Hirdy’s little outburst on the footy show (2001?)

This game was ok, minus the 3rd Qtr.

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especially after the club had lodged several complaints about that umpire over the course of many months …it didn’t change much but it made the AFL aware that some of the people don’t just blindly follow their bull

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just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you LOL …actually my mum can trace the umpire’s & AFL’s ( then VFL) hatred of us back to them rigging the grand final between us and Melbourne when the put John Coleman out because he hit a guy who had hit him in the balls after bashing him in the back all day …of course essendon lost that grannie

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Yes! That story was told many times by my Dad. He never got over it, and therefore, neither have I.

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to save all the fricken angst in the crowd, has it ever crossed the AFLs mind to share with the fans these videos they give to the clubs?

It’d make it a hell of a lot easier to figure out what the frick is going on.

Remember that time against the swans when we all booed the umpire (Pannell) who got KO’d, then a couple of minutes later we don’t get a free when Hurley had his head caved in? Then straight after they got a cheap free kick in front of goal.

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