View Full Version : Can the Umpires please bounce the ball right?
man that's like 4 goals from those pathetic bounces.
get it right.
Ford Fairlane
17 May 2008, 17:14
they're bouncing for the hawks in Tasmania. ;)
Power King
17 May 2008, 18:14
this was a serious issue
i personally will not say it cost us the match, but it had an impact on the game
____ing hell umpires can be dimwit stupid ____s at times
if you ____ up one bounce - fair enough
two within close proximity to each other - you're in the shits
three - time to throw it up for the rest of the match
surely something must be said to the afl regarding this
even if we won the bouncing was a disgrace
youd think the umpires would have the brain capacity to make the decision of throwing it up if bouncing it is an impossibility
Wouldn't have been so much of an issue if we had any midfielders defensive side of their opponents. Standing goal side when we weren't even playing a forward line if it went our way was asking for trouble.
^ Port01 on the moneh!
Bad bounces are part of footy, peeps.
Always has been always will be.
Paralowiepower
17 May 2008, 18:55
Best umpiring display all year, let the game go, spoiled by shite bounces.
Power King
17 May 2008, 19:07
^ Port01 on the moneh!
Bad bounces are part of footy, peeps.
Always has been always will be.
i'm all for trying to preserve the bounce, it's a nice sight when done properly
but why not throw it up once it's obvious that the umpire cannot bounce the ball for the day?
it's only fair for the integrity of the game
PJ Power
17 May 2008, 22:09
Don't know what to make of the umpires today - generally, I thought they were pretty good, although a couple of times, we laid some very good tackles that went unrewarded, but were penalised for "diving on" the footy.
Choco is right about one thing though - free possession in the centre-square kills a team, whether it be by an errant bounce down or a free-kick. They got alot of free possession out of the middle today and a number of easy goals came as a direct result.
Bad bounces are part of footy, peeps.
Always has been always will be.
Bollocks.
If it was a footballer, he'd get dropped to the 2's.
If it kept happening, he'd get cut from the list.
Continual bad bouncing is a sign of poor skills or incompetence. He should have cut his losses and started throwing the ball up. It was a joke there after a while.
Poor, unskilled umpiring should no be accepted as "part of footy". It was preventable and action should have been taken. It was ridiculous to watch such a pathetic effort in such a high level of the game.
Perhaps it would be acceptable in the country U17's, but not at such an elite level as the AFL.
if you ____ up one bounce - fair enough
They have the power to call the bounce back...Something they don't do often enough. If they f*** up, they should have the balls to admit it, and do it again.
They have the power to call the bounce back...
I'm pretty sure that's only in the SANFL/WAFL/whatever, anything but the AFL because they're expected to bounce it properly.
RussellEbertHandball
18 May 2008, 04:16
Maybe that's why Motlop tried to smother the umpires bounce.
I reckon the first and maybe the only other time I have seen it done was by Phil Carman in a state game for SA v WA at Footy park in 1974. I reckon Fabulous Phil either kicked the goal or a teammate kicked it as a result. Or maybe my memory is fading and it was re bounced. Definitely didn't have a free kick paid against him like Motlop.
Ford Fairlane
18 May 2008, 12:09
Anyone know the ruling on smothering the bounce? It was paid a free, but *shock, horror* we know umpires don't always get it right. I assume there's something in the rule book ... pity tho cos I think he came up with ball and was rounding on the goalsquare.
Porthos
18 May 2008, 13:07
I don't know any rules related to it, but I assume there's a reason why umpires usually gesture that they want a bit of space around them to bounce the ball.
I reckon if you let sharking the ball on the way up be done, you'd end up with no ruckmen, and with the umpire bouncing the ball being knocked over or caught up in the play about 40% of the time.
Pinepower
18 May 2008, 13:15
The umpires should be able to bounce the ball properly.
With the speed of todays game it is crucial that the bounce is right.
Just shows how incompetent the umpires are really, if they cannot master the basic skill of the game.
I'm pretty sure that's only in the SANFL/WAFL/whatever, anything but the AFL because they're expected to bounce it properly.
Nope, its allowed in the AFL too. The umpires director said they encouraged the umpires to call back bad bounces
RussellEbertHandball
20 May 2008, 03:58
Motlop decision was right: Gieschen (http://www.afl.com.au/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsid=59815)
Ben Broad
11:41 AM Mon 19 May, 2008
UMPIRES director Jeff Gieschen says the ump who penalised Port Adelaide forward Daniel Motlop in the dying minutes of Saturday’s cracking game against Hawthorn was spot-on for doing so.
Motlop was pinged for “smothering” umpire Hayden Kennedy’s bounce in the teeth of goal, not allowing the bounce to reach the height of its arc but instead attempting to gain possession off the ground before either ruckman got their hands to it.
Gieschen says Motlop was penalised under rule 15.5 (e), a section set out for “free kicks relating to umpires”.
The rule states that “a free kick shall be awarded against the player or official who intentionally, recklessly or negligently engages in conduct which affects, interferes with or prevents an umpire from performing his or her duties”.
Gieschen said he could only recall one previous occasion in his time that an umpire had been forced to penalise a team for impeding his duties, but was certain Kennedy, who free-kicked the Power forward on Saturday, had got it 100 per cent right.
“The umpire’s job in that area is to bounce the footy,” Gieschen said of the Motlop incident.
“He [Kennedy] didn’t get an opportunity for that bounce to be properly executed because it was smothered by Daniel trying to grab it before anybody else, so that’s why the free kick was paid.
“Hayden Kennedy applied a correct free kick for that situation.”
The Power had trailed by less than two kicks at the time and was pressing for a goal to help it pull off what would have been another memorable win in Tasmania.
Motlop’s attempted gather was one of the more radical moves seen on the footy field in recent times.
So there is no specific law against what Motlop did just a general one about the duty of care to the umpire. I wonder if this all encompassing rule stops a player from punching the ball away or grabbing it at 3 or 4 feet high rather than letting it get to its maximum vertex.
Ford Fairlane
20 May 2008, 09:04
It could be argued that Motlop didn't interfere with the umpire executing his duty. He bounced the ball without issue, what Motlop did was prevent the ball from elevating. Maybe he interfered with the ruck contest, but so does the third man up. And anyway, that's not what Gieschen is arguing.
I appreciate they don't want guys coming in smothering bounces willy-nilly and now they have a precedent to prevent it, but that rule doesn't really cover it. Then again, if an umpire pulled out a gun and shot the man on the mark Gieschen would probably find where it's covered in the rule book. Amazing things rule books. So adapatable.
The logical decision, given there isn't really a rule on this, would've been to recall the bounce and warn Motlop. That would've added to the drama of the ball locked in the Port forward line with less than two goals the difference, but then someone would've missed out on a bit of star time.