Hometown umpiring

[Owenthesaints66]

This weekend we have seen two disgracefully umpires games where the home team appeared to have cheer squad members making decisions.

Surely we are entitled to better than this!

Last night Geelong were carried over the line on the back of one head scratching decision after another.
This evening Collingwood have been mauled, although they are playing poorly. However in the first half, they could have been right in it if they got even a half a sniff from the umps.

This happens in many sports, with the Ashes series in England being another example, with Alim Dar practically cheating every innings.

It would be nice if the umpiring department came out and admit that one team got the rough end of the pineapple.

 

[mottrain]

Is this the alias account of Plugger35???

 

[Owenthesaints66]

I doubt any fair minded neutral could argue if they have watched either game.

 

[Fevola99]

Cost Collingwood a 40 point loss today

 

[Kwality]

Not just home town umpiring how about the TV commentary, extraordinary or downright disgraceful??

 

[FastLane]

Posted this in another thread- but fits here:

I held off commenting on last nights game- for fear of being labelled one-eyed (ironic-considering the lopsided freekick count)- but after watching todays game I cannot contain myself.

I have never in my life seen 2 games that have been umpired with such blatantly different rules for each team.

It is cheating- nothing more nothing less.

Stevic- last night (and in bascially every game he umpires) picks a side and gives them a ride.

Schmitt (sp?) today was responsible for giving 8- that's right 8 free against Collingwood- in the first quarter alone.

It is beyond absurd.

I am aware ranting about it on the internet is useless- yet my wife doesnt care and I need to rant!

 

[Stifler's mom]

Posted this in another thread- but fits here:

I held off commenting on last nights game- for fear of being labelled one-eyed (ironic-considering the lopsided freekick count)- but after watching todays game I cannot contain myself.

I have never in my life seen 2 games that have been umpired with such blatantly different rules for each team.

It is cheating- nothing more nothing less.

Stevic- last night (and in bascially every game he umpires) picks a side and gives them a ride.

Schmitt (sp?) today was responsible for giving 8- that's right 8 free against Collingwood- in the first quarter alone.

It is beyond absurd.

I am aware ranting about it on the internet is useless- yet my wife doesnt care and I need to rant!

Geelong and WC are so often the beneficiaries of biased umpiring.

Hence their supporters being the most defensive.

They should just say thanks.

 

[JUBJUB]

Geelong and WC are so often the beneficiaries of biased umpiring.

Hence their supporters being the most defensive.

They should just say thanks.

Here you go,Scotty giving the umps their pre-game cheque

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Thought umpiring this weekend was dreadful all around. Fremantle mauled last night, from what I saw of the Pies game today they were smashed, and the Dogs/St Kilda game was just horrifically officiated on both sides. One of the most over-umpired weekends I can remember to be honest. With the Dogs/Saints game it just felt as though they'd let one go then make up for it with a silly little soft one 20 seconds later. 131 frees paid across three games.

 

[4tone]

It will cost the AFL one season ticket holder. I think once the decision come late November for next year, Many like myself will choose spending $400 on their kids and spending more time with them as opposed to watching *******ts like Justin Sdhmitt ruin my footballing experience.

Seriously the umpires are driving masses of fans to do other s**t on the weekends. This has to stop, make the umpires sing for their supper, performance based payment, and like footballers drop them to VFL if no good, I watched yesterdays VFL, my god the standard of play may not be AFL but the umpires are almost 100% spot on.

This isn't WWE were the referees are part of the show, These morons are into themselves way to much, grandstanding holding the ball calls with the overacting HTB sweep of the arms, The controversial calls that are wrong and they it, to the momentum changer decisions, that ruin the game and possibly the end result.

Fix it today AFL.

 

[Big_Birdy]

In the WC game every free kick the Eagles got in the first quarter was there apart from one for Kennedy which was a shocker.

I know the differential over the game was large, but Collinfwood had a stinker. Its not surprisinf the Eagles had a lot more frees with 80 more possesions.

 

[strobe00]

Posted this in another thread- but fits here:

I held off commenting on last nights game- for fear of being labelled one-eyed (ironic-considering the lopsided freekick count)- but after watching todays game I cannot contain myself.

I have never in my life seen 2 games that have been umpired with such blatantly different rules for each team.

It is cheating- nothing more nothing less.

Stevic- last night (and in bascially every game he umpires) picks a side and gives them a ride.

Schmitt (sp?) today was responsible for giving 8- that's right 8 free against Collingwood- in the first quarter alone.

It is beyond absurd.

I am aware ranting about it on the internet is useless- yet my wife doesnt care and I need to rant!

Pannell was the real issue against the Cats. I don't remember seeing him give us a free, but he gave free after free to Geelong. Often for very similar incidents as the ones he ignored for us.

 

[Kwality]

In the WC game every free kick the Eagles got in the first quarter was there apart from one for Kennedy which was a shocker.

I know the differential over the game was large, but Collinfwood had a stinker. Its not surprisinf the Eagles had a lot more frees with 80 more possesions.

I watched both games on TV - the difference in free kicks hardly drew a breath at Geelong but in Collingwood game it was in discussion after 15 minutes.

Strange ? Bias? Vic centric?

 

[Armadeo]

Were there any howlers from the WCE v COL game? I only saw the Kennedy one which was dubious at best. Not sure what it was paid for. Initially I thought that the player coming from the other direction took Kennedy out a fraction after the ball got there.

 

[Kipz]

Were there any howlers from the WCE v COL game? I only saw the Kennedy one which was dubious at best. Not sure what it was paid for. Initially I thought that the player coming from the other direction took Kennedy out a fraction after the ball got there.

Dwyer "deliberate" in the first was beyond a howler

 

[im_a_lazy_sod]

Is this the alias account of Plugger35???

Nah. If it was him, he'd be banging on about how the umpiring was all pro-Freo and that Geelong should feel hard-done by, not the other way around

I watched both games on TV - the difference in free kicks hardly drew a breath at Geelong but in Collingwood game it was in discussion after 15 minutes.

Strange ? Bias? Vic centric?

Apparently the justification for it was that we were being dirty and playing the man. They hardly spoke of the extraordinary amount of frees paid in total, other than Geelong had the highest (25) amount of frees for for a half of footy since Gold Coast in round 2 (16) - which coincidentally was also a Fremantle game, this time at Subi, however

 

[Armadeo]

Dwyer "deliberate" in the first was beyond a howler

Ah the edit helped on that one

I cracked up laughing at that one. It was harsh but he didn't do much to disguise it. I thought that was Armstrong though?

 

[kickazz]

A study was once done on home ground advantage and it was shown indeed that it di have a measurable effect on favourable umpiring, so premise of OP is correct. I tend to notice it moreso with missed frees rather than the ones that are paid though. A visiting interstate side will sometime lay a tackle, and it seems with nobody to yell out 'ball' the free doesn't get paid, almost as if the ump needed the reinforcement of what he saw.

As for this week's games, well I guess they were the most recent, hence they are the 'worst we've seen in ages'. ;-P

The only one I saw was Cats v Dockers. I thought we got a fair crack of it on Saturday, I often complain that we don't get the same sort of home-town umpiring other venues get, but this time it seemed we got it. Can't recall many howlers, (apart from Jono taking a bit of a dive and the mysterious free to Sandilands in the first quarter) so I disagree that it was shocking umpiring, but little things like Hawkins getting paid frees for the 50-50 holds, stuff like that seemed to go our way this time.

It was also the first time in a while that the KP crowd had a bit of voice and mongrel to it. Coincidence? Probably not.

 

[nurries]

A study was once done on home ground advantage and it was shown indeed that it di have a measurable effect on favourable umpiring, so premise of OP is correct. I tend to notice it moreso with missed frees rather than the ones that are paid though. A visiting interstate side will sometime lay a tackle, and it seems with nobody to yell out 'ball' the free doesn't get paid, almost as if the ump needed the reinforcement of what he saw.

As for this week's games, well I guess they were the most recent, hence they are the 'worst we've seen in ages'. ;-P

The only one I saw was Cats v Dockers. I thought we got a fair crack of it on Saturday, I often complain that we don't get the same sort of home-town umpiring other venues get, but this time it seemed we got it. Can't recall many howlers, (apart from Jono taking a bit of a dive and the mysterious free to Sandilands in the first quarter) so I disagree that it was shocking umpiring, but little things like Hawkins getting paid frees for the 50-50 holds, stuff like that seemed to go our way this time.

It was also the first time in a while that the KP crowd had a bit of voice and mongrel to it. Coincidence? Probably not.

Its not the frees paid, its the ones not paid for the same circumstances

 

[kickazz]

They hardly spoke of the extraordinary amount of frees paid in total, other than Geelong had the highest (25) amount of frees for for a half of footy since Gold Coast in round 2 (16) - which coincidentally was also a Fremantle game, this time at Subi, however

It's not a coincidence, though. Fremantle play a harder, highly contested brand of footy. More contests=more frees in general.

 

[kickazz]

Its not the frees paid, its the ones not paid for the same circumstances

Exactly. I think the directive to 'let the game flow' combined with the lack of a strong crowd 'reinforcing' it makes the umpires a bit shy in paying frees to away teams sometimes. This might sound like tit-for-tat, but look also at the 'frontal contact' not paid to Jared Rivers in the Subiaco Gee v Freo game this year - I just can't see that being missed for a home crowd.

I'm not a fan of umnpire bagging/complaining, but I recon this particular aspect is fairly true.

 

[Kwality]

It's not a coincidence, though. Fremantle play a harder, highly contested brand of footy. More contests=more frees in general.

I disagree, umpiring tends to be about first to the ball rather than contested footy, e.g the whinges/whingers about Selwood always ignore he is first to the ball.

 

[kickazz]

It's not a coincidence, though. Fremantle play a harder, highly contested brand of footy. More contests=more frees in general.

I disagree, umpiring tends to be about first to the ball rather than contested footy, e.g the whinges/whingers about Selwood always ignore he is first to the ball.

I think I believe both. More contests = more frees. THose first at the contest/ball = more frees.

 

[Adam H]

Geelong and WC are so often the beneficiaries of biased umpiring.

Hence their supporters being the most defensive.

They should just say thanks.

The West Coast v Collingwood game was one of the best umpired games of the season. Finally umpires prepared to pay frees against the constant grappling defence of Collingwood.

 

[im_a_lazy_sod]

It's not a coincidence, though. Fremantle play a harder, highly contested brand of footy. More contests=more frees in general.

I can see where you are coming from - but I disagree. I don't think we are 3x more likely than Geelong to cause a free kick against (at one stage it was a 3:1 ratio free kick count), just before half time.

Especially when you look at the stats for the game:

80 to 63 tackles (Geelongs way)
150 to 141 contested possession (Freos way)
48 to 26 clearances (Freos way)

I don't have anything for first possession stats or hitouts to advantage and centre clearance stats were virtually even (11 to 10)