Roast Statement on Umpires

[The Punter]

Considering the consistently detrimental effect the AFL officials have on St Kilda's performance every week, I think, that in order to save time, it should now be assumed that every post I make on any issue will also include a statement on umpires.

Therefore I have included such a statement in my signature.

Whenever reading a post by me on this site, please take time to include this statement on umpires before moving on.

End communication.

 

[Squizz]

One of my biggest bugbears in watching footy is the umpires paying the bulk of 50/50s (and sometimes inventing frees altogether) to the team playing the prettier footy, rather than paying the obvious ones and umpiring consistently - between each other and even between quarters!.

I rarely watch AFL games that don't involve St Kilda, as when I start seeing some bias creep in I lose my s**t fairly quickly.

Mind you, the sooner the players are directed to stop flapping their arms like seagulls for frees, the better.

 

[Mitho]

One of my biggest bugbears in watching footy is the umpires paying the bulk of 50/50s (and sometimes inventing frees altogether) to the team playing the prettier footy, rather than paying the obvious ones and umpiring consistently - between each other and even between quarters!.

I rarely watch AFL games that don't involve St Kilda, as when I start seeing some bias creep in I lose my s**t fairly quickly.

Mind you, the sooner the players are directed to stop flapping their arms like seagulls for frees, the better.

Absolutely this.

I've said 2 things about umpires since I was a kid watching the footy.

1. A well umpired game is one where you cannot recall an umpiring decision. Good or bad, but lets be honest, we rarely remember good ones. Keep the whistle away unless poor Armo (insert own fav player) has had his head clean taken off his shoulders, or unquestionably dropped the ball mid tackle.

2. An umpire will NEVER change his decision, ever. So if you do get a bad call. Hand the ball over and move on. End of story.

 

[THEROO 09]

Lets face it fella's we have had a prick of a run ever since Grant Thomas told them to leave their EGO'S in the change rooms.Over sized jockeys that's all they are.

 

[Squizz]

An umpire will NEVER change his decision, ever. So if you do get a bad call. Hand the ball over and move on. End of story.

Agree. Giving away 50 is almost inexcusable. Except Kosi's yesterday!

For all of the complaints and eye-rolling by the Saints boys on Friday (admittedly as they were being butt-molested), it didn't get any better. Save the energy and hit the next contest.

 

[Squizz]

Lets face it fella's we have had a prick of a run ever since Grant Thomas told them to leave their EGO'S in the change rooms.

I had the YEAH!!! ... and then "ooohhhh, we're gonna pay for that" experience within minutes of each other (after hearing his comments).

The Schneider clap proved that they can bring bias to games.

 

[Plugger35]

It's getting to the stage where there is a free kick paid for almost every contest now, most of them soft or imaginary. So frustrating to watch, I don't know why they can't just let the play go and just pay the obvious frees.

What makes it even worse is when the umpires pay soft frees one way and not the other way like last Friday night. When that happens the umpiring can influence results, especially when they pay soft frees in front of goal like did for Richmond.

Lets face it fella's we have had a prick of a run ever since Grant Thomas told them to leave their EGO'S in the change rooms.Over sized jockeys that's all they are.

You wonder if the umpires still bear a grudge against us for what Grant Thomas said. You'd think they wouldn't since he's no longer at St Kilda but who knows. The umpiring we've received since Watters took over has been worse than I've ever seen and I can't recall him blasting the umpires in public, even though I wouldn't blame him if he did.

 

[Armitage2Riewoldt]

Seriously if we get the rough end against Essendon again I really fear for myself and my mate.

We'll probably be fighting c**** in the crowd.

 

[saint_larry]

So far this year we've been pinged for 11 frees in our defensive 50, and received 1 in our forward 50.
Pretty much every 50-50 decision within the arcs have gone against us.
Irritating.

Things surely will even out in time.
Having an actual home ground advantage could help.

 

[The Punter]

If the umpire doesn't get feedback from the aggrieved player, he'll never get it. It's actually about getting the next decision right.

Two times in two games we've had inexcusably bad decisions at key points in the game that have clearly swung momentum at those moments. Stanley's play on and Roberton's holding the man against GC, the Stanley non-mark against Richmond. And there was the too-high against Polo v Hawthorn last year, another non-mark for Polo v Collingwood in 2011, and last year against Collingwood the comedy that was Milne v O'Brien.

As the AFL continues to introduce more judgement calls, making the game more and more difficult to adjudicate, the quality of the umpiring will never improve. Considering the difficulty of their work, they should be full time.

Players also get reputations, which in some cases may be well earned. But that reputation doesn't seem to hurt Joel Selwood, but a similar reputation hurts David Armitage. At the end of the day, the only difference between those two players is how good they are, so in effect, the umpires are star-copulating. Riewoldt has a reputation he hasn't earned, but he was superb on Friday night and it didn't feel that special. Another reason Riewoldt's in the same class of Saint as Baldock, Harvey & Stewart and that's all.

In the final analysis, football isn't diving: it shouldn't come with an added degree of difficulty, because it's bloody tough enough as it is.

(Full disclosure - I occasionally umpire reserves ammos footy.)

 

[Tombowler]

If the umpire doesn't get feedback from the aggrieved player, he'll never get it. It's actually about getting the next decision right.

That gives too much credit for not being egotistical * pejorative*'s. The 'feedback' too often results in an offended umpire being even harsher, or puts the next 50/50 call beyond all doubt... Nup. Better to walk away.

 

[goodie23]

As long as we have amateur umpires, we're pretty much guaranteed amateur performances

 

[tbarker]

If the umpire doesn't get feedback from the aggrieved player, he'll never get it. It's actually about getting the next decision right.

Two times in two games we've had inexcusably bad decisions at key points in the game that have clearly swung momentum at those moments. Stanley's play on and Roberton's holding the man against GC, the Stanley non-mark against Richmond. And there was the too-high against Polo v Hawthorn last year, another non-mark for Polo v Collingwood in 2011, and last year against Collingwood the comedy that was Milne v O'Brien.

As the AFL continues to introduce more judgement calls, making the game more and more difficult to adjudicate, the quality of the umpiring will never improve. Considering the difficulty of their work, they should be full time.

Players also get reputations, which in some cases may be well earned. But that reputation doesn't seem to hurt Joel Selwood, but a similar reputation hurts David Armitage. At the end of the day, the only different between those two players is how good they are, so in effect, the umpires are star-copulating. Riewoldt has a reputation he hasn't earned, but he was superb on Friday night and it didn't feel that special. Another reason Riewoldt's in the same class of Saint as Baldock, Harvey & Stewart and that's all.

In the final analysis, football is diving: it shouldn't come with an added degree of difficulty, because it's bloody tough enough as it is.

(Full disclosure - I occasionally umpire reserves ammos footy.)

I actually go to the footy with a former AFL umpire. It has changed the way I view many decisions and I recommend it to anyone. He puts many decisions into perspective but also provides great insight into the egos of some umpires. He reckons there is terrible inconsistency within the fraternity because certain powerbrokers tell younger umpires to umpire a particular way instead of calling it as they see it. He reckons the worse thing is to be on the same weekend as 2 blockbusters because it results in you scoring weak umpires. We had 3 work experience kids on the weekend because the good ones were saved for other games.

Cutting to the chase - my mate and I went through the game on the weekend and ironically he felt there was only 2 genuine free kicks to Richmond in their forward 50 (Vickery and 1 other) and the rest were not there - based on how we were umpired. The Gilbert decision was meant to set the tone but instead they took a completely different approach with us on the flipside. REivolt and the little bloke with Stickers killed the ball and got free kicks. We put our head down and got nothing....

My mate and I also reckon that Richmond have learnt the art of "dropsies". A skill perfected by Geelong. Get tackled and appear to have the ball pinned to you. Then like a miracle from the sky, the moment your mate is in the vicinity - drop it in front of you and hear the umpire say "play on"!.

 

[sauce_head]

Absolutely this.

I've said 2 things about umpires since I was a kid watching the footy.

1. A well umpired game is one where you cannot recall an umpiring decision. Good or bad, but lets be honest, we rarely remember good ones. Keep the whistle away unless poor Armo (insert own fav player) has had his head clean taken off his shoulders, or unquestionably dropped the ball mid tackle.

2. An umpire will NEVER change his decision, ever. So if you do get a bad call. Hand the ball over and move on. End of story.

Except where the decision was to stop the game a bit too late. Then a decision can be overturned

 

[Sheeza69]

Free kicks yesterday Collingwood 21 Carlton 13 Collingwood won by 17 points..
Free kicks Friday night Richmond 21 St.Kilda 13 Richmond won by 17 points..

 

[Sir Robert]

Said it in the game thread as well. That s**t they continue to serve up has resulted in me saving the outlay on pay tv. I had it past the missus and was booking it this week but why pay to watch that. When Saints aren't on free to air I'll just read the match report

 

[sauce_head]

No good can come of this thread. Whilst I share the frustration from the second half if the match, you can only hope questions are raised behind closed doors. Winding ourselves up about it won't make any of us feel better!!!

 

[Sheeza69]

No good can come of this thread. Whilst I share the frustration from the second half if the match, you can only hope questions are raised behind closed doors. Winding ourselves up about it won't make any of us feel better!!!

But when you have more than a handful of your mates say your mob (Saints) were hard done by the umps, the issue of poor umpiring needs to be addressed. When poor umpiring influences the scoreboard & the momentum of a side in the case of the Saints last Friday night, it also potentially influences the outcome of the match.

We were right in it, until the latter part of the last qtr (4 points down) & when you asess the game & look back at these poor decisions, they've in reality, have cost us between 2-4 goals.

The coaches could be permitted to question the umps post game for ten minutes, the AFL have no problem forcing the coaches to deal with a post match interview shortly after the siren. At least then the coach is immediately aware & can go back to their team & explain these decisions.

 

[Plugger35]

I actually go to the footy with a former AFL umpire. It has changed the way I view many decisions and I recommend it to anyone. He puts many decisions into perspective but also provides great insight into the egos of some umpires. He reckons there is terrible inconsistency within the fraternity because certain powerbrokers tell younger umpires to umpire a particular way instead of calling it as they see it. He reckons the worse thing is to be on the same weekend as 2 blockbusters because it results in you scoring weak umpires. We had 3 work experience kids on the weekend because the good ones were saved for other games.

Cutting to the chase - my mate and I went through the game on the weekend and ironically he felt there was only 2 genuine free kicks to Richmond in their forward 50 (Vickery and 1 other) and the rest were not there - based on how we were umpired. The Gilbert decision was meant to set the tone but instead they took a completely different approach with us on the flipside. REivolt and the little bloke with Stickers killed the ball and got free kicks. We put our head down and got nothing....

My mate and I also reckon that Richmond have learnt the art of "dropsies". A skill perfected by Geelong. Get tackled and appear to have the ball pinned to you. Then like a miracle from the sky, the moment your mate is in the vicinity - drop it in front of you and hear the umpire say "play on"!.

I thought Friday night games are supposed to be blockbusters, our game against Richmond was probably the 2nd biggest game in Melbourne behind Collingwood v Carlton so should have got better, more experienced umpires. I could understand if we got the weak work experience umpires this week against GWS in Canberra but not last Friday night.

The sad reality is there just aren't enough good umpires to go around, even the umpiring in the Collingwood v Carlton game was pretty poor at times and mainly favoured Collingwood of course.

No good can come of this thread. Whilst I share the frustration from the second half if the match, you can only hope questions are raised behind closed doors. Winding ourselves up about it won't make any of us feel better!!!

I can't see much changing unfortunately, Watters had a meeting with the umpiring department after the Freo game last year to ask questions about the treatment we were getting and nothing really changed, in fact it's probably got worse.

The poor standard of umpiring is becoming a major problem across the board, you'd think the AFL would take notice of the complaints from coaches, players and supporters but they just carry on their merry way making it worse.

 

[The Punter]

I thought I noticed on Friday night a tactic of making sure you turn your head towards the umpire when tackled, so they always see if an arm is above the shoulder. I also noticed how often Richmond disposed of the ball when tackled by means other than handball and kick, such as putting the ball on the ground and pushing it to a teammate.

Personally, I think grabbing someone by the neck should be a free kick, but an arm resting on a shoulder of a tackled player should be play on.

How much match practice do umpires do? They should, every couple of weeks, actually play a game of footy amongst themselves. Obviously Fisher and Bannister would dominate.

 

[cartwright]

It's getting to the stage where there is a free kick paid for almost every contest now, most of them soft or imaginary. So frustrating to watch, I don't know why they can't just let the play go and just pay the obvious frees.

What makes it even worse is when the umpires pay soft frees one way and not the other way like last Friday night. When that happens the umpiring can influence results, especially when they pay soft frees in front of goal like did for Richmond.



You wonder if the umpires still bear a grudge against us for what Grant Thomas said. You'd think they wouldn't since he's no longer at St Kilda but who knows. The umpiring we've received since Watters took over has been worse than I've ever seen and I can't recall him blasting the umpires in public, even though I wouldn't blame him if he did.

Exactly. I understand that there are 50/50 decisions (and when you watch two other teams play, you see the 50/50's quite clearly) however, there should be some balance
and if it is 50/50, let them play -- don't pay anything.

I don't think the GT thing is still lingering, I think the quality of umpiring is generally shite, and no one is allowed to say anything or raise it as a point because the dictatorship will fine you and punish you.

I'd like to see if those umpires get an AFL game this week.

 

[goodie23]

Exactly. I understand that there are 50/50 decisions (and when you watch two other teams play, you see the 50/50's quite clearly) however, there should be some balance
and if it is 50/50, let them play -- don't pay anything.

I don't think the GT thing is still lingering, I think the quality of umpiring is generally shite, and no one is allowed to say anything or raise it as a point because the dictatorship will fine you and punish you.

I'd like to see if those umpires get an AFL game this week.

They probably will, mainly due to lack of competition

 

[Plugger35]

That little attention seeking umpire with the Ivan Drago haircut that made some shocking calls, including penalising Blake for a perfectly executed spoil, shouldn't be allowed anywhere near an AFL game.

Gieschen probably loves him though and sees him as the next Razor Ray.

 

[Squizz]

That little attention seeking umpire with the Ivan Drago haircut that made some shocking calls, including penalising Blake for a perfectly executed spoil, shouldn't be allowed anywhere near an AFL game.

I saw a hand on the shoulder, but it was incredibly soft (if that's a free, I'd expect Riewoldt to average much more than a ridiculously low 1.3 frees per game over his career).

 

[stkildathunda]

As for David Armitage not getting given tackles when his head gets taken off, well it kind of serves him right for ducking and playing for free kicks on regular basis. Its one part his game that frustrates me. He's as bad as Joel Duckwood.