Roast Umpires

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Tonga Bob said:
I hear you all. Hell I was there for 3 quarters, copping it from the Geevegas members as our players were copping it from the umpires. But what is going to come out of our complaining? Sweet FA. We need to get so good that bullshit umpiring doesn't matter. To hell with fairness, we need to win in spite of that.
By the way I'm still travelling from the game. Crap.
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Safe journey TB.

PS I hope you don't catch TB.
 
Tonga Bob said:
We need to get so good that bullshit umpiring doesn't matter. To hell with fairness, we need to win in spite of that.
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A noble sentiment, and one that I'm proud our coach and team adopt.

But we're not them and as much as might people scoff, our voice actually does get heard through journos who trawl these boards looking for stories. It's no coincidence that the all the footy shows focus on the same stuff the fans are are already talking about.

The media used to drive social discussion, but now social discussion drives the media.
 
estibador said:
A noble sentiment, and one that I'm proud our coach and team adopt.

But we're not them and as much as might people scoff, our voice actually does get heard through journos who trawl these boards looking for stories. It's no coincidence that the all the footy shows focus on the same stuff the fans are are already talking about.

The media used to drive social discussion, but now social discussion drives the media.
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If that was the case, then this umpiring shit should have been flagged after the reaming we got last week. Instead, no one questions why a former st. kilda player delisted by our coach is umpiring our games and paying free kicks to the opposition like there's no tomorrow. Not to mention how Crowley and Ballas who should be protected by the same rules were left dangling out there for the. Carlton players to snipe with impunity.

The reality is, the AFL control the media and the only agenda that gets discussed is the agenda that the AFL put out there. Plus, we don't generate enough interest in Victoria to be a good headline.

Frankly, I really think that the fix is on - since the AfL can't FIXture the finals, they will try their best to keep 2 QF's from being played interstate. I reckon that if Port were in this position, they'll be feeling the bias against as well.
 

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There's a certain amount of inertia you have to overcome Grape Bear

One of the shows (can't remember which) did highlight the elbow to Crowley last week.

Takes longer because we're not one of the favoured Vic sons, but better we talk about it and keep it on the media agenda than adopt a stoic approach that we're fine with being screwed.
 
estibador said:
There's a certain amount of inertia you have to overcome Grape Bear

One of the shows (can't remember which) did highlight the elbow to Crowley last week.

Takes longer because we're not one of the favoured Vic sons, but better we talk about it and keep it in the open than adopt a stoic approach that we're fine with being screwed.
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The problem with this is that the only way the poor deal we get with the umpiring will be talked about is if our own club administration stick it to the AFL... But that will likely bite us in the butt even more because it's essentially chewing off the hand that feeds us. Freo have no leverage over the AFL - what could we threaten them with, leaving the league? We have no power in this discussion and the AFL know it.

I used to follow the pro basketball league back home and the NBA, and I swear this is the first time I have ever encountered a sporting league where the officiating is so blatantly biased and some teams are more equal than others. It's such a massive turn off, to be honest, particularly to fans who are new to the game.
 
That's almost exactly what my mate was saying tonight. He was saying that there is no other sporting league in the world where the umpiring is so clearly biased towards one team/set of teams.
 
It's like there's a narrative and we've been cast as the anti-heroes and therefore decisions against us are adjudicated as such. It's rubbish. If the rules were created to safeguard player welfare, our boys have the right to be protected.

The free kick differential is particularly frustrating because it implies that we are an ill-disciplined team compared to the rest, which reinforces the narrative and then reinforces the umpires' compulsion to over-umpire games against us. The reality is, we cop it more than we dish it out, but it's all let go because the assumption is that we must have started it anyway.

If we as supporters are frustrated, how frustrated must the players feel?
 
Grape Bear said:
It's like there's a narrative and we've been cast as the anti-heroes and therefore decisions against us are adjudicated as such. It's rubbish. If the rules were created to safeguard player welfare, our boys have the right to be protected.

The free kick differential is particularly frustrating because it implies that we are an ill-disciplined team compared to the rest, which reinforces the narrative and then reinforces the umpires' compulsion to over-umpire games against us. The reality is, we cop it more than we dish it out, but it's all let go because the assumption is that we must have started it anyway.

If we as supporters are frustrated, how frustrated must the players feel?
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and if you complain, you are labelled a 'whinger' - it's too difficult to ignore the obvious sometimes, and it's un-Australian to bend over and take it
 
Yello Mit said:
I feel like this needs a separate thread, just to post our throughts/vent like crazy about the HORRIBLE umpiring tonight.

Ross Lyon needs to go up to AFL HQ and rip them a new one. 31 frees to 14, half of which were "ducking" frees is just deplorable. Someone needs to say something, otherwise it'll never be fixed.
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How many new ones do they need? AFL house is full of them. I agree 31 to 14 in a contest that came down to 2 points at the finish begs the question. I'd like to know what does the Pav have to do to get a free? Maybe go to the Stevie J and Selwood school of acting.
 
We're suffering from a misbegotten reputation IMO.
The team plays hard, but fair, but the umpires seem to refuse to recognise that. We got crucified again.
 
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Do I think we are the dirtiest team in the history of the game ala what the free kick stats stats indicate? No I do not, there is a clear and unjustified discrepancy in free kick tallies for Freo this year and the worst thing is it WON'T be addressed and if we do raise some alarm over it we'll likely cop it worse.

Don't give a shit if you label me a conspiracy theorist or paranoid but as far as I'm concerned, the umps are out to get us. I can cop it if we lose by 5-6 goals, we're clearly not good enough that's fair enough. But with a 2 point margin and the majority of their goals scored DIRECTLY from free kicks?

Yeah, we were robbed. Big time.
 
I don't think there is much doubt that we are being deliberately targeted because of the AFL's dislike of taggers. Before Crowley I had never heard of umpires singling out players before a game has even started, and commentators following the same player around with a camera to see how many times he broke the rules. This situation is mostly about Crowley. Umpires have clearly been directed to watch his opponent at all times and give free kicks to his opponent liberally. Murphy got 7 last game. Johnson got at least 2 this week where he was the aggressor.
 
pokerspiv said:
I don't think there is much doubt that we are being deliberately targeted because of the AFL's dislike of taggers. Before Crowley I had never heard of umpires singling out players before a game has even started, and commentators following the same player around with a camera to see how many times he broke the rules. This situation is mostly about Crowley. Umpires have clearly been directed to watch his opponent at all times and give free kicks to his opponent liberally. Murphy got 7 last game. Johnson got at least 2 this week where he was the aggressor.
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In some cases it doesn't even matter whether Crowley is his direct opponent at the time or not; I could only laugh at the free kick Johnson got after literally falling to the ground unprovoked after smacking Sutcliffe in the throat. That is blatant corruption as I see it, excusing such frees as mere umpire incompetence doesn't tell the full story and is disingenuous. I've seen Ballantyne (and Crowley, and Fyfe and Sandilands) taken out of a contest illegally too many times within full sight of an umpire to dismiss it as such.

It's obvious that umpires are instructed to favour certain players whilst also turning a blind eye to others and it's complete bullshit. I don't believe it;s a natural bias by any means, and that includes bias shaped by the media. It's a directive.
 
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Yes I agree that it is a directive. The question is if that is the AFL's policy, should we stop playing Crowley? Because the AFL clearly wants us to stop playing Crowley and has a policy to punish us if we choose to keep playing him.
 
This sh1t can only happen to freo, people wonder why we have a chip on our shoulder. We have had a game where we received 4 FKs in a GAME! Marc Murphy got 6 against us last week.

We had FA Crowley earlier this season for being slung into the Geelong interchange.

Steve Johnson got away with dropping his knee, he did a similar act with an elbow on Barlow in rd9 and nothing - the media just laughs and says "that's just Stevie J being cheeky".

Crowley gets elbowed and bashed and commentators just laugh and say he deserves that because he dishes out similar! Wtf!

A MRP/tribunal that takes a players word he was pinched 300 times against another player when no video footage supports AND more damning is no other player Crowley has tagged spoke up in the media to say they had been pinched too.

We've had Petrie get the worst 50m penalty I've ever seen this year that cost us a goal. Yet Brian Lake can elbow Sonson in the face during a GF, cop 3 weeks but no 50m. We have Cyril chicken winging Barlow to get a FK and a goal but also gets weeks so how the flick is that a free?

I'm sure someone has the vision of Matty Carr getting a FK and then Essendon player being asked if he wanted the advantage!! Wtf!

We had Leigh Fisher crucify us 2 weeks in a row, giving 12-1 FKs? As an administration we aren't the type of club to pipe up but its time we did, I'm sick of it.

Finally we have he Fyfe suspension - I am comfortable with him being suspended (the ruling is shizen) for a head high bump but Buddy & Goodes (I'm sure there are more) do the same thing and aren't sighted...

Yep we all have chips on our shoulders - lol no flags for freo, Crowley & Ballantyne are dirty thugs, Ross Lyon plays boring footy & is a thug too...
 
pokerspiv said:
Yes I agree that it is a directive. The question is if that is the AFL's policy, should we stop playing Crowley? Because the AFL clearly wants us to stop playing Crowley and has a policy to punish us if we choose to keep playing him.
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Makes no difference as there would be a replacement for his role who would be groomed in a similar mould, how about we crack down on other taggers instead? I know it's hard for some people to believe but Crowley isn't the only tagger going around. Maccaffer has the luxury of playing for Collingwood so only plaudits will come his way.

**** it, like there's ever going to be consistency anyway. Stevie J should get 2 weeks for his theatrics alone.
 
I know Crowley is not the only tagger, but he's the only one who seems to attract this kind of attention from the AFL.
 
What gets me is the underlying belief that Crowley is a dirty player... Never have I ever seen footage of him doing anything dirty. Despite all the claims that opposition fans make, the commentators make the umpires make. Nothing. If he was so dirty where are all the photos and footage? They had a camera following him around last night FFS.

I watch him closely at games I attend when he's away from the play and I always seem his tagged player start to take shots at him, not him taking shots. They use the opportunity to start elbowing etc. But the perception is it's always him starting it.
 
I don't think the AFL thinks he is dirty, they just don't like that kind of hard tagging where he is basically using his body as a shield to prevent his opponent from getting the ball, and don't want to make new rules to deal with the only player in the league who can do it well. So their strategy is to keep punishing us with technical free kicks until we drop him or change our strategy.

And I think this is a deliberate objective given to all umpires who umpire us: To punish Crowley as much as possible to discourage other teams from developing similar players.
 
As a neutral observer that was one of the worst displays of umpiring I've ever seen. Wrong frees were about 75/25 in Cat's favour. Got particularly annoyed listening to the commentators continually say "He drew that free kick", which is code for there was no free there, but umpire got conned.
 
Yello Mit said:
No. It severely needs to addressed. This is 3 weeks in a row now that the frees have been extremely one-sided against us. Tonight was easily the worst.
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It's probably because your team is fully of sniping, cheating dogs.

Free kick parity is a notion held on to by fairly simple minds, with little understanding of the sport.
 
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