Triple MMM Commentary - The Ballantyne decision

[Del33640]

Why don't they target serial off the ball trouble makers like Mitchell or Hodge? Or Steve Johnson?

Are you seriously comparing Ballantyne to any of that group, they're not in the same stratosphere as him on this front?

 

[The 747]

Anytime Ballantyne gets penalised is fine by me, he deserves it and then some. But dont like the idea of umpires trying to fit a game into their preconceived notions. Umpire the game as it happens. The next step to this is the umpires getting together and saying we want this game to be a fast free flowing game of footy and umpiring accordingly.

 

[Del33640]

And it's not even based on evidence. Ballantyne has hardly been the most suspended player these past three years. Other players have been, some that are actually protected by the umps.

Let's face it, that free was technically there. You can say it was soft, that others get ignored, or whatever.

But the ball wasn't within five metres, and he made contact. End of story.

And if you want to whinge about players treating players differently, don't think for one second that every team doesn't have one or two, or that this is something new.

If you don't like the phenomenon, you shouldn't be supporting AFL. It's always been this way, long before you started watching it, and probably long after you will.

The players with an X on them will not be given the benefit of the doubt. Whether you're Lance Franklin, Jordan Lewis, or Hayden Ballantyne, it doesn't matter.

 

[ziad]

it was well over umpired. poor feel for the game by the umpire as the context was hopelessly misunderstood. You start to think it is a pre planned free.

 

[Freoforever86]

After some of these Hawks comments, I really hope some of that Eagle umpiring from sat costs them on sat.

The decision was so soft & changed momentum. Any team should be filthy with it no matter the player.
Absolutely no commentator from any broadcast agreed with it. And many of them are certainly not docker fans.

 

[caitsith01]

Amazing that people are defending the selective targeting of a player by the umpires and nothing frees being paid in a final to 'send a message' to that player.

Absolute joke of a 'professional' sport. Treat all players equally, pay the frees that are clearly there, and be seen but not heard... That's all umpires need to do.

 

[Arc1]

Like Nat Fyfe dropping his knee into Liam Shiels in that same game…? Yeah, that's right. That was 5 minutes after Fyfe charged at Taylor Duryea, not even looking at the ball and smashed him in the face with a forearm. A bit lucky he wasn't given 1 week for that. Very lucky in hindsight. It could've cost him the Brownlow.

And did you notice Fyfe performed the same leg sweep manoeuvre last Friday v Hawthorn that he did earlier in the year when he tripped Bulldog Koby Stevens? I suppose he'll go on doing that until they suspend him for it. He could break someone's leg. Dustin Fletcher must been wondering about Tucky's all-time games record after all the suspensions he received for tripping.

Best bit was the Freo ferals booing the decision. No idea what the rules are, just BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

 

[Milanista28]

Maybe if they didn't focus all their attention to one bloke they could make the right call more often.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Ballantyne has made that rod for his back.

Yeah, this. Umpires aren't stupid. They know who the antagonisers are out in the ground, and who hands out the cheap ones.

I'm not sure the umpire would've even seen the initial contact. What they most likely saw was Suckling on his way to the ground or already there, and Ballantyne only inches away....they then blew the whistle, thinking that a free was deserved for taking a player down off the ball.

So of course, it looks soft when you see the replay, but the umpire clearly made a split second decision "we're not gong to have players felled off the ball", and I'm not sure that's such a bad one.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Umpires always do this, frees behind the play are very hard to pick up, when they have a player who they know gives them away, they aim to crack him once or twice early to stop him doing it for they rest of the game.

It will sometimes result in the player being penalised harshly early as they're red hot on him, such as this free kick. I doubt they even saw it properly, just saw a bloke go to ground next to Ballantyne and jumped on it.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Amazing that people are defending the selective targeting of a player by the umpires and nothing frees being paid in a final to 'send a message' to that player.

Absolute joke of a 'professional' sport. Treat all players equally, pay the frees that are clearly there, and be seen but not heard... That's all umpires need to do.

It's been happening since forever and in other codes too. Once a player has a reputation for play acting or being dirty then they are tarnished and will, rightly or wrongly, suffer the consequences.

For years Franklin was not receiving free-kicks for being man-handled by defenders, because he chewed out the umps on a regular basis. Greg Williams cost himself a Brownlow because he was abusive towards umpires. Luis Suarez, once outed for the dirty diving biter he is, was not awarded plenty of fouls that were there. The list is endless.

 

[Hawker55]

I agree it looks soft going off the main footage we've seen, but is there footage of this other than that one from 100 metres away? Because if there isn't I'm not sure you can categorically say that Ballantyne didn't go a sneaky elbow that an umpire much closer to the incident saw.

 

[smeltitdeltit]

Umpires always do this, frees behind the play are very hard to pick up, when they have a player who they know gives them away, they aim to crack him once or twice early to stop him doing it for they rest of the game.

It will sometimes result in the player being penalised harshly early as they're red hot on him, such as this free kick. I doubt they even saw it properly, just saw a bloke go to ground next to Ballantyne and jumped on it.

And guess what?
Ballantyne stopped making an arse of himself afterwards.
Even Ross called it an "il disciplined act"

 

[Freoforever86]

And guess what?
Ballantyne stopped making an arse of himself afterwards.
Even Ross called it an "il disciplined act"

Of course he did. What coach is gonna come out after a prelim & say the umpires cost them? Plus he'd get a hefty fine.

 

[smeltitdeltit]

What's an illegal block? The same thing that happens 20 times per game and doesn't get paid?

Maybe you should find the answer t o that question before coming on here screaming it was wrong?

 

[Sw3Et]

Take the good with the bad. If all players were treated equally, then Fyfe would not have been eligible for the Brownlow this year.

 

[Hawker55]

Take the good with the bad. If all players were treated equally, then Fyfe would not have been eligible for the Brownlow this year.

Good point. This thread would be like Hawks supporters creating a thread about that Langford deliberate out of bounds in the QF. Rough decision, but you get over it. And you certainly don't lose a game by 5 goals because of one decision.

 

[Del33640]

And you certainly don't lose a game by 5 goals because of one decision.

Certainly not when that decision comes in the first five minutes of the game.

If there were five seconds left, maybe.

But what did Freo do after that?

And as pointed out ad nauseum, did anyone get a look of the incident from the other side of the ground? An elbow or punch would be really easy to hide with that level of pixelated, blurry, see it but not really, vision.

 

[kolchak]

Out of context it looks soft, in context the umps where just waiting for a chance to ping him. Was getting his elbow stuck into everyone.

 

[The Joker]

Certainly not when that decision comes in the first five minutes of the game.

And as pointed out ad nauseum

Dosnt stop Hawks supporters saying it didnt change the outcome of the game, when "as pointed out ad nauseum" the OP stated this thread had nothing to do with the outcome...


Why are their so many Hawks fans upset about there being questions over this one incident, its not like they are making a threat against your mum or dad.

 

[Hawker55]

Dosnt stop Hawks supporters saying it didnt change the outcome of the game, when "as pointed out ad nauseum" the OP stated this thread had nothing to do with the outcome...


Why are their so many Hawks fans upset about there being questions over this one incident, its not like they are making a threat against your mum or dad.

The only questions seem to be from whinging Freo supporters. Most people seem to have moved on.

 

[Lucky Star]

A bit like prior to the first bounce of the '97 prelim when the umpire pulled Paul Kelly aside to have a quick chat about Libba.

Umpires should start every game as a clean slate with no pre-conceived ideas about players.

 

[Hawker55]

A bit like prior to the first bounce of the '97 prelim when the umpire pulled Paul Kelly aside to have a quick chat about Libba.

Umpires should start every game as a clean slate with no pre-conceived ideas about players.

In a perfect world sure. This is real life. Every team has a player or two whose reputation precedes them. We had Brown and Buddy for example - Freo have Fyfe who most objective supporters would agree showed enough that he probably would have been suspended this year if he wasn't the prohibitive Brownlow favourite at the time.

Swings and roundabouts - that's football.

 

[sproketman]

In a perfect world sure. This is real life. Every team has a player or two whose reputation precedes them. We had Brown and Buddy for example - Freo have Fyfe who most objective supporters would agree showed enough that he probably would have been suspended this year if he wasn't the prohibitive Brownlow favourite at the time.

Swings and roundabouts - that's football.

No it's not 'real life'. It's a professional, billion dollar league, where umpires should act impartially. The idea they should go in to a game with preconceived ideas on how to umpire, or that they should be instructed by those off field, opens it up for corruption.

 

[sproketman]

Are you seriously comparing Ballantyne to any of that group, they're not in the same stratosphere as him on this front?

Steve Johnson has been suspended more times than Ballantyne. Sam Mitchell has kneed three players this year, and 'niggled' Essendon with injection comments. Hodge has whacked players off the ball his whole career.

Why does Ballantyne deserve special attention? Because he has a reputation that is perpetuated in the media? 'Pay frees against the annoying small player BT hyperventilates over'. I'm not sure why that's a policy the umpiring fraternity should adopt.