Review Qualifying Final, 2025 - Geelong vs. Brisbane Lions

[p4p1]

I watched 360 with razor ray dissecting the Rayner free. It was pretty comical.

• The nerdling was fear mongering that everyone will be flopping and diving now
• Razor tried to claim that the push in the goal square was ‘in play’ because it was within a kick of the ball which was -checks notes- 150m away.
• They then showed other free kicks from the weekend which shouldn’t have been free kicks. Lo and behold they were all interstate teams. They didn’t show the most obvious one which was Worpel staging for a 50 and a goal.

I’m sure Cam couldn’t care less but it’s funny how this is being covered. Very selective.

Still no mention of the one he gave away about half an hour earlier which was softer.
If a push in the back needs a certain amount of force to be a free kick, then surely so does a hit to the chest.

The nerdling forgets that so many players in the AFL including the media darlings are already flopping a lot and it isn't new either.

I understand Geelong fans being angry at the free kick and even angry at Rayner for what they believe was playing for the free kick. It was a huge penalty for what were annoying and stupid incidents that in no way impacted the play or Rayners ability to play, like say a big hit behind play would.

The fallout has made me really angry. I know I shouldn't get that emotional but it's just been such a VFL pile on for something that isn't even close to the worst flop of the year to be paid a free kick. There appears to be no actual research from the media in regards to what was going on.
I think the AFL has been extremely happy with that. It has taken the headlines away from Quaynor being booed for being called a slur. Instead of focusing on just how diabolical some of the umpiring has been so far in the first 4 finals, all the talk is about that decision and more importantly, Rayner is the bad guy/scape goat rather than the umpire (comparatively speaking), unnecessary contact off the ball or the rules that state it was a 2 goal turn around.

Rayner is being scapegoated for (allegedly) not playing within in the spirit of the rules rather than playing against the rules. The AFL coming out and saying he couldn't or wouldn't be fined for staging is admitting that Rayner did nothing against the rules, though if he wasn't then the free kick must have been there. The AFL as usual wants to have one foot in either camp.

Longmuir coming out and saying players should be fined $10k for staging to stop them from staging is all well and good, and at least on the surface was directed at Rayner. If not the commentary around his statement has been aimed at Rayner. But if Rayner didn't meet the requirement to get a staging fine then it being $10k wouldn't have mattered.

I am biased but I don't even think the two free kicks Rayner received weren't the worst frees given or were worse than obvious frees that were missed.

 

[Elixuh]

Still no mention of the one he gave away about half an hour earlier which was softer.
If a push in the back needs a certain amount of force to be a free kick, then surely so does a hit to the chest.

The nerdling forgets that so many players in the AFL including the media darlings are already flopping a lot and it isn't new either.

I understand Geelong fans being angry at the free kick and even angry at Rayner for what they believe was playing for the free kick. It was a huge penalty for what were annoying and stupid incidents that in no way impacted the play or Rayners ability to play, like say a big hit behind play would.

The fallout has made me really angry. I know I shouldn't get that emotional but it's just been such a VFL pile on for something that isn't even close to the worst flop of the year to be paid a free kick. There appears to be no actual research from the media in regards to what was going on.
I think the AFL has been extremely happy with that. It has taken the headlines away from Quaynor being booed for being called a slur. Instead of focusing on just how diabolical some of the umpiring has been so far in the first 4 finals, all the talk is about that decision and more importantly, Rayner is the bad guy/scape goat rather than the umpire (comparatively speaking), unnecessary contact off the ball or the rules that state it was a 2 goal turn around.

Rayner is being scapegoated for (allegedly) not playing within in the spirit of the rules rather than playing against the rules. The AFL coming out and saying he couldn't or wouldn't be fined for staging is admitting that Rayner did nothing against the rules, though if he wasn't then the free kick must have been there. The AFL as usual wants to have one foot in either camp.

Longmuir coming out and saying players should be fined $10k for staging to stop them from staging is all well and good, and at least on the surface was directed at Rayner. If not the commentary around his statement has been aimed at Rayner. But if Rayner didn't meet the requirement to get a staging fine then it being $10k wouldn't have mattered.

I am biased but I don't even think the two free kicks Rayner received weren't the worst frees given or were worse than obvious frees that were missed.

The simple of it is that O’Connor was exploiting the rules with his tagging strategies which Rayner in turn exploited. Taggers give away frees most games, but are mostly not dumb enough to do it 150m off the ball in the goal square.

 

[Happy_Neale]

Reddit posts like this are where I get my jollies

 

[Tom14]

Reddit posts like this are where I get my jollies

View attachment 2423105

That person's team just made their billionth prelim in the last 15 years. They never have less than 16 wins. They get everything they want.

And yet pettiness and spite turns it all to ash in their mouth

 

[mpal6]

Reddit posts like this are where I get my jollies

View attachment 2423105

You know what'll double this fun?

We get through to Grand Final.
We meet the cats again.
We beat them.
Rayner kicks 5 in that game and wins normy !
And Rayner also turns around to shush the crowd haha

 

[Happy_Neale]

That person's team just made their billionth prelim in the last 15 years. They never have less than 16 wins. They get everything they want.

And yet pettiness and spite turns it all to ash in their mouth

Never seen such an upset fan base after winning a final. The definition of spoilt

 

[Elixuh]

Reddit posts like this are where I get my jollies

View attachment 2423105

Foxgootys business model of rage baiting VFL supporters more effective than first thought.

 

[MSB ROYS]

Foxgootys business model of rage baiting VFL supporters more effective than first thought.

They lost my patronage this week, but they already have my money through Kayo so maybe they have the last laugh.

 

[3KZ is Football]

I can’t work out which would be funnier, Hawthorn beating Geelong on Friday or us beating them in a Grand Final.

Hell, I might even go for Collingwood in the unlikely event it’s a Collingwood v Geelong GF

 

[martinson]

Never seen such an upset fan base after winning a final. The definition of spoilt

Rayner got two frees out of nowhere in the goal square when we couldn't get a sniff.

That's genius imo.

 

[Tom14]

I can’t work out which would be funnier, Hawthorn beating Geelong on Friday or us beating them in a Grand Final.

Hell, I might even go for Collingwood in the unlikely event it’s a Collingwood v Geelong GF

See that is different, because the ball wasn't at the OTHER END OF THE FIELD.

And you know, Bartel was notoriously not a tough player who was hard to bring down, so he DEFINITELY must have been pushed hard to cause him to go flying through the air.

 

[dlanod]

I can’t work out which would be funnier, Hawthorn beating Geelong on Friday or us beating them in a Grand Final.

Hell, I might even go for Collingwood in the unlikely event it’s a Collingwood v Geelong GF

Wouldn't mind us v Hawthorn.

 

[3KZ is Football]

See that is different, because the ball wasn't at the OTHER END OF THE FIELD.

And you know, Bartel was notoriously not a tough player who was hard to bring down, so he DEFINITELY must have been pushed hard to cause him to go flying through the air.

That’s hilarious. I sent the Bartel clip to a Geelong mate and his response to the BARTEL OUTRAGE was to say that the ball was within three metres. Yeah it was. It was in the arms of the Hawthorn player that legally marked it.

The reality is that this is what Geelong fans are really still salty about.

 

[Tom14]

That’s hilarious. I sent the Bartel clip to a Geelong mate and his response to the BARTEL OUTRAGE was to say that the ball was within three metres. Yeah it was. It was in the arms of the Hawthorn player that legally marked it.

The reality is that this is what Geelong fans are really still salty about.

This incident was at least 40m off the ball, and therefore no free kick should have been paid!

Barry Hall's brutal hit on Brent Staker

The infamous punch from 2008 saw the Swan suspended for seven weeks

www.afl.com.au

 

[Tricky Dicky]

The reality is that this is what Geelong fans are really still salty about.







That roar was seriously loud after Cam's goal and the final siren.
It was as if we were the home team.
Made the 'G ours last September.

Great live commentating as well.

 

[Leuy LongerCombo]

One thing that annoyed me with the Oconnor and Rayner match up, there was clearly a lot going on off the ball both ways.

Oconnor got an equally soft free kick with around 11minutes to play in that quarter, from a Rayner tap to the stomach right before a ball up. This was not mentioned once by the media, as it wasnt amplified being in the reversal in goal square or provided as much attention grabbing headlines.
Rayners first one was soft, but absolutely no need for Oconnor to make contact, second one was there for stupidity as much as anything.

Anyways, it was good to see Cam bounce back this week. He is huge for our final chances.

 

[mpal6]

One thing that annoyed me with the Oconnor and Rayner match up, there was clearly a lot going on off the ball both ways.

Oconnor got an equally soft free kick with around 11minutes to play in that quarter, from a Rayner tap to the stomach right before a ball up. This was not mentioned once by the media, as it wasnt amplified being in the reversal in goal square or provided as much attention grabbing headlines.
Rayners first one was soft, but absolutely no need for Oconnor to make contact, second one was there for stupidity as much as anything.

Anyways, it was good to see Cam bounce back this week. He is huge for our final chances.

Cam was fired up after that free kick, you can see it in his face.

He went on full-blown bait mode once Umpire awarded the dubious one to O'Connor and got twice in return.

 

[Leuy LongerCombo]

Cam was fired up after that free kick, you can see it in his face.

He went on full-blown bait mode once Umpire awarded the dubious one to O'Connor and got twice in return.

100%, just didn’t fit the narrative the media wanted to run with.

 

[braddsey]

One thing that annoyed me with the Oconnor and Rayner match up, there was clearly a lot going on off the ball both ways.

Oconnor got an equally soft free kick with around 11minutes to play in that quarter, from a Rayner tap to the stomach right before a ball up. This was not mentioned once by the media, as it wasnt amplified being in the reversal in goal square or provided as much attention grabbing headlines.
Rayners first one was soft, but absolutely no need for Oconnor to make contact, second one was there for stupidity as much as anything.

Anyways, it was good to see Cam bounce back this week. He is huge for our final chances.

If Cam’s free had been on the wing instead of in the goal square then it’s a non-event.

Everyone (the media) want consistent umpiring, except on certain parts of the ground or at certain times of the game.

The deliberate handball out of bounds against Hawthorn a few weeks back. It was in the last few minutes of the game and resulted in a shot on goal, which Hawthorn had no way to recover from - so it was deemed harsh or wrong by Vic media. However the wrong call against Starce at the other end of the ground was acceptable because it wasn’t at the end of the match.

…or maybe the problem is Vic club vs non-Vic club.

 

[p4p1]

If Cam’s free had been on the wing instead of in the goal square then it’s a non-event.

Everyone (the media) want consistent umpiring, except on certain parts of the ground or at certain times of the game.

The deliberate handball out of bounds against Hawthorn a few weeks back. It was in the last few minutes of the game and resulted in a shot on goal, which Hawthorn had no way to recover from - so it was deemed harsh or wrong by Vic media. However the wrong call against Starce at the other end of the ground was acceptable because it wasn’t at the end of the match.

…or maybe the problem is Vic club vs non-Vic club.