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Just a silly question - can anyone remember the last time we saw a centre square infringement? There used to be 2 or 3 a game. Now, I don't watch a huge amount of non-Richmond games, but I really can't remember the last time I saw it happen.

Don't like it - or need it. There are captains, vice-captains and 'leadership groups' on the field. Let them make the calls. Coach sets out the strategies for the game - and gets quarter and half-time breaks to reinforce or change the message. But between the sirens, the players are in...

Interchange. 2 subs.

It's about the time the ball crosses the plane of the goal line. Unless you have a camera on the line of the goal line that also shows the ball (such that you can determine a timestamp when the ball crosses the line), triangulation won't work. Triangulation works for a fixed point in time -...

Which doesn't address the issue last night at all.

Has someone actually defined how much intent needs to be 'sufficient'? How is it measured? Can I kick the ball along the boundary lion and 'intend' it to take several right-angle bounces and wind up in the goalsquare? I may fail at the necessary skill to do that, but that's what I 'intend'.

Are there examples of players shepherding opponents off the ball, because one of the opponent's teammates has kicked the ball, and it's going to dribble out of bounds?

Don't talk sense you'll upset everyone's preconceptions. Seriously, for those of you who havent, go back and watch a game from the 1970s - some of the umpiring decisions are completely baffling to our eyes. The holding the ball interpretations are some of the strangest. The game is umpired...

Richmond got two VERY tiggy-touchwood 50-metre penalties from the stand rule on the weekend that both led directly to goals. Game was very tight at that point (scores level). Good argument they were critical to the flow of the game. I absolutely hate the rule. It's an complete abomination...

In the 1980 QF Richmond were leading Carlton 18 goals to 5 with about 5 minutes to go, and, quite obviously, the call from the bench came out 'No injuries, no suspensions!'. It was quite bizarre - Richmond basically stoped tackling or putting any pressure on. I reckon I could have got a kick...

Then it becomes Rugby - with the added bonus that, because Australian Football allows shepherding, you can just run flying wedges down the field.

I have complained about this often (haven't we all?) - but this is getting stupid. A ball must travel 15 metres for it to be paid a mark. A player must not run more than 15 metres without bouncing the ball. How can we have the exact same measurement used in the game for different rules, but...

In 2016 we won the free kick count in 11 games and lost it in 11 games. We finished 13th and we were crap. In the next 4 years we have finished on the wrong side of the free kick ledger on 65 occasions and the plus side 29 (one game even) - and we've been the best team in the comp. I'm happy.

I think the main problem is the endless media coverage, slo-motion replays, discussion designed to create controversy and therefore ratings, fan discussion sites like BigFooty - all these hash and re-hash every nuance and interpretation without ever coming to 100% agreement as to what was the...

If you read the law it says ' does not demonstrate sufficient intent to keep the football in play' - which means that any defender seeing a ball rolling towards the line could be pinged if he doesn't make a desperate attempt to dive and tap the ball back into play. There is so much grey in the...

They'll do a survey among 'fans' in Sydney cafes, the Gold Coast strip and they'll poll a few overseas watchers of AFL.com and report back that 'The fans like it when there are a lot of goals kicked, because the funny men make the silly signal with their fingers'. Meanwhile, members and...

The only thing I will say that really worries me about umpiring is the obvious inconsistency from week to week. Example from last night vs last week. There were a couple of 50s paid last week for kicking the ball away after the whistle had blown. Last night - they weren't. It's mostly because...

It is an interesting argument. If you are going to go down the road of using technology, of course you use the best possible technology. MInd you, it brings up some interesting anomalies. Technically, the goalposts are NOT in the field of play (if the ball even brushes the goalpost, it's a...

For a bit of a laugh - have a look at this where Short takes 4 bounces in about 30 metres.

Well, an average stride for an middle distandce runner (ie - not flat out - say 800m) is about 2.2-2.5 metres. For a marathon runner it's just over 2 metres. A top sprinter may be 2-5-2.7. Afl players are pretty good athletes. In general if they are running and bouncing with the ball, they are...

Regarding standing over the ball on the mark - the player standing the mark is entitled to be there, and if he happens to be in the way of the player retrieving the ball, that's not his problem. In fact if an opposition player pushes him off the mark to retrieve the ball, technically, that...

My thought is we should get rid of the 'deliberate' rule entirely. If it's out of bounds, it's out of bounds - throw it in. No 'last touch' rule. If a defender wants to use the boundary line as help - go for it. If a team wants to play 'down the line' to create congestion - go for it. The...

Agree with some here, but not the 'back to the 9'. The players don't know exactly where the mark is because they have been competing for the ball, so the ump tells them - he can't say 'the 2,000th blade of grass behind you' - he uses where the player is standing on the mark and goes from there...

I remember a classic case in the last quarter of a match against Collingwood. We were coming back hard, needing one more goal, ball gets kicked to the hotspot 30 out straight in front. Richmond were playing 2 key forwards - Schulz who didn't get it much, but was a deadeye when he did, and...

There's a difference between 'disposing' of the ball and dropping it. Disposal is a deliberate action by the player - he gets tackled he must handpass or kick it away. However, if the ball is knocked out of his hands in the tackle, that is not incorrect disposal since the player did not mean to...

Classic way is to start a fight - even just some push and shove. Get everyone in throwing insults etc (no actual punches). Just grab the jumper - put your head up into their face, say something rude about their girlfriend or mum. Hopefully take their focus off the game. Obviously needs...

The problem with the 'touched' rule is that it also applies to marks in general play - if touched by another player, it can't be a mark. And yet we've all seen many clear examples where it's not paid - almost always in pack-mark situations. If we continue reviewing touched decisions for goals...

Agree entirely with Hojuman here. We always say 'Play the free kicks wherever they occer - pay the free kicks whenever they happen'. Now we all know that umpires chicken out on frees directly in front of goal and in the last 30 seconds (Directly in front of goal in the last 30 seconds? -...

Don't worry - there'll probably be a sudden re-interpretation and the umps will start paying free kicks that they haven't for in 50+ years and all will be sweet. I predict the change will happen - about half-time in the first week of finals. Then, after some backlash, the rules will be hastily...