Autopsy AFL 2026 Round 5 - Cats v Eagles Sun April 12th 12:30pm AEST/12:00 (Norwood)

[Shueygod]

There is, give or take, a player with a negative free kick differential for every player that has a positive one.

Reid gives away quite a few - he also gets quite a few.

Are we to believe that every player with a negative differential, whether they are a player who both gives away and receives a high number, or gives away and receives few, are all umpired differently to those with positive differentials? Or do we just accept that this is how it happens sometimes and while a player like Butters might not get pinned as much as Reid, he’s also getting 0.7 less free kicks a game than him despite getting a heap more ball and generally being a lot more involved.

Maybe is DOESNT have anything to do with who he is and it is just a consequence of what they see.

So it’s a complete coincidence that the change in narrative around Reid coincided with him going from getting a positive free kick differential to a very negative one?

There’s no point having this discussion since you clearly don’t actually watch enough of him to have an informed opinion. I haven’t seen any other players that have neutrals coming in to gameday threads to talk about them being umpired unfairly week in week out, have you?

When a player is consistently adjudicated incorrectly to the point where the AFL are admitting they’re wrong, maybe it DOES have something to do with who he is.

 

[My Tilly]

I think you go completely overboard though. You said West Coast would match us in the midfield today - but Smith, Holmes, Atkins and Bruhn dominated.

By comparison you let the forwards off the hook (67 inside 50s against an inexperienced/so-so defence should be giving us 22-25 goals minimum) and the defence also gets a pass. Both groups overall have been haphazard to start the season.

The midfield were comprehensively smashed in round 0. Since then it's our forwards and/or defenders that are letting us down, but 100% of your posts are about Geelong having the worst midfield in the league.

The midfield is bloody poor.

The forwards are fine. Neale beginning to develop into a legitimate A grade power forward. Cameron is still good for another year and we have Polkinghorne coming through with big wraps already.
The small forwards are arguably the best in the comp and with Stengle to return, Dempsey & Mannagh provide excellent scoring power.
The defenders are just as solid. O'Sullivan is on the path to becoming the next Harry Taylor and while De Koning will never amount to anything special, he's going to be solid 200 gamer.

Let's pray to god this new kid Barker becomes the next big thing as we certainly need it.

 

[joe444]

You’re crying about a free kick not being paid where a tackler let go of the tackle?

You do also realise one of our players was injured because your bloke was too weak to play the ball properly and wasn’t penalised for it?

And the (s)hits keep coming.

 

[Fabab]

Cats ahead in nearly every stat except frees, 20 more tackles and easy win and lost the free kick count but Reid is umpired differently .

 

[Mr Meow]

The midfield is bloody poor.

The forwards are fine. Neale beginning to develop into a legitimate A grade power forward. Cameron is still good for another year and we have Polkinghorne coming through with big wraps already.
The small forwards are arguably the best in the comp and with Stengle to return, Dempsey & Mannagh provide excellent scoring power.
The defenders are just as solid. O'Sullivan is on the path to becoming the next Harry Taylor and while De Koning will never amount to anything special, he's going to be solid 200 gamer.

Let's pray to god this new kid Barker becomes the next big thing as we certainly need it.

The forwards should be kicking and creating more goals as a group based on the territory and inside 50s we are getting. Cameron has had 2 decent games and 2 shockers. Mannagh has been invisible, Close struggling before starting to come good. Neale great at times, quiet at others (but that's fine for his stage of development). Henry and Martin types popping up here and there, Wiltshire not a lot to say. Stengle missing. Dempsey is a wingman (closer to our midfield group) like Miers - they aren't forwards.

In defence we have Humphries and Zuthrie having shocking seasons, Mullin learning his craft, COS showing great signs but he's young, J.Henry has been dodgy at times, SDK is just starting to get confidence back. Stewart is now great at times, dodgy at others. It's not an elite group at stopping forwards or providing clean rebound.

Our midfielders/wingmen are Smith, Holmes, Atkins, Bruhn, Worpel, Bowes, Dempsey and Miers. It's just weird to pretend it is the worst group in the league.

On 2026 output you have overrated the forwards, given defenders a free pass and again stuck to your pre-existing narrative that the midfield are to blame for every problem. They are dominating our board MVP voting and coaches votes. Forwards/defenders lost the game against Hawthorn and were our weakness in the other 2 wins, as well as today.

 

[Shueygod]

Cats ahead in nearly every stat except frees, 20 more tackles and easy win and lost the free kick count but Reid is umpired differently .

And what do any of those have to do with Reid specifically?

 

[Fabab]

And what do any of those have to do with Reid specifically?

he's a grub that gets involved with nearly every skirmish during the game, so how they can win a free kick count with this bloke playing is a great thing for WC.

 

[MisterMarcus]

It's the umps wot won it for Geelong!!

 

[Shueygod]

View attachment 2580452

It's the umps wot won it for Geelong!!

Has anyone actually said that?

I’ve specifically said that the umpiring was trash on both sides and had no impact.

The irony is the last 4 weeks no doubt you would’ve been saying “free kick counts don’t need to be even” and how they aren’t reflective of the umpiring.

 

[MisterMarcus]

And what do any of those have to do with Reid specifically?

It seems to me there are 3 reasons why a player might get a tough run with free kicks

1) They play a harder "living on the edge" type game style more conducive to giving away frees

2) They are just copping a bad run at the present time and it will all even out in the wash eventually

3) Every single umpire is in conspiracy against them because.....just because.

Sounds like you've plumped for Option 3 but most sane heads would say 1 with perhaps a dash of 2.

 

[Shueygod]

It seems to me there are 3 reasons why a player might get a tough run with free kicks

1) They play a harder "living on the edge" type game style more conducive to giving away frees

2) They are just copping a bad run at the present time and it will all even out in the wash eventually

3) Every single umpire is in conspiracy against them because.....just because.

Sounds like you've plumped for Option 3 but most sane heads would say 1 with perhaps a dash of 2.

4) the AFL media continually highlight how “ill disciplined” Harley is (for example Harley copping it last week for a free kick he didn’t even give away). Umpires consume AFL media, go into games with a preconceived bias that Harley is the most ill disciplined player in the competition and as a result are faster to penalise him than others.

Can you explain what you believe the difference is between him having a very positive differential to a very negative one, and why that change coincidentally occurred the week the media jumped on his back?

Can you also explain why Butters doesn’t get penalised anywhere near as much, given he plays on a “harder edge” than Harley as evidenced by his fines record?

 

[Coasters7]

And the (s)hits keep coming.

Worpel deserves a suspension if Dev is out for a while. Dog move that has no place in our game.

 

[Wojcinski]

Worpel deserves a suspension if Dev is out for a while. Dog move that has no place in our game.

a lot less in it than Ginbey on Lalor and Ginbey got away without suspension so think that'll be how it goes

 

[Shueygod]

a lot less in it than Ginbey on Lalor and Ginbey got away without suspension so think that'll be how it goes

The AFL seemingly changed the rules after that incident, but I agree it probably isn’t a suspension. Thought you didn’t even see it

 

[Coasters7]

a lot less in it than Ginbey on Lalor and Ginbey got away without suspension so think that'll be how it goes

They changed the rule based on Ginbeys push though so I’d expect at least a week if Dev is ruled out. But we all know they won’t be consistent.

 

[Wojcinski]

The AFL seemingly changed the rules after that incident, but I agree it probably isn’t a suspension. Thought you didn’t even see it

Do you know how media works? You realise I can search something up after the fact and watch a replay of it?

 

[Coasters7]

Do you know how media works? You realise I can search something up after the fact and watch a replay of it?

Thoughts on whether it was a free kick? Geelong scored from that centre clearance if i remember correctly

 

[Generalissimo]

Could've almost been a free to Worpel for blocking off the ball.

Seriously though, people actually think that's reportable? What planet are you from?

 

[PhatBoy]

4) the AFL media continually highlight how “ill disciplined” Harley is (for example Harley copping it last week for a free kick he didn’t even give away). Umpires consume AFL media, go into games with a preconceived bias that Harley is the most ill disciplined player in the competition and as a result are faster to penalise him than others.

Can you explain what you believe the difference is between him having a very positive differential to a very negative one, and why that change coincidentally occurred the week the media jumped on his back?

Can you also explain why Butters doesn’t get penalised anywhere near as much, given he plays on a “harder edge” than Harley as evidenced by his fines record?

You can make your point without the fines thing.

You can get fined for heaps of things without giving away a free kick. Half the time the two things are totally unrelated. You would quite literally need a calculator or spreadsheet to work out the number of times a player has been fined or cited for an incident off the ball that was not so much as spotted during a game and as such won’t result in a free kick.

 

[Generalissimo]

Didn't work out....for Hawthorn...wasn't Stephens part of the Henry trade?

Correct. We got Ollie Henry, the Pies got Tom Mitchell, and Hawthorn got a bag of magic beans.

 

[frggr]

Correct. We got Ollie Henry, the Pies got Tom Mitchell, and Hawthorn got a bag of magic beans.

Thanks - I deleted my post because I didn't realise I'd come through to a man board thread :|

Part of the thread got moved to Bay 13 for some reason

 

[PhatBoy]

On the Reid thing, you can bet your bottom dollar that across the course of his career his aggression, antagonism, and the sheer quality of his football is going to win him free kicks that other players won’t get simply because his opponents will do silly things too.

It might not balance out to a 50-50 level that pleases everyone but it will offset the things that are upsetting eagles fans a bit, at least.

 

[Wojcinski]

On the Reid thing, you can bet your bottom dollar that across the course of his career his aggression, antagonism, and the sheer quality of his football is going to win him free kicks that other players won’t get simply because his opponents will do silly things too.

It might not balance out to a 50-50 level that pleases everyone but it will offset the things that are upsetting eagles fans a bit, at least.

Reid has the 2nd most free kicks for a midfielder and 6th most total this season, Eagles fans just don't really understand that playing on the edge results in giving them away as well

 

[Shueygod]

Reid has the 2nd most free kicks for a midfielder and 6th most total this season, Eagles fans just don't really understand that playing on the edge results in giving them away as well

Like uhhh Butters?

“Playing on the edge” shouldn’t result in free kicks that aren’t there paid against you.

 

[PhatBoy]

Like uhhh Butters?

“Playing on the edge” shouldn’t result in free kicks that aren’t there paid against you.

You’re going to have to start charging Zak Butters rent sometime soon.