- Mar 2, 2015
- 19,064
- 34,278
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
It's a great rule
We just need better umpires to stop rewarding players who play for free kicks
Don't give free kicks to players who...
1) deliberately knee an opponent in the head and then cartwheel theatrically.
2) duck their head into a tackle, or throw their head back theatrically when tackled below the shoulder
3) make no effort to win the ball, but wait for opponents to take possession and then wrap them up in a tackle with no prior opp
4) dive forwards the moment they are tackled, or the moment they receive contact in a marking contest
If I was the umpires coach, 50% of my weekly reviews & teaching would involve coaching the umps to be more alert about being conned by the free kick artists. They don't scrutinise this aspect of footy as much as they should. The people in charge acknowledge the "difficulty" of the umpires' job (with professional footballers trying to con them throughout a game) but they continue to reward the cheats.
Umpires: pull your head out of your arse and get with the program
We just need better umpires to stop rewarding players who play for free kicks
Don't give free kicks to players who...
1) deliberately knee an opponent in the head and then cartwheel theatrically.
2) duck their head into a tackle, or throw their head back theatrically when tackled below the shoulder
3) make no effort to win the ball, but wait for opponents to take possession and then wrap them up in a tackle with no prior opp
4) dive forwards the moment they are tackled, or the moment they receive contact in a marking contest
If I was the umpires coach, 50% of my weekly reviews & teaching would involve coaching the umps to be more alert about being conned by the free kick artists. They don't scrutinise this aspect of footy as much as they should. The people in charge acknowledge the "difficulty" of the umpires' job (with professional footballers trying to con them throughout a game) but they continue to reward the cheats.
Umpires: pull your head out of your arse and get with the program
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