- Oct 5, 2004
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Yep and therein lies the problem.
You’ve been conditioned that accidental contact and verbal remonstration deserves suspension from the game.
What a shame.
Umpiring Free kicks & free kick ladders
- Thread starter Red_man2008
- Start date
- Tagged users None
You’ve been conditioned that accidental contact and verbal remonstration deserves suspension from the game.
What a shame.
This is what happens unfortunately, they keep paying prohibitive contact and it won’t be long before the simpletons in the crowd start screaming for a free kick when a player brushes past another. AFL brings in a stupid rule or adjudication and the fans slowly get conditioned to it.
Very sad.
Well that's how they want the game played, it's more like international rules than AFL footy. I rarely watch now, it's so far fetched from the game I loved, even country footy, the players now don't even deliver bone crunching shepherds when they have a chance, they take care, football is a physical brutal game, I'd much prefer the late 80 and 90s footy, we have no king hits or late hits, that's why the trial by video was brought in, not to slow down a fair bump to see if you accidentally hit part of the head, now we have frees for tackles that are too fierce
Richmond don't need to lose to get reamed by the umps. The massive negative free kick differential each year isn't just from losses.
Rabish Binney
Left out overnight
The way the game is umpired currently it encourages the players to milk and exaggerate every single free they can. Some sides do that better and more often. It's crap.
Watch the Richmond vs Adelaide game earlier this year. 2 frees against the Tigers for leading with their heads. Prior opportunity. The only times this year that the umpires got this right.
The game itself is so rare compared to all sports around the globe as far as total amount of rules and grey area interpretations is concerned.
The deliberate placement of the head into danger in an effort to gain a free kick will likely grow further, as will all attempts to gain frees with so many grey/interpretive areas open to boundary pushing that just keep getting added to every year. You can add guys not jumping or moving their legs out of the way in the hope of getting the "newish" "below the knees contact" free now and on and on it goes. The monetary/professionalism/results demands become ever greater and the knowledge of "protection" permeating through the talent drives more young kids to try this stuff.
I can tell you there are some guys practising how to get tackled and carry their head to the ground on purpose in an effort to make tackles look dangerous and gain frees. You will see these instances on field where players look like they've had their heads swung into the ground, stage the level being "impacted" and then miraculously recover. Of course as with charging your head into opponents or the ground, there will be misjudgements of speed and force at times in such a fast/forceful environment, resulting in something awful eventually.
I'm not sure what the answer is, there is more incentive to "risk" it for the perceived demands/results then used to exist and less self protection invoked in this area accordingly. It's a different kind of "toughness" to going in head first for the ball, it's knowingly and deliberately risking damage not so much to win the ball, but to gain a free kick. I can imagine there will be attempts to address it further through the introduction of further grey/interpretive rules around staging and driving your own head into a player or ground and making tackle rules even more restrictive etc, but it will be so arguable and grey as to be another screw up for umps and crowd regarding where the line actually is.
I should probably put this in the "Unpopular Opinions" thread but I can see a time, in the distant future, where the legal threats and injury implications from this fast, 360 degree sport and head trauma, eventually lead to complete alteration in this area. It's quite possible we will eventually (in time) get to a stage where we limit both head lowering/body contact and the tackle/head/ground contact potential altogether. Dare I say it, something like a near relative sport idea of not being able to lift the ball from the ground other than with your foot, which keeps heads up and only being allowed to tackle the ball not the player.
Of course that's all very "Gaelic" lol
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Same with Mansell being pinged for running too far out of the goal square for a kick in against the Dees. The only time the umps got that right, despite it happening at least 10 times per weekend.
quotemokc
Brownlow Medallist
There aren't many sports in the world more obsessed with 'winning' free kicks than Aussie rules.
Everyone goes on and on about penalties in soccer but at least they are very rare.
Everyone goes on and on about penalties in soccer but at least they are very rare.
It's true, but not what the games supporters care to acknowledge. The truth is, when there are so many grey/interpretive areas; there is automatically an incentive to "try it on". In reality, players are constantly staging and trying to "milk" frees through the entire game now, we are literally world leaders in staging. It happens almost every minute of the game.
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After halftime I felt dirty all the free kicks we got, and feeling sorry for the Swans fans who like us are constantly targeted by the umps.
If it been against the Bulldogs or Magpies I probably just felt it’s about time…
SBYM
Fish, chips, cup o' tea, Mary @#? Poppins. London!
Something is wrong...
Try explaining the rules to a complete n00b.
It's deadset ******* impossible.
Try explaining the rules to a complete n00b.
It's deadset ******* impossible.
Rabish Binney
Left out overnight
There were a number of frees given last round for 'preventative contact'.
I didn't even know that was a rule?
I didn't even know that was a rule?
Banyo Bloods
Norm Smith Medallist
I was wondering prior to the match how the umpires would be able to handle the two clubs constantly at the lower end of the free kick ladder.
An even amount free kick fest was the result. Whilst Tiger fans can feel hard done by with the last decision it just shows we both can't win in that area.
Dr Tigris
Brownlow Medallist
It was weird being a tiger fan seeing us getting all these 50 50 frees. never happens.
What have the Swans and Tiges done?
And more importantly why are teams umpired differently. Its consistent and long standing now. And why entirely new interpretations of rules, including ones I didn't know existed? Prohibited contact anyone? Bumping an elbow = free. Huh!
BTW: Umps didn't cost Tigers the game - stupidity and poor goal kicking did. Swans turned it on and played with purpose and coolness.
Dr Tigris
Brownlow Medallist
"Prohibited contact"
Never knew that one. And if we start paying bumps to elbows then it's a free every 15 seconds. Weird and awful.
TheOptimum18
Club Legend
- Apr 18, 2022
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Prohibited contact is usually seen paid when a player makes contact with an opposition in a non-football manner, ie. Buddy on Cotchin. Dusty has a few paid against him when he's tagged, usually cause he pushes McDonald/Greenwood/De Boer over and onto the ground miles off the ball/during stoppages, and you also see some paid if someone's hit off the ball, been punched, charged down etc. like the Gaff punch on Brayshaw.
Banyo Bloods
Norm Smith Medallist
My wife supports the Tigers so it’s not lost on me about the free kicks. It actually makes their achievement something pretty special. There may be an element of the style of play that causes some differential but sometimes it’s hard not to feel like there is something unconscionable going on with their interpretation.
I’ve actually come around to the thought that more effort from the Swans needs to happen and they need to train for less frees as they can’t control the umpiring but they can control some things. We were pretty undisciplined on Friday so that was totally within their control.
Banyo Bloods
Norm Smith Medallist
Refreshing to talk to someone not caught up in blame and having quite the perspective after a close game.
Dr Tigris
Brownlow Medallist
Bot teams were stupid. But both teams got nailed for nothing frees. What do you do. It does make watching the game harder, as you don't actually know why some are paid and some not. And why often one team seems to have a different rule book to another.
- Sep 10, 2006
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I wish I knew. We've been at the bottom of the free kick differential ladder for 20 years now so it can't just be the way we play.
I wonder if it's just that our home crowd isn't aggressive enough to influence their decisions. That doesn't really explain Richmond's plight though.
