Jordan Lewis said that at the beginning of the season, there was an AFL directive stating precisely if the initial contact was below the shoulder and it ends up being above the shoulder, it is not deemed a high tackle. Apparently it came about following a controversial call in the preliminary final between Bulldogs and GWS in 2016.
Now, if the umpire knew that, and he would have, he's made an error in judgement. He's obviously not seen the initial contact. Controversial, yes, but it's all part of the rich tapestry that is football. Nothing's fair in football, different clubs receiving advantages over others, etc, so how can we expect the umpiring to be spot on?
A Port supporter mate of mine got it into perspective when he said, "Yeah, it possibly cost us the game, but we weren't going much further in the finals anyway". He also added how many chances Port had to seal the game and didn't take them. I've always found it odd, after all the mistakes players make, that we point at one decision at the end of the game and say it cost us the match.
I have to say, to your Port mate , because he may have thought Port weren't going anywhere further in the finals is NOT THE POINT, it doesn't matter which team it is, in a circumstance where there are many , who cares which team it is, if its the Oonagilabi seconds and they lose the grand final its still either a right or wrong interpretation , how ever far your going, nothing is perfect , but making umpiring mistakes in multiples which happens regularly now because of rules that are too hard to call except by guessing or interpreting your own ideas is WRONG? Surely it means the rules need to be more simple a straight forward, for me , the AFL has gone all out to complicate the game.
WHY?
If you want to go back to interpretation of rules, Paddy Ryders thing, please don't forget this, his exact same situation happened to The Dockers with Sandilands who never raised an arm or called out, but contested a ball up, ,it was round three this year, and the TV had the sound and the action available it was last Monday night.
The ump called play on, in that round 3 match, where as the Eagles scored a goal last Weekend from that umpire.
Another thing we seem to have no choice over , a Port goal, on camera that was without a doubt touched because you can see the fingers get flipped forward then back in a claw like manner , and the thumb move, it was not a goal, but the camera blokes for some reason left it up to the umpire, which I believe should happen all the time by the way, but that was not a goal, how come that is happening , why are cameras used to confuse and create debate every week post games. No cameras , the umpires do a pretty damned good job behind the posts.
In fact the goal boys and girls are the best of the bunch I reckon.
Now I've written two or three long posts on BF, and I still find it amazing that the AFL take no notice of their base , and their actual cattle that make them the money, that's us, whether you agree or disagree they have gone too
far in the mangling of the game.
When the umpires are not seen or heard , the game, you know, is a good one, when you see blatant stuff time and time again that you don't understand , well to me its like having a rule where as one boxer has rules where he has just gloves and the other is allowed to have a horseshoe or two in his gloves. Its unfair.
Our game is too good to be allowed to be decided by decisions that can have two or three different interpretations in the three different umpires heads. (yes in a split second too)
Which obviously happen every weekend. Or we wouldn't be talking about it and I wouldn't be frustrated by the weekly garbage we talk about.
I will now leave this conversation , unless of course something else sets me off, ha ha ha ! Which you can bet it will!