Opinion Non-Crows AFL 13: Offseason

[Rotayjay]

If the goal umpire didn't **** up we would have played finals - Excuse

If Rankine was paid a free we would have beaten GC - Excuse

If Brisbane kicked straight they would have won - Excuse

I said it at the time and I'll say it again - if a goal umpiring decision is all it takes to cost you a finals appearance, you don't deserve to play finals.

 

[WetCrow1991]

I was promised a record breaking score.

 

[FR0GGY]

I was promised a record breaking score.

Wait for Sunday

 

[Mr MysteryGuest]

23 scoring shots to 18, 8 points in the last quarter, they dominated inside 50s after we hit the lead but missed sitters. Clearly we were lucky they missed.

Because we went defensive.

We did the same thing against but we still clearly the better side.

We were only lucky that they missed the one in the last minute

 

[Rotayjay]

To protect himself.

This is the issue with AFL


All through junior Footy you teach kids to protect yourself first. Yes players take their eyes off the ball, to see where other players are. And yes they turn their body to make contact with bum to shoulder or brace themselves.

In this instance Newcombe saw Howe coming and turned to protect himself. If he kep his body open, the incident could have been worse.

Footy accident. Nothing more.

I agree - I'm sick of all these armchair analysts looking at the footage in slow motion and expecting players to make perfect decisions in less time than it takes the human brain to process the information.

It's a contact sport. Yes we need to protect the head and modify technique accordingly, but we can't expect players to be perfect. Accidents happen!

 

[Moonwatcher]

Another three of those quarters and Geelong win by 84 points

I think we'd take that now if offered

I prefer it when they channel the 2000 Bombers.

 

[fuic08]

Geelong not coping well with the pressure

 

[cmndstab]

Essendon coming hard!

 

[Shuestar13]

Famous last words, but it may be one of our “effort” halves on Sunday, potentially the first. Could be a “frustrating” AFC 50-70 point win. We’ll see

 

[Rotayjay]

This was the only Crows match in 2017 that I've never actually seen. I was on a holiday with friends at Marion Bay at the time, and I was fishing for squid on the jetty as the the FiveAA call came through on my phone, getting increasingly flabbergasted before switching off at quarter time and forgetting that football existed for the rest of the trip.

I figured that I would get to finally watch it when I did my big "rewatch the entire premiership season" thing after we won the flag, but, you know...

That was a ****ing shit day, and even worse in hindsight. It was a massive canary in the coal mine, showing our soft underbelly. We thought we had overcome that going into the grand final, but we hadn't. We had another shit game, on the day that mattered.

 

[cleanhands]

Famous last words, but it may be one of our “effort” halves on Sunday, potentially the first. Could be a “frustrating” AFC 50-70 point win. We’ll see

Better start now

 

[Mr MysteryGuest]

Geelong will kick 8 goals to 1 in the 4th now

 

[MarcusP2]

Still reckon this is 12 goals at least, Bombers threw their shot

 

[relapse]

We need the Bombers to keep this as close as possible

 

[PCORF]

Geelong will kick 8 goals to 1 in the 4th now

They have conceded the first. Will Geelong kick the last 8?

 

[MatthewB]

Geelong's % has gone up by .3%

 

[Thrillthorpe7]

They have conceded the first. Will Geelong kick the last 8?

Nope

 

[Rotayjay]

A bit late to do an autopsy but....

‘8 unwarranted free kicks’: Ex-AFL umpire Troy Pannell’s controversial calls​

Footage from a controversial AFL match has a whistleblower raising questions about how ex-umpire Troy Pannell made those free kick calls. SEE THE VIDEO.

2 min read
August 8, 2025 - 2:05PM
National News Network

Did this ex-AFL umpire give too many free kicks?
Controversial umpire Troy Pannell giving free kicks during the Western Bulldogs v Adelaide Crows match at Marvel Stadium in 2016.... more

AFL​

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The AFL has declined to investigate a controversial AFL match umpired by Troy Pannell, despite one umpire claiming he counted eight unwarranted free kicks to the Western Bulldogs.
A former AFL umpire has checked the tape of the match between the Bulldogs and the Adelaide Crows at Marvel Stadium in 2016.
Pannell paid 17 free kicks to the Bulldogs and only one to the Crows in that match, which the Dogs won by 15 points.
The match has hit the headlines again after Pannell was convicted of contempt of court for failing to file a defence to a claim from his former employer SeaRoad Shipping.

Former AFL umpire Troy Pannell. Picture: Michael Klein
The company alleged that Pannell misappropriated $8.7 million over more than a decade for container repairs that were never done.
Pannell was due to file a defence to the claim by July 13 from his jail cell after he was sentenced to 11 weeks in prison for dodging court appearances.

AFL umpire Troy Pannell departs from the Supreme Court of Victoria. He was sentenced to 11 weeks in jail in late July. Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele
A former AFL umpire who reviewed the footage said he estimated Mr Pannell paid free kicks with a “Western Bulldogs bias as his default” with at least “eight unwarranted” decisions.
“For some of the free kicks it’s obvious he’s gone looking for a free kick to pay,” the former umpire said.
“The alarming one for me is the centre bounce one to Tom Liberatore. As the bouncing umpire your focus is almost solely on the rucks.

“The non controlling umpire’s job is to watch the midfielders for holds.
“To pay such a marginal free kick when those two players should not even be his focus suggests to me he was searching for a free kick to pay in that instance as he knew those two players would likely be engaging each other”.

Ex-AFL umpire Troy Pannell. Picture: Mark Dadswell/Getty Images
The former senior whistleblower said the footage raised questions about how Mr Pannell could have made those decisions.
“An umpire of his experience shouldn’t have been making those types of errors,” he said.
“Eight unwarranted free kicks is unforgivable. In umpiring we’re taught that you would rather miss something than pay something that is marginal or isn’t there.”
Pannell’s life has fallen apart since his alleged fraud was discovered last year.
Pannell was living in his car before he was arrested after an accident in June, but has told a court that intends to file a defence in SeaRoad Shipping’s civil claim.

Former AFL umpire Troy Pannell. Picture: Glenn Ferguson
Many of the free kicks paid in the match were to Bulldogs midfielder Tom Liberatore, while Adelaide’s Scott Thompson was pinged several times by Pannell. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of the players.
Three other umpires who viewed the footage raised similar concerns.
Another umpire said: “I count six unwarranted free kicks and six 50/50s. Either way it’s a very bad day at the office for an experienced top level official.”
“They can wage a heavy case for dodgy decisions but I don’t think they cost the team the game.”
The 2016 loss denied Adelaide a top four spot and secured seventh place for the Bulldogs, where they led their unprecedented march towards their first flag for 62 years.
The AFL declined to answer questions about whether it would investigate Mr Pannell’s performance.
The AFL was approached for comment.

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/8-unwarranted-free-kicks-exafl-umpire-troy-pannells-controversial-calls/news-story/7ef54339d953bf92587e68edf8b6be6c?utm_source=TheAdvertiser&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Editorial&utm_content=ADV_PREM-PM_NEW_01&net_sub_id=285893080&type=free_text_block&position=15

Considering that his life has fallen apart recently, I wouldn't be surprised if it emerges that Pannell was involved in match-fixing in that game, something to do with a drug debt or gambling debt.

We all knew on Bigfooty that it stank, and the cherry on top was the footage of Troy Pannell slapping a Bulldogs player's arse, as if to say 'good job'.

 

[Ciao Giacomo]

Wait for Sunday

West Coast have played 5 top 8 teams in Perth

Suns -87 (1st round)
Dockers -38
Giants -59
Fremantle -49
Geelong -43

The line is 60 points which will be tough in slippery conditions. I expect between 40 and 60 point win.

We beat them by 66 pts at Adelaide Oval.

 

[Thrillthorpe7]

Geelong's % has gone up by .3%

Yeah Essendon being able to kick a decent score has made it a lot harder for Geelong to get decent percentage

 

[Thrillthorpe7]

I know it’s still super unlikely, but imagine if Geelong actually lost?!

 

[Shuestar13]

Better start now

There is no optimism in my comment We are likely “good” for about 50-65 points. You would expect that would be doubled, it all depends your accuracy and how hard you push.

 

[Shuestar13]

I know it’s still super unlikely, but imagine if Geelong actually lost?!

I don’t think next week will be a percentage booster for them… At least a semi hard game.

 

[Moonwatcher]

Yeah Essendon being able to kick a decent score has made it a lot harder for Geelong to get decent percentage

They did it to us too

 

[FR0GGY]

Pretty soft free, but we’ll take it