This is not a thread complaining about the umpires being "stricter" on 15m calls, although I've hated every second of that this year.
No, this is a thread about our gameplan. Every week we see Crows players getting called not 15m play on in crucial situations, particularly down back, often from the kick-in itself. All too often it allows an extra shot on goal for the opposition, or at best, stifles our offensive thrust.
Whether you think that the umpires being hotter on 15m calls is a good thing or a bad thing, the reality is that our team seems instructed to present exactly 15m away from their teammates, just inviting these kinds of calls to occur. There are some serial offenders in this regard - Laird is the worst at it, consistently working to 15m from the player with the ball and then calling for it. But he is far from the only one.
Even today, we saw a player as talented as Thilthorpe stuff up a short kick across defensive goal which, if it hadn't been cut off by an opponent, would have been called play on anyway (the umpire had already said "not 15" before the intercept happened). You can decry Thilthorpe for the poor kick, but what was his teammate doing calling for the ball 12m away, right in front of the defensive goal? There was spare ground ahead of him that he could have worked into, so that there was any chance of being paid a mark.
It happens often enough that it feels like part of a strategy to offer a short option 15m from the ball, although it's unclear to me whether getting that close is designed to stretch the opposition defence a bit further, or if it's just because shorter kicks are easier to execute. Either way, it's extremely frustrating as a supporter to see teammates standing so close to the ball carrier all the time, just inviting a call to go against them. At best, the ball carrier rightly ignores them and they contribute nothing to the play.
Surely, given how hot the umpires have been on this in 2025, our players should be instructed to get 20m or more away from the ball carrier when creating an option?
No, this is a thread about our gameplan. Every week we see Crows players getting called not 15m play on in crucial situations, particularly down back, often from the kick-in itself. All too often it allows an extra shot on goal for the opposition, or at best, stifles our offensive thrust.
Whether you think that the umpires being hotter on 15m calls is a good thing or a bad thing, the reality is that our team seems instructed to present exactly 15m away from their teammates, just inviting these kinds of calls to occur. There are some serial offenders in this regard - Laird is the worst at it, consistently working to 15m from the player with the ball and then calling for it. But he is far from the only one.
Even today, we saw a player as talented as Thilthorpe stuff up a short kick across defensive goal which, if it hadn't been cut off by an opponent, would have been called play on anyway (the umpire had already said "not 15" before the intercept happened). You can decry Thilthorpe for the poor kick, but what was his teammate doing calling for the ball 12m away, right in front of the defensive goal? There was spare ground ahead of him that he could have worked into, so that there was any chance of being paid a mark.
It happens often enough that it feels like part of a strategy to offer a short option 15m from the ball, although it's unclear to me whether getting that close is designed to stretch the opposition defence a bit further, or if it's just because shorter kicks are easier to execute. Either way, it's extremely frustrating as a supporter to see teammates standing so close to the ball carrier all the time, just inviting a call to go against them. At best, the ball carrier rightly ignores them and they contribute nothing to the play.
Surely, given how hot the umpires have been on this in 2025, our players should be instructed to get 20m or more away from the ball carrier when creating an option?
