Umpiring Staging - enough is enough

[TY24]

Let's talk about staging.

It's rife in the game at the moment, and it's a terrible look. It looks bad for the player, their club, and the game as a whole.

Last night in Darwin we saw one particularly egregious example from Jai Newcombe:



We've also seen some terrible acting from Harley Reid and Ollie Dempsey this season.






This thread isn't supposed to be a mud-slinging fest aimed at a player or club in particular, but an open conversation about what can be done to stamp out examples like the above.

I believe it's time to start offering players a 1 week suspension if they deliberately try and deceive an umpire by staging/flopping. Repeat offenders should expect to see the number of weeks increase.

Another option could be to continue to offer the current financial sanction on a players first offence, then offer a week to repeat offenders.

I believe this will go a long way to removing this blight on our game.

 

[flyinghi64]

They are pretty bad to look at and the players should be pretty embarrassed when they see themselves be so "weak"
Not against a fine that can't be discounted and doubles with each offence.
Call it the P1ss Weak Acting offence and name and shame should be enough for these hardened tough footy players to stop flopping and dropping.
Every team has players that do this, some more than others.

 

[KissKiss]

Fines for first offences and go back to multiple fines leading to suspensions.

I get that it can be hard for the umpires to spot it in real time (their job has way too many complications already), but there needs to be some stamping it out after the fact. The advantages of free kicks are too strong and players will take advantage of that until there is a reason not to

 

[TY24]

Fines for first offences and go back to multiple fines leading to suspensions.

I get that it can be hard for the umpires to spot it in real time (their job has way too many complications already), but there needs to be some stamping it out after the fact. The advantages of free kicks are too strong and players will take advantage of that until there is a reason not to

Yep. The Newcombe flop last night led directly to a goal in a game that was decided by 8 points. Fine margins.

 

[flyinghi64]

Yep. The Newcombe flop last night led directly to a goal in a game that was decided by 8 points. Fine margins.

That's when it really hurts, particularly if it decides a game.

 

[Gaspard]

The related ducking to get a high tackle stage is much more common, and is dangerous to boot. The players who do it should be fined first up, then suspended if they repeat offend. Those who won't learn should get very lengthy suspensions. This takes the pressure off umpires, who should just pay the free kick they see, and puts it on the players and the AFL admin, who are the ones causing the problem.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

Let's talk about staging.

It's rife in the game at the moment, and it's a terrible look. It looks bad for the player, their club, and the game as a whole.

Last night in Darwin we saw one particularly egregious example from Jai Newcombe:

View attachment 2315888

We've also seen some terrible acting from Harley Reid and Ollie Dempsey this season.

View attachment 2315893


View attachment 2315894

This thread isn't supposed to be a mud-slinging fest aimed at a player or club in particular, but an open conversation about what can be done to stamp out examples like the above.

I believe it's time to start offering players a 1 week suspension if they deliberately try and deceive an umpire by staging/flopping. Repeat offenders should expect to see the number of weeks increase.

Another option could be to continue to offer the current financial sanction on a players first offence, then offer a week to repeat offenders.

I believe this will go a long way to removing this blight on our game.

You should get weeks for it.

It's probably my most despised aspect of the game.

It is not only an embarrassment and a blight on the player's character - it genuinely hurts the game.

It makes the job of umpiring so, so much harder. It forces umpires to change the way they interpret certain things, and causes them to miss clear free kicks because the player DIDN'T accentuate the contact. It throws the whole thing off whack.

Suspend these cheats. Get it out of the game.

And FWIW, the lunging forward looking for In The Back free kicks, and the ducking and dropping the knees ones are worse.

 

[Leather Poisoning]

I think the umps have changed their behaviour a bit here.

The Newcombe example got the free - but after the kick there were so many GC players pushing hawk players to ground (and I'm sure some of it was exaggerated for the hope of a free).

Umps were having none of it.

Staging sucks. And my real bigbear is when someone initiates some agro and flops on the retaliation and gets the free. Not sure how to stamp that one out but the flopper needs some kind of shame treatment.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Fine first offence, one week for second offence, two weeks for third offence etc.

Would cut it out pretty quickly.

How often umpires fall for it on-field should count towards their selection/non-selection for finals, if it doesn't already.

 

[Gaspard]

Fine first offence, one week for second offence, two weeks for third offence etc.

Would cut it out pretty quickly.

How often umpires fall for it on-field should count towards their selection/non-selection for finals, if it doesn't already.

I'm on board with the first paragraph. I'm not in favour of the second. The umpires job is near impossible now. More pressure on them wouldn't help. Let them pay the free kicks as they see them, and the tribunal can deal with the cheats.

 

[Sherrinator]

I think the umps have changed their behaviour a bit here.

The Newcombe example got the free - but after the kick there were so many GC players pushing hawk players to ground (and I'm sure some of it was exaggerated for the hope of a free).

Umps were having none of it.

Staging sucks. And my real bigbear is when someone initiates some agro and flops on the retaliation and gets the free. Not sure how to stamp that one out but the flopper needs some kind of shame treatment.

I reckon the coach should be suspended for a game as well. Would end pretty quickly since they are the ones coaching the action to begin with.

 

[TY24]

Laitham Vandermeer

23

Laitham Vandermeer

Age

26

Ht

182cm

Wt

78kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.1

3star

K

6.5

3star

HB

3.6

3star

M

2.8

3star

T

2.8

4star

G

1.0

4star

D

10.1

3star

K

6.5

3star

HB

3.6

2star

M

2.8

3star

T

2.8

4star

G

1.0

4star

D

10.8

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

3.8

3star

M

3.4

4star

T

2.6

4star

G

1.0

4star

…

 

[BallaratBulldog]

Give them a week for each stadge

 

[cherrypie]

Laitham Vandermeer…

Brutal elbow by Redman. Should be at least 10 weeks in my opinion, he could’ve killed him