State of umpiring

[DuckYeah]

We need an umpiring thread because its a balls up joke at the moment.

 

[Hojuman]

We need an umpiring thread because its a balls up joke at the moment.

Have you noticed when then " throw " the ball up nowadays they throw it away from themselves instead of " straight " up ? Annoys the hell out of me and advantages one ruckman where the ball is going.

 

[SonofSamsquanch]

Have you noticed when then " throw " the ball up nowadays they throw it away from themselves instead of " straight " up ? Annoys the hell out of me and advantages one ruckman where the ball is going.

It's clearly an instruction as they all do it. I guess that means they have less need to run backwards after the ball up.

Remember the old days when umps would often do backwards runs after goals etc. these days most probably can't and most can't bounce the ball properly. One boundary on Saturday couldn't throw the ball half way back to the ruck contest.

My INTERPRETATION of modern day umpires is that not one or them is better than useless. They can't even judge 15 metres. A fundamental measurement of the game.

 

[outwecome2play]

A frustration of mine is they are very close to one another. One umpire will call play on and the other will pay a free kick.
Why can't one stay in the forward 5o, one in the back 50 and two in the middle.

 

[SonofSamsquanch]

How about the really obvious stuff? On Saturday a 50 was paid against Archer when he dropped the ball after a free against North. That's a harsh penalty for a minor indiscretion but that's how the rule works. No problem with that.

But, at the end of the game, North get a free up forward. the ball had moved on some distance. A St Kilda player chipped the ball back which went no closer than 20 metres to the intended target, bounced and rolled... Four umpires did absolutely nothing.

The game was not in dispute at this stage and even percentage is not a factor for North, but it ought to have been a walk up goal with 50 paid. I only hope St Kilda and * are fighting it out for 8th position and the 0.01% that this advantaged St Kilda is the difference that causes * to miss the finals.



As you can see, I always look for the silver linings.

 

[muttley45]

One of many of my current bugbears is how some players ( usually ours ) are immediately called to play on after a mark/free kick if they happen to move 1cm laterally, whereas others can literally do a soft shoe shuffle, and are totally ignored.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

One of many of my current bugbears is how some players ( usually ours ) are immediately called to play on after a mark/free kick if they happen to move 1cm laterally, whereas others can literally do a soft shoe shuffle, and are totally ignored.

Have noticed this as well.

We so much as look sideways, it’s play on.

I wish the club had the capacity to cut up vision and demand to know why we are held to such a strict adherence where others are not.

 

[muttley45]

Have noticed this as well.

We so much as look sideways, it’s play on.

I wish the club had the capacity to cut up vision and demand to know why we are held to such a strict adherence where others are not.

I reckon these calls quite often result in a turnover due to being tackled and pinged for htb, or the resultant rushed disposal under pressure is intercepted, and we all know how much turnovers contribute to opposition scores.

 

[SonofSamsquanch]

One of many of my current bugbears is how some players ( usually ours ) are immediately called to play on after a mark/free kick if they happen to move 1cm laterally, whereas others can literally do a soft shoe shuffle, and are totally ignored.

Spot on.

I remember in the match where Michael Tuck broke KB's games record, the umps were never going to let North win that game. Matty Larkin was lining up a shot and while standing still with both feet planted, a North player ran past to give an option. Larkin glanced sideways for a split second and with a nod and a wink, the ump allowed a tackle from behind before Matty had moved his feet.

In the other direction, leniency and free kicks to Hawthorne were so frequently given that I reckon even Tuck himself would have been embarrassed.

And it has not changed since then.

 

[Event Horizon]

I don't watch too many other games but the two things that annoy me the most at our games are lack of holding the ball decisions to us when the ball is dropped or disposed of incorrectly with prior opportunity and rubbish holding decisions in our backline where the contact is too insignificant to warrant the shot on goal. Some 50m penalties against us have also been extremely soft

 

[kool kangas]

While l dont like the way that the umpires decide decisions l have to just keep reminding myself that without them we dont have a game. The big issue is that the TV media keep showing replays of decisions. If your at a vfl or local game the game just continues and the frustration subsides pretty quickly. God help up if they strike. How will we cope without live football matches as all AFL affilliated umpires on all levels will not umpire a game....

 

[danj]

How about umpires be given a tape measure? Fair dinkum there were short ones there were long ones in each game I watched over the weekend How hard would it be to give them each a device where they pushed te button where the infringement occurred then it beeps at 50 meters from that point?

 

[kool kangas]

How about umpires be given a tape measure? Fair dinkum there were short ones there were long ones in each game I watched over the weekend How hard would it be to give them each a device where they pushed te button where the infringement occurred then it beeps at 50 meters from that point?

To technical...they would have to remember to press the button..

 

[harper2bastinac]

Nothings changed and this club cops it every week, every time the games close it’s free kick after free kick right in front of goal for the opposition, every close game, it’s always free kick after free kick to the opposition in the final quarter.
The free kick count usually doesn’t look as bad as it really is but the reality is half our frees for are in positions like the back pocket or going forward and given a second later to give the opponents the chance to get their structure right which usually results in an intercept mark.
On top of that add in the amount of holding the ball decisions that go against us when our players have literally had one second with the ball, while the same set of rules doesn’t apply for the other team.

 

[SonofSamsquanch]

While l dont like the way that the umpires decide decisions l have to just keep reminding myself that without them we dont have a game. The big issue is that the TV media keep showing replays of decisions. If your at a vfl or local game the game just continues and the frustration subsides pretty quickly. God help up if they strike. How will we cope without live football matches as all AFL affilliated umpires on all levels will not umpire a game....

It will be fine against Geelong as Patrick Dangerfield usually makes most of the umpiring decisions in those games. He seems to manage ok by himself too since Selwood retired. Those two probably also gave the Brownlow votes as well.

 

[Archer_11]

No 31 P Rubeschini - not a fan of our club it appears. Adelaide boy I think.

Also heard a crazy rumour, one that of course people will dismiss as nonsense - in junk time the umps where possible are finding a few rubbish frees to square the ledger so that they dial down the heat for the post game. I did feel it was a bit that way on the weekend.

 

[kool kangas]

No 31 P Rubeschini - not a fan of our club it appears. Adelaide boy I think.

Also heard a crazy rumour, one that of course people will dismiss as nonsense - in junk time the umps where possible are finding a few rubbish frees to square the ledger so that they dial down the heat for the post game. I did feel it was a bit that way on the weekend.

This has been going on for years..

 

[speedy]

Blaming the umps is a waste of time.

I'm even willing to let them off the hook for calling our 20m kicks play on and the oppositions 10m kicks as marks. Our wonky slow hospital kicks probably look like they travel less distance than they actually do. Those sizzling 10m kicks by the opposition are just a blur.

 

[Archer_11]

But it's so much fun!

Blaming the umps is a waste of time.

I'm even willing to let them off the hook for calling our 20m kicks play on and the oppositions 10m kicks as marks. Our wonky slow hospital kicks probably look like they travel less distance than they actually do. Those sizzling 10m kicks by the opposition are just a blur.

But it's so much fun!

 

[danj]

Blaming the umps is a waste of time.

I'm even willing to let them off the hook for calling our 20m kicks play on and the oppositions 10m kicks as marks. Our wonky slow hospital kicks probably look like they travel less distance than they actually do. Those sizzling 10m kicks by the opposition are just a blur.

Still it would be an interesting academic exercise to do some stats around umpiring at the AFL, for example would the stats support the supposition that junk time frees favours the side with less free kicks. Is there an unconscious bias based on who the umpire supported as a kid or played for? Is there really any improvement to the game based on increasing the number of umpires?

 

[The acurate one]

Yes it is bad , terrible, horrific and plain shite. It is nearly as bad as we are at footyball.

And oh boy, the day it equals our efforts there will be rioting in the stands.

 

[Archer_11]

What I would kill for is a table that has Ump / Team / Timestamp / Area of Ground / Infringement type. I think that would paint quite the picture.

 

[scottywiper]

They've always been rubbish. They're just more rubbish now

 

[SonofSamsquanch]

No 31 P Rubeschini - not a fan of our club it appears. Adelaide boy I think.

Also heard a crazy rumour, one that of course people will dismiss as nonsense - in junk time the umps where possible are finding a few rubbish frees to square the ledger so that they dial down the heat for the post game. I did feel it was a bit that way on the weekend.

100% on both counts. #31 was trash.

As the game came to an end there were some frees paid to North which were paid in a somewhat delayed manner - as if the umpire had a message in his earpiece...

Nah. They wouldn't do that.


Would they?

 

[Twinkletoes]

They've always been rubbish. They're just more rubbish now

Yep, and there are more of them. There’s no way the “talent” pool is deep enough to pluck an additional crew of trainees who make up the additional numbers and for them to be as good as is required.

Us being off Broadway (ie and afterthought) renders us having to endure the worst of the lot at present.