Umpire Hits Back - article: Why experts are wrong to bash umpires

[bzparkes]

You reckon players that make it to the top competition in the sport would know the rules and wouldn't need to be coached about them. The point is that the rules and interpretations change so much that players have to be coached about the rules and that is an indictment on the league.

Huh? Of course teams are coached on the rules, they're pretty bloody important. Why do you think clubs invite umpires to help officiate club matches and explain rules? I agree there should be minimal changes but if you want evidence on how players are coached on the rules, look no further than the Hawks '08 premiership. There's knowing the rules and there's knowing how far you can push them.

 

[JeffDunne]

If you take the team focus out of the discussion on umpiring then the conclusion is still the same - AFL is one of the worst officiated professional sports on the planet.

It's not just umpiring either. All decisions from AFL employees are compromised in terms of a level playing field. Umpiring is no different.

 

[Nightrain]

Umpires are not beyond reproach and honestly, I would rather more commentators players or coaches to not ignore the elephant in the room, which is shit rules and umpiring.

I'm buying this bloke a beer.

The umpiring in AFL is atrocious. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't follow any other sport. It is inconsistent within a game, tends to favour home teams and then there are rules which make it difficult.

I don't mind if umpiring is inconsistent between games (what constituted a push in the back in one game may not get you a free kick in another) but it needs to be consistent (or close to) within a game. This is where the majority of the frustration arises. You watch a free get paid against your team at one end of the ground and the same infringement isn't paid for your team.

Half the problem is the multi-umpire system. One ump interprets a free where another doesn't. This is why, AFL more than any other sport, needs to have professional umpires. I want our umpires to be robots. I want them to all congregate in a room together from Mon-Fri, during the season, reviewing all the games of the previous round. They dissect decisions. They are told what should have been paid and what should not. They are given hypothetical situations and asked what their decision would be. I want the doubt and personal opinion squeezed out of them. I want them so confident in their decision that they aren't frightened of paying a free kick, against Richmond in their defensive 50, whilst standing near the boundary in front of their supporters. It currently seems that those in charge of umpiring are reactive and not proactive. Reviews of games and decisions are only performed if there is enough noise made in the Melbourne media.

I've officiated at every AFL venue and I can assure you that most of the time you don't hear the noise of the crowd until the decision is made. The whistle is already at the umpire's mouth by the time the sound reaches your ears. If there is subconsciously one per cent of influence by the home crowd, then deal with it. You have employed humans, not robots. These guys are the most elite umpires in the country with 100 per cent integrity.... CONTINUED"

Yes but consider that the umpire is already influenced before he puts whistle to mouth by prior crowd behaviour and noise.

It also seems that certain teams and certain players are looked after (I won't name any because I don't want to derail the thread into a sh** fight).

I also don't like the fact that certain players are targeted for frees against. Case in point, Cats-Dockers, Subi Oval, circa 2 years ago-ish (and I only mention this as a perfect example, not because of the unjust against my team), the decision to award a free kick to the Cats when Stevie J pushed Crowley over the boundary line and into Selwood. Replays show that, if anything, Crowley deserved the free. No field umpire saw it. It was the decision of the Emergency Umpire who, it turns out, didn't see it either. I imagine he saw that Crowley was involved, believed the media hype about him (or was told to keep an eye out for him) and made the decision based on assumption or likelihood. The bloke had one decision to make all game and he fluffed that up. Now, do you reckon that umpire would have been asked post game, by his superiors, how he came to that conclusion? Or got told that he stuffed up? I doubt it. We just accept it and move on.

The rules don't help the umpires much either. Too many tit-tat rules these days. What constitutes a push in the back these days is anyone's guess.

Now I am reading in our papers how Perth teams are favoured at Subi all because of the Eagles getting looked after last week. I assure you we don't get that service. Had Bruce wrapped up Lee Spurr instead of McGovern in the centre square when the game was on the line, I would bet my left one that it would have been holding the ball and not a push in the back. I can imagine what the Bullies would do to us in a fairly umpired contest. I shudder to think what the score-line is going to be now that the reactive umpiring board will be instructing their employees to make sure it goes the other way this week.

 

[Beutbrute]

WCE supporters are good at what they do

The season is 2 weeks old and we've had a 10 year old report about drugs and a rehash about hometown umpiring. Nothing wrong with defending my club against unwarranted negative attention. I wonder what Eagles related scandal will surface next week?

 

[bzparkes]

The data also accounts for location. And you actually don't outperform your expected free kick count away from home despite your claims.

The reason I think location is the telling factor is it is guaranteed not to have changed over the last 17 years. I think your kidding yourself if your gameplan defenders etc has also been identical over that same period

so your 'data' accounts for every potential free kick. Do you have an opinion of your own or are just just regurgitating someone else's 'opinion' that they have backed up with carefully selected facts? Why don't you go watch every game of ours over the last 17 years and pluck out all the contested frees for our game which account for our 'gamestyle' and the teams we're playing against to back up your argument?

 

[skipper kelly]

Huh? Of course teams are coached on the rules, they're pretty bloody important. Why do you think clubs invite umpires to help officiate club matches and explain rules? I agree there should be minimal changes but if you want evidence on how players are coached on the rules, look no further than the Hawks '08 premiership. There's knowing the rules and there's knowing how far you can push them.

In their typical reactionary manner the AFL changed that rule after 2008. It's an indictment on this league that coaching involves how to exploit rule changes. It's not a fault of the clubs it's the AFL changing the rules all the time. The NRL is just as bad.

We both agree that there are too many rule changes.

 

[demondavey]

We had 60 more disposals, more inside 50's, more marks inside 50, more contested possessions more uncontested possessions, but ignore all that and blame the umpires

I will.I watched the game. The favouritism was blatant.

 

[demondavey]

Read the first quoted post, then read yours and realise that you are wrong. Yep the VIC umpires in our game on the weekend must've also umpired 5 of our last 7 games vs St Kilda at Etihad...

Also who cares which way the free kick count goes as long as we win. I remember a game vs Collingwood a few years back where we got smashed in the free kick count and still won comfortably.

It matters which home ground the game is being played. Not where the umpires a from.

 

[demondavey]

Even though our umpires on the weekend were all Vics, eh?

Ever considered the ground where the game is being played has something to do with it? Would you want to upset tens of thousands of baying WCE supporters? Especially if you're a Victorian.

Your argument has no merit.

 

[Power Raid]

The season is 2 weeks old and we've had a 10 year old report about drugs and a rehash about hometown umpiring. Nothing wrong with defending my club against unwarranted negative attention. I wonder what Eagles related scandal will surface next week?

I heard next week Woman's Day is breaking the news that Donald Trump is a huge WCE fan.

 

[Beutbrute]

I will.I watched the game. The favouritism was blatant.

Did you see the replay of the second goal of the game. Clearly deflected off Chris Masten on the replay, but was awarded as a goal rather than touched. Clear favouritism yeah

 

[Beutbrute]

I heard next week Woman's Day is breaking the news that Donald Trump is a huge WCE fan.

It will only come out next week if we keep winning haha

 

[Scotland]

If the umpires started giving St Kilda some fairer umpiring and stopped giving West Coast, Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs an unfair advantage I might stop whinging, I'm not the cause of the problem, people like me are the result of the problem.

Did you cop 'unfair' umpiring in every game for the last decade? Because you have complained about it in every match thread since you joined BigFooty. I feel for your dog if you had one before that point.

Do people seriously expect St Kilda supporters not to complain or whinge when their teams cops a free kick count of 23-8 against them when they were arguably the better team? I don't know any group of supporters who wouldn't complain or whinge about that.

Firstly, I'm not arguing that the free kick count should be even or reflective of which team is winning. If you subscribe to that theory then why the **** are you whinging about our free kick differential at home? We went 10-1 last year with an average winning margin of 10 goals. Surely that means we should be 'winning' the free kick counts?

The problem with the 'the free kicks must be even! Look 23-8 we was robbed we was!' argument is that it either cuts both ways or it doesn't apply at all. We beat Brisbane by 8 goals at the Gabba and the free kick count was 21-21. We beat Adelaide by 5 goals and the free kick count was 20-12 in their favour. We scraped past Melbourne (who like St Kilda last week) who led at every break and the free kick count was 22-19 in our favour. Which of these games was poorly umpired?

The usual brain surgeons on BigFooty argue that West Coast get a free ride at home because of some cosmic force that affects umpires in Perth only (but not for Freo games) and this is reflected in the free kick differential, then argue that we are favoured everywhere and it's not about the number of free kicks but the how/why/when and the free kick differential doesn't matter. Sadly the footy meejah is no better.

 

[demondavey]

There was also supposed to be a crackdown on players ducking into tackles this year. Have not heard one case of this occurring where a player has been penalised.

 

[RearNaked]

Umpires suck but its not entirely their fault if we could just not make any rule changes just for one god damn season that would be great

 

[D-N-R]

It's home v away game, which means little for Victorian teams.

For Victorian teams it would be better to break it down in to home games v interstate side, interstate games and home/away against another Vic team.

Yet, the graph doesn't show non-Vic teams consistently getting more free kicks than Victorian teams. It's a real mix of teams. The highest is WCE, the second is a Victorian team in the WB.

Non-Vic teams play 11 true Home games, 10 true Away games and 1 'neutral' game. So the average that these teams have should be the benchmark for the whole competition as the split is more or less 50-50. Yet the graph doesn't reflect this.

 

[demondavey]

If you take the team focus out of the discussion on umpiring then the conclusion is still the same - AFL is one of the worst officiated professional sports on the planet.

It's not just umpiring either. All decisions from AFL employees are compromised in terms of a level playing field. Umpiring is no different.

Over managed, over officiated.

Analysis Paralysis is AFL football.

 

[D-N-R]

We outplayed West Coast for the majority of the game last Saturday yet you still won the free kick count 23-8.

Even when West Coast were shit back in 2010 and got the spoon you still won the majority of free kick counts at home.

The one sided umpiring at Subiaco has less to do with the skills and discipline of the respective teams and more to do with the home town crowd.

Pretty sure we won 3 out of 4 quarters.

 

[jdz101]

Umpires need to be full time. End of story. If the AFL can afford to throw millions of dollars at the Gold Coast they can afford to pay Umpires to be full time professionals.

And Umpires should not be above criticism. Nobody should.

What the **** do footy umpires do during the week in a full time role other than review film which they already do currently?

 

[Crankyhawk]

Saints have been bottom of the free kick table for years. When will you get a coach who actually coaches you to play within the rules?

It's subliminal. Umpires are so used to st kilda failing and having no idea from back in their childhoods so they assume that saints are still clueless.

 

[Nightrain]

If you take the team focus out of the discussion on umpiring then the conclusion is still the same - AFL is one of the worst officiated professional sports on the planet.

It's not just umpiring either. All decisions from AFL employees are compromised in terms of a level playing field. Umpiring is no different.

Probably because all decisions that are made by the AFL revolve around $$. They don't give a stuff about integrity and umpiring doesn't hurt revenue. We are all addicted and will still watch/go irrespective of how bad the umpiring is. If/when umpiring hurts their bottom line, then watch how fast they will step in and make changes.

$$>>Integrity. I am sure it's written on the walls in AFL house somewhere.

Anyways probably a vent for another thread.

 

[jdz101]

St kilda won the free kick count by 5 in the first round and still got pretty handily beaten at their home ground against a team that a lot would rate as an inferior side to west coast.

The game actually followed a very similar pattern. St kilda jumped them at the start, smashed the first quarter out of the park, then faded as the game went on.

Address that, and they're good enough to win more games. The officials are the least of their worries.

 

[Obeanie1]

Ever considered the ground where the game is being played has something to do with it? Would you want to upset tens of thousands of baying WCE supporters? Especially if you're a Victorian.

Your argument has no merit.

Do you even have an argument?

So what would you do to solve this travesty of justice in Perth?

Only allow in 20,000 people?

Give the opposition a couple of extra goals head start?

 

[Leather Poisoning]

The only way for this data to be meaningful is if you compare infringements commited to free kicks awarded.

Remember when buddy was young? He was the clumsiest tackler I've ever seen. It was rare for him to tackle someone and not either push in the back, go too high, sling tackle or all three

That's matter of skill - not umpiring.

If your team is full of hacks that kick it out on the full all the time you'll load up on frees.

If you've got a monster ruckman you'll probably get about 3 or 4 extra frees a game as the opposition will infringe and block while trying to get around him.

Some teams (hawthorn for example) have played a much more outside game that say sydney or Fremantle. Fewer contests mean fewer free kicks overall i would guess - and if you've got a team full of players that tackle like a young buddy then you'll rack up the frees against.

So what I'm saying is that teams are mismatched on all kinds of skill INCLUDING the ability to draw or not give away free kicks. Most of this discussion is assuming teams are pretty much level at drawing and not giving away free kicks.

That's massively wrong and leads to the conclusion that any difference in free kicks must be attributable to some kind of umpire bias, either intentional (tinfoil hat brigade) or unconscious (it's the crowd noise, home ground advantage, unintended player favoritism etc).

 

[D-N-R]

Ever considered the ground where the game is being played has something to do with it? Would you want to upset tens of thousands of baying WCE supporters? Especially if you're a Victorian.

Your argument has no merit.

Does anyone on these boards ever consider what effect the crowd has on the players? Everyone speaks about the umpires being put off by the crowd, what about players being affected by the noise and making bad decisions? Panicking and laying a sloppy tackle?

And if it's a parochial crowd, why don't Fremantle get the same advantage? Their fans aren't exactly shrinking violets.

And let's be honest here, the WC crowd boos, and boos loudly. I see fans on TV at the MCG running down to the boundary hurling worse abuse at the umpires than I have ever heard at Subiaco. The type of swearing that you can lip-read on TV at games in Victoria simply isn't tolerated at Subiaco - other fans will dob you in and the stewards will throw you out. It's not a threatening atmosphere in the sense that umpires should fear for their safety. Far from it. It's more like a pantomime where the baddies get booed and the heroes get cheered.