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Roast Umpiring: Corruption or Incompetence, or both

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Perhaps betting agencies should have odds for umpiring

Ie WC to get 150% frees for, more than against, at home games; and
Umpires award WC a free 95% of the time when the crowd screams “ball”

That will bring stats and attention the issue deserves
 
Perhaps betting agencies should have odds for umpiring

Ie WC to get 150% frees for, more than against, at home games; and
Umpires award WC a free 95% of the time when the crowd screams “ball”

That will bring stats and attention the issue deserves
You know what, betting on umpire frees might be the only way to fix up their blatant bias at different games.

Maybe you could have sports betting show having previews, - Matthew Nicholls at AO is known for favouring the away team, so he is a $1.40 to go +8 frees for the away team. or today WCE are playing at Optus Stadium, we are only paying $1.10 for the WCE to get +10 frees than the oppo.

I've never checked but is there sports betting on umpires and their decisions??
 

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You know what, betting on umpire frees might be the only way to fix up their blatant bias at different games.

Maybe you could have sports betting show having previews, - Matthew Nicholls at AO is known for favouring the away team, so he is a $1.40 to go +8 frees for the away team. or today WCE are playing at Optus Stadium, we are only paying $1.10 for the WCE to get +10 frees than the oppo.

I've never checked but is there sports betting on umpires and their decisions??

You can bet on cards (both straight and index) and penalties in soccer.
 
If Ken gets a fine after the amount of whining we’ve heard from Clarkson...
If anything he should get an apology, like Ratten did the week before, and then a pile of unearned frees in front of goals for the Melbourne game. Fair’s fair, right?
 
Perhaps betting agencies should have odds for umpiring

Ie WC to get 150% frees for, more than against, at home games; and
Umpires award WC a free 95% of the time when the crowd screams “ball”

That will bring stats and attention the issue deserves

I was thinking the same thing on the weekend.

Port supporters would make a killing as we have a sixth sense when these reamings are about to hit.
 
I'd be staggered if Hinkley got fined. It was the most soft touch kid-gloves kind of umpire complaining he could've come up with short of saying nothing. Felt like he went to great lengths to bring in the broader context of umpiring and not make it about the reaming we'd all just witnessed.

Sometimes I think if he were a smarter or more articulate man he might find a way to complain about umpiring without walking it back and refusing to call a spade a spade.
 
The rule has been interpreted in a way that has required players to ‘make an effort’ in the last 4-5 years. Westhoff did not do this. Yes, all he had to do was pretend. This may be utterly absurd and I’d be inclined to agree with that, but is how the rule is currently officiated. Let’s keep banging our head against the wall.
You're wrong here. Westhoff did make an attempt to keep the ball in play. He tried to slow down before he crossed the line. He was unsuccessful in that attempt. You'd have a point if Westhoff had kept running full pace at the line, but he didn't.

Hes a queenslander and likely a lions fan from what i can see. Part time, inexperienced umpire going in to a game knowing he will be ripped apart for any decisions that go against st kilda and being given massive leeway for "interpreting" rules against Port. Its not surprising at all the outcome, and it doesnt take him being a saints fan to achieve it.
Andrew Stephens is not an inexperienced umpire. He's been in the AFL umpiring system since 2012 and umpired his first Senior game in 2014. He'd done 111 games to the end of 2019.
 

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So I had some time to kill and I wanted to test my theory that most of the frees seemed to be in our defensive half. Like the whistle just disappeared when we were attacking and then came out in force when St Kilda were in their forward half.

Keep in mind we had 36 Inside 50s to their 41, so they didn't dominate the forward entries.

There were 15-21 free kicks St Kilda's way.

St Kilda had 5 frees inside their attacking 50 to our 0.
St Kilda had 12 frees and 2 50m penalties in their attacking half to our 6 attacking half frees and 0 50m penalties.
St Kilda kicked 4 goals from frees to our 0.

To simplify it, St Kilda are always kicking to the left of the map.

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Here is a breakdown of what the frees were, i've mainly left my opinion of the free kick out of it, because i'm not trying to argue that specific frees weren't there, i'm trying to argue that the whistle came out a lot more in advantageous positions for the Saints. I've also named the Port player involved for the most part, whether they got the free or gave it away. Saints frees in red, ours in black.

1. Q1 2.17 – Ruck free, Ladhams holds Marshall – GOAL
2. Q1 3.48 – Clurey deliberate out of bounds – King kicks it across the face for no score

3. Q1 7.29 – Holding – ruck infringement, Ladhams
4. Q1 9.35 – Blocking/Holding after the kick – Jonas – 50 immediately paid
5. Q1 14.48 – High in the marking contest - Clurey
6. Q1 15.27 – Jonas holding in the marking contest – Parker shanks it for no score
7. Q1 16.39 – Push out in a marking contest – Wines
8. Q1 17.34 – High in a marking contest – Ladhams
9. Q1 19.30 – Holding in a marking contest – Marshall marked the ball anyway
10. Q1 21.41 – Throw – we take the advantage
11. Q1 23.56 – Amon taken high after a centre bounce
12. Q1 24.11 – HTB Ebert

13. Q2 2.59 – HTB Ebert
14. Q2 4.58 – HTB Houston
15. Q2 5.31 – Ruck free, holding – Ladhams
16. Q2 9.58 – HTB Westhoff
17. Q2 15.46 – Ryder held by Jonas – GOAL
18. Q2 23.00 – SPP throw – 50 because DBJ kicks it as the whistle blows – GOAL


19. Q3 2.20 - Front on contact/arm chop – Ebert
20. Q3 3.16 – High tackle, I think against Houston
21. Q3 6.55 – High tackle by Gray after a mark wasn't paid not 15.
22. Q3 9.16 – Holding, pull of the jumper – SPP
23. Q3 9.50 – Holding in a ruck contest – Ladhams

24. Q3 12.31 – Ruck infringement – Ladhams
25. Q3 1301 – High tackle at a stoppage for Ryder
26. Q3 13.58 – Holding the man after Mayes tackled Parker who fumbled the ball – advantage paid, GOAL

27. Q3 18.01 – HTB Marshall
28. Q3 22.58 – The deliberate against Westhoff
29. Q3 23.32 – Push in a marking contest – Georgiadis
30. Q3 24.31 – Deliberate against Jones

31. Q4 2.29 – High tackle, directly after Ladhams was slid into
32. Q4 8.11 – Holding after Westhoff drags a player to the ground who drops the ball in the tackle ffs
33. Q4 11.44 – Ruck infringement which just wasn't there in any way shape or form against Ladhams
34. Q4 14.01 – Holding against Butters after he drags a Saints player to ground after they drop the ball
35. Q4 21.58 – Ruck infringement against Ladhams

36. Q4 25.18 – Push in the back - Boak
Great analysis.
A difficult question would be how many obvious free kicks were missed in our forward line? It is subjective but the obvious counter from oppo support base.

How much game time do we spend with noone in the forward arc? Did SK get frees because they have a persistent forward structure?
Do our guys get caught between the 2 arcs, so thats where we get the frees?
 
Perhaps betting agencies should have odds for umpiring

Ie WC to get 150% frees for, more than against, at home games; and
Umpires award WC a free 95% of the time when the crowd screams “ball”

That will bring stats and attention the issue deserves
I’ve always wondered why betting agencies don’t have odds for amount of free kicks. You can bet on nearly anything else.
 
As Lockhart Road reminded me, Stephens umpired in Port's last gasp 2 point win over St Kilda in 2017.

The free kick count that day was 28-19 in favour of St Kilda.
 
Perhaps betting agencies should have odds for umpiring

Ie WC to get 150% frees for, more than against, at home games; and
Umpires award WC a free 95% of the time when the crowd screams “ball”

That will bring stats and attention the issue deserves
If they’re already cheating without these markets existing then all this will serve to do is give them more of a reason to cheat, which we all know they will.
 

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Westhoffs was clear deliberate i thought. There were probably 7 worse ones than that

And this is the exact problem I have with the umpiring.

It's like the speed limit is 60 km/h, Port gets fined at 63 km/h, St Kilda gets fined at 80 km/h. That difference is a fair chunk of the game, especially when Saints are awards many more frees in their forward 50.
 
If they’re already cheating without these markets existing then all this will serve to do is give them more of a reason to cheat, which we all know they will.

I’m torn on this as yes betting leads to corruption but if betting already exists, then perhaps full disclosure and scrutiny can mitigate the risk that already exists
 

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Roast Umpiring: Corruption or Incompetence, or both

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