Is the game currently in crisis?

[jonesy]

In regards to umpiring...

Honestly,the new rules introduced,the new interpretations,have turned the game into a farce,embarassing even.

Can anyone sit down this year,and honestly enjoy a good game of footy without the game being slaughtered by the umpires(and KB).

The game right now is in crisis,everyone presently on the rules committee need to be shown the door as soon as this round ends.

Love him or hate him,at least Eddie had the balls then on tv to call it for it what it was. All the other Demetrio jism jockeys like Tom Harley etc are pathetic.

[Stillwaiting]

The standard is really low, and inconsistent. I gave no doubt that they favour certain teams, like filth, bummers tigers and do on and I a am not sure if its deliberate, or just crowd pressure. The other issue is geischan his crew continue to change rules and make it more complicated than it needs to be. The umps ate confused and so are the players, the supporters are not sure what the rules are these days.

That idiot demetriou Wong admit there is an issue thiugh

[The Redeemer]

In regards to umpiring...

Honestly,the new rules introduced,the new interpretations,have turned the game into a farce,embarassing even.

Can anyone sit down this year,and honestly enjoy a good game of footy without the game being slaughtered by the umpires(and KB).

The game right now is in crisis,everyone presently on the rules committee need to be shown the door as soon as this round ends.

Love him or hate him,at least Eddie had the balls then on tv to call it for it what it was. All the other Demetrio jism jockeys like Tom Harley etc are pathetic.

Agreed

It actually is not the umpiring, it is the issue of new rules or old rules being rejigged or rammed home to cause confusion

The game is becoming stupid, if it already is not.

Commentators go quiet when free kicks are given because they have no idea. It is a lottery and it is boring because of it.

I want to see them play and not be pulled up for bizarre rules.

[saintspremiers]

What about Hamish McGloughlin?

How compliant is he??

What a wank having a TV commentator who is the brother of a senior AFL exec.

All of 7's commentary team are compliant to a fair degree.

[bobmurray]

The umps have always been bent..

Back when Barry Round was playing for Sydney, he only had to look at the ball and the umps would give him a free, especially when he was playing against a crap Saints team.

Still, whilst he was getting looked after by the umps his wife was allegedly being looked after by Ricky Quade......

[gringo]

Yes but on all levels. Time to clean out the cupboard.

[Spud02]

Another problem is giving TV microphones to the maggots as if they are part of the entertainment. Good games are when you don't notice the umpires, let alone have to endure a bloody interview from one of the p.ricks on how they think the game is going...

[gringo]

I think the AFL has stopped caring. Razor Ray is allowed back in.

[busso mick]

Just my opinion about our game and where it is heading. The powers that be are under the illusion that AFL will become a world game and constantly tweek the rules in an attempt to endear it to non-AFL audiences. When they realise it will never take off outside outside Australia and just accept that it is an exclusively Australian game, then they can can try and simplify the rules and make it easier for the umpires to officiate the game. People can bitch and moan about the decisions that umpire's make, but if you look at the changes that are brought in each year to the rules then that must affect the quality of umpiring.

If you look at a lot of team-based games that are played globally like cricket, soccer, and rugby to name a few then you will find that the number of rule changes are quite minimal and certainly less that what is thrust upon the followers of AFL. It's time for the ego-trippers that run our game to quit their expansion policy and focus on what makes our game great, instead of incessantly trying to tweak some magical formula that may have appeal to people to start following our game. People are more likely to take interest in the sport if the rules are easy to follow and don't change every 5 minutes, because a small panel of man have deemed it to be "good for the game". A lot of AFL fans like myself have followed the game for a long time and would consider themselves knowledgeable about the game. The same lot of fans are often left in state of bewilderment and utter confusion about many decisions each week. It is patently obvious the game needs to be simplified so it is easier to officiate and also easier to follow. The adage Keep It Simple Stupid springs to mind.

[Griggsy]

Dont know about anyone else but it's been a while since I've spoke to someone about a rule change and heard "it's great". Seems the commitee does as it pleases and it is killing the game. I do have the feeling however that they are too proud to go back.

I do give Eddie a lot of credit, no matter how annoying he can be at times. But only a fool would question his passion for the sport.

[Jacks Back]

The standard is really low, and inconsistent. I gave no doubt that they favour certain teams, like filth, bummers tigers and do on and I a am not sure if its deliberate, or just crowd pressure.

IMHO it is certain players that receive/don't receive the free kicks that makes it inconsistent rather than purely teams.

How many times do you see it that some star player is given an eternity to get rid of the ball (by any means including dropping it) and yet the new player, or the GOP or Milne are given no time at all and are pinged straight away. Or its always a ball up straight away when the star player gets caught but a free is given when that non-star player is in the same situation for not making any attempt despite 6 players on top of him.

[Teflon]

What about Hamish McGloughlin?

How compliant is he??

What a wank having a TV commentator who is the brother of a senior AFL exec.

All of 7's commentary team are compliant to a fair degree.

Hes a bum sniffing turd who got the job through big bros.

1 thing football in this city is renowned for: Jobs for mates. Ask Demetriou.

[bobmurray]

What about Hamish McGloughlin?

How compliant is he??

What a wank having a TV commentator who is the brother of a senior AFL exec.

All of 7's commentary team are compliant to a fair degree.

Hes a bum sniffing turd who got the job through big bros.

1 thing football in this city is renowned for: Jobs for mates. Ask Demetriou.

A bum sniffer....are they popular nowadays

[skeptic]

what bothers me the most is that the umpires seem as though they are instructed to pay every free kick they can. when i umpired locallya long time ago the rule was u paid the obvious frees. the result is that there are a large number of free kicks being paid for really minor infringements of rules e.g. a marking contest where one players hand brushes over the shoulder or like that 50m penalty for a player getting within 2m though it didnt effect the game or ball movement at all.

the thing is that frees are so damaging now and so many games are decided by a team having the rub of the umps for a period of time in a game and making the most of it.

the other thing is... there are so many bloody rules u cant keep up. U go to a game and u hear the whistle and 9/10 i have no idea what the free is for. its a worry coz i grew up watching this game i cant tell why an ump pays a free kick. neither can the commentators half the time hence the umps are miking up.

plus there are sooooooooo many free kicks being paid. i dont go to a game to watch the umps pay free kicks... i dont like losing and watching the umps influence the outcome. its made the game pretty much unbearable for me. we're at a point now where players are postioning themselves to get frees because the umps pay them so heavily. players lowering the head, ducking, exaggerating holds etc horrible to watch

[stevie]

The whole AFL package is a joke now. The sideshow rubbish that goes on during games, the vacuous interviews, all crap.

And every contest now, the players look around quickly to see what interpretation the ump will put on.

AND I AM SICK OF CHEATING PLAYERS APPEALING FOR DELIBERATE OUR OF BOUNDS EVERY TIME THE BALL GOES OUT.

NFL , football and baseball are ahead of Aussie Rules now as my favourite sports

[spert]

The whole AFL package is a joke now. The sideshow rubbish that goes on during games, the vacuous interviews, all crap.

And every contest now, the players look around quickly to see what interpretation the ump will put on.

AND I AM SICK OF CHEATING PLAYERS APPEALING FOR DELIBERATE OUR OF BOUNDS EVERY TIME THE BALL GOES OUT.

NFL , football and baseball are ahead of Aussie Rules now as my favourite sports

You picked the three borings for me..NFL, Soccer and baseball...definite channel changers, maybe chuck in basketball too.

[stevie]

The whole AFL package is a joke now. The sideshow rubbish that goes on during games, the vacuous interviews, all crap.

And every contest now, the players look around quickly to see what interpretation the ump will put on.

AND I AM SICK OF CHEATING PLAYERS APPEALING FOR DELIBERATE OUR OF BOUNDS EVERY TIME THE BALL GOES OUT.

NFL , football and baseball are ahead of Aussie Rules now as my favourite sports

You picked the three borings for me..NFL, Soccer and baseball...definite channel changers, maybe chuck in basketball too.

Lol, spert! Actually I loathe basketball too. Utterly boring. And field hockey isn't a fave of mine either, lol

[matrix]

basketball is a great game imo
i like baseball as well

id rather watch both of them over golf cricket or friggin nfl

[desertsaint]

Weightlifting for me - never heard the ump stop play once!

[ausfatcat]

would be interesting to see the amount of rules changes over the last ten years compared to the preceding 50 to 100 years

[joffaboy]

Being discussed on SEN - highlighted the idiotic free kick against Geary. Sliding rule and hands in the back (like against Kosi and the Adelaide forward last night) also getting an out and out caning.

Saying the umpiring is being directed by the AFl to officiate in this way.

Geischen needs to be sacked as do the idiots on the rules committee

[sippo]

Footy used to ba (basically) an arvo out for the boys. In thier infinate wisdom the AFL want to make it EVERYTHING TO EVERBODY, thats fine, ALAS you have to change EVERYTHING every 5 minutes, to keep "some group" happy. It just aint gunna work long term. The product was fine, now they change the product and its getting worse. Thanks very much marketeers. I am sure Vlad dreams of the first Black Muslim Gay Woman field umpire as part of his plan

[Dr Spaceman]

I am sure Vlad dreams of the first Black Muslim Gay Woman field umpire as part of his plan

Get around her.

[magnifisaint]

Just my opinion about our game and where it is heading. The powers that be are under the illusion that AFL will become a world game and constantly tweek the rules in an attempt to endear it to non-AFL audiences. When they realise it will never take off outside outside Australia and just accept that it is an exclusively Australian game, then they can can try and simplify the rules and make it easier for the umpires to officiate the game. People can bitch and moan about the decisions that umpire's make, but if you look at the changes that are brought in each year to the rules then that must affect the quality of umpiring.

If you look at a lot of team-based games that are played globally like cricket, soccer, and rugby to name a few then you will find that the number of rule changes are quite minimal and certainly less that what is thrust upon the followers of AFL. It's time for the ego-trippers that run our game to quit their expansion policy and focus on what makes our game great, instead of incessantly trying to tweak some magical formula that may have appeal to people to start following our game. People are more likely to take interest in the sport if the rules are easy to follow and don't change every 5 minutes, because a small panel of man have deemed it to be "good for the game". A lot of AFL fans like myself have followed the game for a long time and would consider themselves knowledgeable about the game. The same lot of fans are often left in state of bewilderment and utter confusion about many decisions each week. It is patently obvious the game needs to be simplified so it is easier to officiate and also easier to follow. The adage Keep It Simple Stupid springs to mind.

Please send this to the rules committee.

KB is the worst offender. He bent the rules whilst playing it

[jonesy]

The solution is simple. All they have to do is umpire like they do in Grand finals....put the whistle away,and only pay what is there 100%,and not what is technically right!

When was the last time you can remember someone getting absolutely routed in a Grand Final? Sure there will always be a few dodgy one's,part and parcel of umpiring our game, but on the whole Grand Finals are umpired 10 times better than the season proper.

Fair dinkum it's common sense, but these control freaks,seriously,WTF are they doing to my game,our game!