Hate blaming Umpires but ........

[matrix]

[plugger66]

Well Saad played the whole game for 3 possessions. Im sure he is in the best 27 this week. Maybe we just cant get enough good umpires. Our club cant get enough good players. There are less and less umpires doing local comps so that means less and less better umpires for the AFL. They have tried to do something about it by getting ex players to umpire. They cant force umpires to be better. Im sure they train them as best as they can.

That's the thing...we can drop a player for having a an adverse effect on our game to a small degree but one umpire can have a much larger impact. Good or bad the thing that worries the most is lopsided mistakes by the Ump. Glaringly obvious frees paid when there is no infringement along with glaringly ridiculous ignored frees when there is an infringement to the one side. The booing of the crowd for a large part of the game gives some credence to that. Pay the Umps more to entice better talent ? .As I said earlier big money is wagered on these games so the AFL needs to address this asap.

Paying umpires more wont get better umpires because it starts with junior footy and they cant afford to pay them more.

I disagree Plugger - If the incentive is there to make a profession from Umpiring, more kids will see it as a viable choice instead of sitting out the sport. If you have a greater pool to choose from you have more chance of getting better umpires (I know that when I was umpiring (in the 80's) it was for fun and there was no thought as to making a serious living from it), or do you believe that the paying of players now results in more inferior players now than say 30 years ago. True the superstars of 30 years ago may be as good as todays superstars, but the average player now is better than that of the 80's.

But competitions cant afford to pay anymore at a junior age. We cant get enough as it is and kids get pretty well paid for what they do considering players aren't getting a cent.

[whiskers3614]

Have said it before but we need a specialist head-ducking coach!
Try and get old man Selwood on board, Milne could have certainly done with some specialist help.

[Sainter_Dad]

Not saying pay junior umpires more - but give them a serious career path and maybe more will choose to pursue it at junior level with the hope of succeeding and becoming profession umpires. Professional Umpires is the way of the future at the highest level. Kids love playing football, but only a few make it to AFL level, maybe if some of those that don't make it (but have a good understanding of the game) see a career path involving being paid a liveable income from umpiring, some more will join the ranks.

Entice more to look to the upper reaches of umpiring as a serious career choice and you will get more amateur umpires, more amateur umpires and you get to select better candidates.

Never has the saying been more true: Pay peanuts, get monkeys.

[Bunk_Moreland]

Have said it before but we need a specialist head-ducking coach!
Try and get old man Selwood on board, Milne could have certainly done with some specialist help.

Yup - umpires are so incompetent that you need to cheat to get free kicks. Maybe Lonie should have thrown his head back and pretend he was dead when he was hit high 5 metres out, because apparently a blatant free kick for high contact isn't enough for these incompetent prima donna's.

[plugger66]

Not saying pay junior umpires more - but give them a serious career path and maybe more will choose to pursue it at junior level with the hope of succeeding and becoming profession umpires. Professional Umpires is the way of the future at the highest level. Kids love playing football, but only a few make it to AFL level, maybe if some of those that don't make it (but have a good understanding of the game) see a career path involving being paid a liveable income from umpiring, some more will join the ranks.

Entice more to look to the upper reaches of umpiring as a serious career choice and you will get more amateur umpires, more amateur umpires and you get to select better candidates.

Never has the saying been more true: Pay peanuts, get monkeys.

Im unsure about 10K a game is peanuts though.

[Bunk_Moreland]

Not saying pay junior umpires more - but give them a serious career path and maybe more will choose to pursue it at junior level with the hope of succeeding and becoming profession umpires. Professional Umpires is the way of the future at the highest level. Kids love playing football, but only a few make it to AFL level, maybe if some of those that don't make it (but have a good understanding of the game) see a career path involving being paid a liveable income from umpiring, some more will join the ranks.

Entice more to look to the upper reaches of umpiring as a serious career choice and you will get more amateur umpires, more amateur umpires and you get to select better candidates.

Never has the saying been more true: Pay peanuts, get monkeys.

Im unsure about 10K a game is peanuts though.

If those three today got paid $10k it is a disgrace. They should be docked it for incompetence

18k there today. With umpires deciding games like today, it is unsurprising.

10k for those fools, is laughable

[matrix]

id do it for 5 and buy my own airfares

[Bunk_Moreland]

id do it for 5 and buy my own airfares

And you couldn't be any worse than that No.25.

He is a disgrace

[plugger66]

id do it for 5 and buy my own airfares

And you couldn't be any worse than that No.25.

He is a disgrace

He didn't umpire us today though? Or if he did he is different person to last year.

[Sainter_Dad]

$10K - sh!t - if that is true we are all doomed, 1/4 of a million for 22 weeks umpiring and not being considered professional. That's it - over - not interested in discussing this topic any further. If they got $30K between them for that display we are all screwed - 1/4 million and they serve up that crap - give me a break - they need to be held accountable for that sh!t, 1/4 million per annum - give me the f@rken stats as to missed frees, bad calls etc and f@rking dock their pay - this is highway robbery

Please Plugger do not tell me that you think todays performance warranted $10K????????

[Sainter_Dad]

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/p ... 2b0qg.html

Update - The AFLUA and AFL are also discussing a potential move towards full-time umpires.
The AFLUA and AFL are also discussing a potential move towards full-time umpires.
Umpires have struck a deal that will have the top earners among their ranks making as much as $150,000 per season by 2016.
That would include bonus payments for field umpires who officiate in finals and the grand final.

Not as bad as $10K as I reckon the bush pigs that did today would be on far less than $10K

[plugger66]

$10K - sh!t - if that is true we are all doomed, 1/4 of a million for 22 weeks umpiring and not being considered professional. That it - over - not interested in discussing this topic any further. If they got $30K between them for that display we are all screwed - 1/4 million and they serve up that crap - give me a break - they need to be held accountable for that sh!t, 1/4 million per annum - give me the f@rken stats as to missed frees, bad calls etc and f@rking dock their pay - this is highway robbery

Please Plugger do not tell me that you think todays performance warranted $10K????????

No I was wrong. They may have got 6-8K today. I reckon umpires deserve every cent. As I said I don't see what the AFL can do to make them better.

[perfectionist]

id do it for 5 and buy my own airfares

And you couldn't be any worse than that No.25.

He is a disgrace

He didn't umpire us today though? Or if he did he is different person to last year.

He is. It is Shaun Ryan who has returned from a three year hiatus.

[Bunk_Moreland]

$10K - sh!t - if that is true we are all doomed, 1/4 of a million for 22 weeks umpiring and not being considered professional. That it - over - not interested in discussing this topic any further. If they got $30K between them for that display we are all screwed - 1/4 million and they serve up that crap - give me a break - they need to be held accountable for that sh!t, 1/4 million per annum - give me the f@rken stats as to missed frees, bad calls etc and f@rking dock their pay - this is highway robbery

Please Plugger do not tell me that you think todays performance warranted $10K????????

No I was wrong. They may have got 6-8K today. I reckon umpires deserve every cent. As I said I don't see what the AFL can do to make them better.

So the AFL just gives up? Let the umpires intrepret the rules differently from one contest to the next? Allow them to wreck games?

6-8k is way too much for those flogs, and 24, 25 and 31 umpired us today.

[plugger66]

id do it for 5 and buy my own airfares

And you couldn't be any worse than that No.25.

He is a disgrace

He didn't umpire us today though? Or if he did he is different person to last year.

He is. It is Shaun Ryan who has returned from a three year hiatus.

Well its harsh to blame him for loses last year.

[Sainter_Dad]

Make them full time professionals
Make them accountable
Make them have to justify the sh!t decisions
Get more of the f@rkers, so that we have a greater pool to pick some good ones from.
Pay them what they are worth, but make them ACCOUNTABLE!!!!

It can't be that hard to find good decision makers who understand the game - as I said - make it worthwhile to a fringe player who understands the game to join the ranks of the umpiring fraternity.

If there are only 30 umpires to pick from each week because $5K per game does not entice them - pay them $10K per game and hopefully have 100 to pick from - pay them $15K per game and have 500 to pick from.

The extra $30K ($10K x 3 umpires) would cost that AFL maybe $2.00 per patron attending, and is the game was officiated properly maybe more would go instead of staying home and yelling at the TV.

We will continue to stay paid up social club members, but it is getting harder and harder to convince the family to go to the game when we get umpiring of the standard of today.

[Bunk_Moreland]

id do it for 5 and buy my own airfares

And you couldn't be any worse than that No.25.

He is a disgrace

He didn't umpire us today though? Or if he did he is different person to last year.

He is. It is Shaun Ryan who has returned from a three year hiatus.

I think you both are correct.

The 25 I am thinking of was blonde and younger than the bloke today.

My bad sorry. Although he was part of the troika who cost us the game today

[bergsone]

Seems to be a bit of backpeddling here

[Bunk_Moreland]

Seems to be a bit of backpeddling here

where would that be?

Umpires were incompetent and cost us the game today.

Three soft 50's to gWS for goals, Roo gets charged in the back but free goes to Bugg, umpires pointing the wrong way for free kicks, Lonie gets his head ripped off in front of the umpire in front of the goal - play on.

Dempster and his opponent get a bit tangled, incidental contact FREE KICK, - 12 point turnaround - game over.

UMPIRES COST US THE GAME.

[bergsone]

Seems to be a bit of backpeddling here

where would that be?

Umpires were incompetent and cost us the game today.

Three soft 50's to gWS for goals, Roo gets charged in the back but free goes to Bugg, umpires pointing the wrong way for free kicks, Lonie gets his head ripped off in front of the umpire in front of the goal - play on.

Dempster and his opponent get a bit tangled, incidental contact FREE KICK, - 12 point turnaround - game over.

UMPIRES COST US THE GAME.

Am going on the comments on here,didnt see the game

[barwonsaint]

I think we would have won the game with the amount of inside 50s we had in the last 8 mins if Rooey had not gone off !! No structure up forward.

[Con Gorozidis]

My only grip was the ducking. Two years ago when the Eagles were ducking and Joel Selwood was ducking the AFL changed the rules to make sure the ducker wasnt rewarded. Today they were ducking and being rewarded. I certainly understand you protect the guy going for the ball and protect the head. Its just when they got the ball and are already standing up straight and then deliberately lower the head seeking contact on purpose.

[Bunk_Moreland]

My only grip was the ducking. Two years ago when the Eagles were ducking and Joel Selwood was ducking the AFL changed the rules to make sure the ducker wasnt rewarded. Today they were ducking and being rewarded. I certainly understand you protect the guy going for the ball and protect the head. Its just when they get the ball and are already standing up straight and then deliberately lower the head seek contact on purpose.

Did protect Lonies head when he got whacked. He didn't duck though.

Maybe that is the secret with these wonderful 10k umpires

[perfectionist]

There is an Umpire Pathway program which has seen players become umpires, most recently our own Leigh Fisher and Carlton's Jordan Bannister. Both have been pretty good in my opinion. However, it is easier said than done. The real problem with getting good umpires is that anyone who is any good is sickened by the continual abuse in junior grades which can include actual physical assault. It is only if an umpire reaches the top level that physical danger disappears due to the police and security presence at the game.

I saw a few poor decisions today, but for both sides, including the ones mentioned for us in previous posts. Most club supporters are entitled to ignore the bad decisions which go our way but as a former umpire I do tend to see both sides. Of course, I am still a bit biased towards the Saints. I'm pretty sure our players made more errors than the umps, errors which did actually cost us the game.

I think the one big error they made was in Nick Riewoldt's case. First, one of the three should have seen him bumped in the back. Then, they should have halted play whilst he was on the ground. They didn't, but we had a throw in, resulting in a free to GWS, then they halted play. They then restarted play whilst he was leaving the ground with trainers and with some blood coming from his nose. That is, we were one player short. That's the sort of stuff up that umpire's coaches do not like to see.