He definitely should've got a free for the time he stood and waited for the footy, went for the mark and got absolutely cleaned up by all and sundry; yes.
Marshall also should've got one for being clearly ragdolled in a ruck contest - pulled sideways by the neck it looked like - so that in the end neither ruckman could contest the ruck duel.
However, I saw a lot of high tackles - from Geary, and others which we need to get out of our game. Some of the younger players were tackling the Bulldogs forwards and falling in to their backs when the player was brought down. That is just technique. Another thing I saw is our player allowing their opponent they were tackling to wriggle free, so that in the end they were holding them by their legs - in effect, a trip.
These are things that need to get coached out of our game, because these frees are teams like Hawthorn's and West Coast's bread and butter.
I want us to finally start playing smart footy and start leaving interstate and tough to win at venues walking away with the four points and a smile rather than potting the umpires. I have done it plenty of times in the past myself, but there's no percentage in it, and at the end of the day there can sometimes be very little difference in winning and losing a game.
There's a reason why Hawthorn invited an umpire up to the Hawk's preseason interstate - find out what the rules and their interpretations are, and coach to win within them. Simples.
and despise the Pies, the Blues, and the Injectors.
