FWIW my bug bear is in the back. If the bloke doesnt drop it(the ball), he falls forward onto his stomach to try and draw an in the back free kick and you see the umpires get sucked into it time and again. They usually change direction to fall yet pay it anyway. How does that work umpire? He dragged the bloke on top of him, thats how.
Murphy, Betts and Curnow do quite nicely from this rule so I wouldn't be too keen to get rid of it!
I think this weeks INS should be Casboult and McLean (if fit). OUTS McInnes and Bell (not that I think Bell played poorly).
With Sydney's tall forward structure it might be necessary to play all of Waite, Hendo and Jamo down back this week. So Casboult to come in to play forward. McLean to replace Bell.
I am hearing rumors three(3) from Sunday's game are very unlikely to start given the short week and interstate trip, and they would have been in doubt on a normal week anyway!
I bet the Tiges supporters were still screaming about the play on call when the ball went over the goal umpire !!!
The play on call was fine, you see that happen regularly and at finals pace the umpire has only a split second to decide. The player took the ball and ran forward of the mark within 20m of goal, what choice does the umpire have?
But I have not seen a decision like the Waite / Rance decision for the whole season. Rance took control of the ball, ran a couple of steps, had his arm grabbed by Waite as he either went to handball or fend off. Did almost a full 360 with Waite securing his arm, threw the ball away and did not get a foot on it! All of this in clear view of two senior experienced AFL umpires, no pack surrounding them, no player traffic hiding the event.
That Rance decision cannot be an accident and I do not blame the umpires, it must be a deliberate emphasis on favoring the ball carrier. I have no problem with this, as long as everyone knows that is the situation before play starts.
I have a real problem with rules seemingly varying widely on a game by game basis without any prior warning or announcement.
I'm surprised that umpires aren't harsher on fend offs. If you choose to commit an arm to fending off rather than trying to keep it free to handball or handball immediately, I reckon you've had your prior opp. If you don't get the ball to foot, then the whistle should blow. The obvious risk to attempting the fend off is that your arm still be held and handballling will become impossible.
They are just poor decisions not rewarding the tackler, did they pay any incorrect disposals at all at the weekend.
The Waite one was just ridiculous, the umpires voice can be heard stating something like,
"He tried to kick it!"
Since when does a failed attempt constitute a legitimate disposal?
There are some rumors floating around that this change in "Emphasis" is a direct result of Freo's and Sydney's game plans! They are not going to punish the bloke getting the ball if opposition clubs stand off and let their opponents take it first!
I wonder what Vickery said to Walker... (can't remember if it was the third or fourth quarter) Whatever it was, i'm sure he felt like an absolute tool after the match! Winning is so sweet!
I think they are mates, so I would not read too much into it!
Best in game moment since Brown's tackle. I haven't seen that man people get on their feet since then.
I'm so glad we had that moment as I was really pumped when Hill did the same thing on Saturday (as a neutral). It was just pure icing!
No it is all bullcrap, all it does is give your next opposition some ammo to use the minute you trip up.
Revenge is a dish best served cold, it is so much harder to swallow cold! All Jeffy did was give the ferals a wanker moment to focus on, instead of eating their own like they usually do! It was the on field equivalent of jacket twirling!
I like Dusty as a player, but he is a fair dinkum brain dead moron. Fancy bringing out the handcuff salute in a final. What a farking disgrace to his club... it's not about you Dusty, and it certainly isn't about whatever lowlife scumbag you were sending that message out to.
I thought the AFL banned that signal a few years back after the Krakour incident!
A few of our blokes looked fatigued during the warm up, that is a massive sign of nerves. Bell, McInnes, Garlett, Yarran, Kreuzer and Curnow in particular. But they had fitness to run out the game which is a good sign, as long as MM can manage their head space so that they get to the game in the the best possible condition we have a chance.
Walker was crook a couple of weeks back, since then he has looked slow and indecisive. It is amazing what missing one week and playing one poor game can do. It just proves confidence is king! But he proved his football worth, when he wisely held up play a couple of times to ensure we retain the football.
Tuohy was average but did his job, he can only improve.
Betts got some kudos back.
Gibbs proved he should have been playing midfield for the last five years and Judd is a freak!
Duigan might have no skills, he might make the odd bad decisions, be too slow and too old. But I'd have him in our side among the first picked week in and week out, because what we lack he has heaps of and he is exactly what we need.
Someone please tell me how to fix Robbo, he is the proverbial roll of the dice yet when he comes up six once or twice a game he is invaluable.
We had a lot of players not anywhere near at their best, we have heaps of improvement to offer which should be the upside.
This year MMs biggest impact on our club has been on developing some players and showing the club how to win ugly, winning ugly has not been one of our strengths in recent years! At the same time I can see MMs mindset changing, he is learning about what we are good at and starting to make use of it!
Dustin Martin was delivering more than enough wanker out on the field for both sides! Was that handcuff signal a call to the loony farms to come and collect a few more Nthmond fans!
Please tell Jeff Garlett to give up showing opponents the ball, when you get there act like you have been there before!
McInnes - WTF Simon White the second! Brain fade central, simply can't play against the Swans. The signs were there vs the scum.
Kreuzer - Ruckwork was OK but other than that a witches hat. Watching him try to chase at the ground you could see he was clearly hampered by a leg injury. His man ran off him quite often when he played in the forward line.
Yarran - Timid, bereft of confidence, very disappointing.
Andrew Walker - OK last quarter but gave away some soft frees and 50m Just don't like him at all on the last line of defence. I was calling for him to be traded in the first half! I say move him forward for sure.
Good post PI2C.....agree with all of that. Leg injury or not, Kreuzer's career has simply stalled & he's as injury prone as any player I've seen in the AFL. I'm concerned......
Yarran clearly picks & chooses when he wants to really crack in & get involved....it's not good enough. I'm concerned.....
I thought McInnes had become the consummate 3rd tall defender, but his last 3 weeks haven't good.....haven't been good at all. I'm concerned.....
Winning is so sweet!