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The Sports Desk / Re: World Cup 2026
Last post by bratblue -3
The Sports Desk / Re: World Cup 2026
Last post by kruddler -1. My son plays soccer, so i watch that every week.
2. The world cup.
Only today did i learn that there are 48 teams this year, thats how much of an eye i've been keeping on it.
Can anyone share how that came about?
Reeks of someone like Trump wanting bragging rights of 'the biggest' or 'the best'.
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The Sports Desk / Re: World Cup 2026
Last post by Thryleon -This was a major win for us, and won well.
I had greek commentary over here so cant comment on that.
Least excited ive been for a world cup in years.
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The Sports Desk / Re: World Cup 2026
Last post by LP -6
The Sports Desk / World Cup 2026
Last post by Lods -Australia 2 v Türkiye 0
Might as well just give us the cup.
( I don't know a lot about Soccer....Did we use the winged keel today?
)
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The Sports Desk / Re: Track and Field
Last post by Lods -(wind at 2.2+...just over the limit.)
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 13 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Essendon
Last post by kruddler -We all know a player gets penalised in a ruck contest for putting a toe on the line.
A player needs to take his eye off the ball to ensure he doesn't give away a free kick then use his body to keep his opponent away from the ball.
A player gets penalised in a marking contest if he takes his eye off the ball and then uses his body to keep his opponent away from the ball.
Only the AFL could be so obviously contradictory.
F*** the stupid ruck rule off.
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 13 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Essendon
Last post by Milhanna13 -
would love to know how many of those are centre square frees (for both pitto and the others). maybe its just because we watch him all the time, but pitto does seem to give away a lot of those
i support pitto, but he isnt as dynamic as some of the other rucks in the comp (although he started the year kicking goals), and if he isnt giving is first use in the middle (including giving away frees), then he becomes even less useful
It would definitely show a bias. I.e. pittonet is penalised once per match for crossing the line in ruck contests over the course of 2026. Most of that time, his opponent is running and jumping over him and also crossing the line but it seems that if you are off the ground, in the air, this doesn’t matter.
Ultimately the free kick thing is irrelevant as most of the ones he is giving away aren't really there to start with.
When you look at free kicks rather than worry about how many are given away, it needs to be viewed solely about how a player plays over the course of a match. Some players are on the edge more and give more frees away. Some teams play like this as a rule.
The number of frees simply represent the number of times you got penalised, and not the number of times you infringed or did something wrong as you wont be penalised every time, the umps tend to put the whistle away.
"but it seems that if you are off the ground, in the air, this doesn’t matter" - i hadnt actually noticed this, but it does make sense. Pitto is penalised as it is easy to see him "step" over the line, whereas the jumpers it is harder to judge. makes sense why he seems to give so many away
on the pushing the edge - that used to annoy me so much, with the clarko hawks. they used to push the rules to the max, and way over the max, cop maybe 2 or 3 frees a match for it, but get away with 98 other infringements. smart, when you think about it, but so frsutrating to watch
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