Umpires

I wonder whether the discussion about umpires should include the Umpires' Coach.

He presumably instructs the umpires on how t interpret decisions.

It's been clear that the instruction is to give the player with the ball evevry opportunity, but this is now inconsistently adjudged. A player taking on another player and getting caught often is not pinged, but the whole holding the ball rule is now just a lottery,

Contrast that with the 'too high' decisions. These are the umpires 'default' decisions. Hard to prove and an easy free kick to give, regardless of whether it has affected the play at all.

In my opinion, unless it's dangerous, no 'too high' free kicks should be paid unless it has affected the infringed player's ability to get the footy.

Holding the ball is now a complete farce. A player takes possession, is immediately tackled and ridden into the ground by 2 opponents, unable to do a thing to get rid of it .. and that's holding the ball. Then you see a player who has had ample time to dispose of the ball, is tackled, and it's a ball up!!! I swear, I have no idea what they want a player to do these days, and I'm sure the players don't either.

And I am hating the AFL manner adopted by the SANFL this season, of waiting for about 5 seconds before paying the free. This is pure grandstanding, a thing I detest with umpires. Their role is to watch the game and pay frees if/when they occur, not to add drama.

The other thing I'm annoyed with is the plethora of 25/50 metre penalties just because a player may utter an expletive in the heat of the moment. Umpires should be better than this and turn a blind eye. Sure, if it's a deliberate attempt to abuse the umpire, then 25 metres it should be, but the one handed to Bode yesterday just shows the complete lack of understanding of the pressure players can be under at vital stages of the game.

As for the umpires' coach, he has no desire to listen to any criticism of umpiring, constructive or otherwise, and his arrogance reflects in the umpires' performances each weekend. I know my club has approached him several times to discuss aspects of umpiring and been more or less told to just worry about running our own club and he'll take care of the umpires.

Yes, I think your last paragraph seems to be a consistent feedback.

Maybe an interview with the umpires coach like the one with Chandler ?

Good suggestion, W.

As soon as we get time, we'll ask if he'd like to.

I addressed this issue and many others in the following link:
http://www.talkingfootysa.com/t475-sanfl-umpiring

My club has also approached the umpires' director after 2 losses which were directly the result of umpiring decisions, and was told that indeed the umpires made mistakes that turned the result, in one case umpires making 5 incorrect decisions that resulted in 3 goals to the opposition in a loss of 15 points.

All of the points mentioned by AH and R&B are valid. Umpiring is a shambles and decisions a lottery. Not only do supporters have no idea why some decisions are paid, but the players are also clearly confused. Yesterday at Prospect supporters from both sides expressed their ire at the inconsistencies and apparent incorrect decisions - from a Rooster perspective, the free against Gallman in the goal square should have been paid to him moments earlier for holding on, but the umpire was unsighted and out of position. Bode should have received a free, but inconsistent interpretations again.

AH's comment about the hovering umpires is worth noting, as that action creates a pack formation of numerous players, and leads to sling tackles and other potential injury problems because the umpire has not blown his whistle early enough. I believe a North player in the reserves, who was carried off on a stretcher with a leg injury, was the recipient of this injury through this type of action.

Unfortunately it isn't going to get any better judging by the "talent" in the reserves.

i know the umpires have a psychologist working with them for various reasons, i also know that not all umpires think they need this or any other 'help' for that matter...............

when you go to a game as a neutral person, as a rule i think you see about 3 shockers per game

what gets me is that if they pay a 'soft free' earlier in the game & scores a close late in the game that same free is 'let go' & there is more ball-ups in that period than free kicks....the same free paid at the 15 minute mark of the first term should be paid at the 24th minute mark of the last term irrespective of the score line & i think we would all agree with that

Put a number on their back like a player might also help . They , like players , need to be accountable for their performance. The umpiring has benn poor for many years .

Agreed, bayman and MP.

I will say, though, that the Reserves umpiring standard can be extreme at both ends. Although there are plenty of 'shockers', I've also seen some very good displays, usually when the whistle is put away unless really necessary.

The Reserves is also a bit of a 'learning ground' for many up and coming umpires, so they should be cut some slack at that level.

I think all of us would like to see umpiring where the obvious free is paid, the ball is bounced if it's line-ball and we don't notive the umps the rest of the time.

waddayamean wrote:Put a number on their back like a player might also help . They , like players , need to be accountable for their performance. The umpiring has benn poor for many years .

Didn't the umps used to have the numbers on their back a few years ago, waddayamean?

Big Phil wrote:

waddayamean wrote:Put a number on their back like a player might also help . They , like players , need to be accountable for their performance. The umpiring has benn poor for many years .

Didn't the umps used to have the numbers on their back a few years ago, waddayamean?

yes they sure did

Big Phil wrote:

waddayamean wrote:Put a number on their back like a player might also help . They , like players , need to be accountable for their performance. The umpiring has benn poor for many years .

Didn't the umps used to have the numbers on their back a few years ago, waddayamean?

Not sure but if they did why were they removed ?

waddayamean wrote:

Big Phil wrote:

waddayamean wrote:Put a number on their back like a player might also help . They , like players , need to be accountable for their performance. The umpiring has benn poor for many years .

Didn't the umps used to have the numbers on their back a few years ago, waddayamean?

Not sure but if they did why were they removed ?

Perhaps that could be a question Admin asks Shane Harris, should they get an interview with him?

I didn't much care for the numbers thing because I was brought up in an era where an umpire tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. It was always said if you didn't notice the umpire, he's been very good.

These days umpires seem to thrive on the attention.

Does the TAB still sponsor the umpires?

The Emperor wrote:Does the TAB still sponsor the umpires?

Yep, through their online site Tattsbet

Brucetiki wrote:

The Emperor wrote:Does the TAB still sponsor the umpires?

Yep, through their online site Tattsbet

surely your not suggesting this is a problem ?, if so there's at least two AFL clubs that has corporate bookmakers sponsoring them

Not at all Bayman, I was merely stating a fact about the sponsorship.

no worries, i'd presume the emperor feels the same

Years ago, a mate of mine was a league umpire and he showed me an umpires' report. The umpire was graded on appearance, positioning, all sorts of things, but NOWHERE on the report was there any assessment on correctness of decisions.

I think that tells us something about how the powers that be in the umpiring world look at things. An umpire's ability to comb their hair is more important than their ability to make a correct call.

Adelaide Hawk wrote:Years ago, a mate of mine was a league umpire and he showed me an umpires' report. The umpire was graded on appearance, positioning, all sorts of things, but NOWHERE on the report was there any assessment on correctness of decisions.

I think that tells us something about how the powers that be in the umpiring world look at things. An umpire's ability to comb their hair is more important than their ability to make a correct call.

That's in contrast to what it was when I was training to be a ref for FFSA. They'd grade you against the laws of the game as well as your appearance and professionalism, but it was making the good calls that would get you a good grade!