Talking Footy

Hey everyone i just wanted to know all of your thoughts on this stupid hands in the back rule i mean come on! it's absolutly ridicoulos and i know umpires are the people everyone loves to hate no matter what but the rules of the game these days are so pathetic its painful to watch the umpires killing the game! and the people that make the rules for our game need to take a good hard look at them selves.

Im not sure if i dislike it too much. You have never used to be able to put your hands in the back of opposition anyway. Its the little nonsense ones that don't cause any diff to marking contest that annoy.

That's the whole point, Dogsact. If there's no effect on the marking contest - let it go!

I voted yes - it is a disgrace and completely unneccessary. Only pay a free kick if a player is taken out of the marking contest. That's what free kicks are for. Equalising such situations.

I get what your saying. But it seems that the free kicks the media so often seem to focus on (Richardsons against Micheal for example), are free kicks. And fifteen years ago would have been paid as such. Seems to mee, players have gotten so used to getting away with certain things, that when the rule is enforced again everyone gets pissed off.

I for one would like to see the old kicking in danger rule enforced once again. I see so many players getting away with dangerous kicks from packs etc. It is only a matter of time before someone gets knocked out or serious facial injuries from an errant kick.

i think the umpires are concerntrating to much on this hands in the back rule. i mean they use to pay for a push in the back but some of the decisions u see an umpire make are ridicoulus u should be allowed to put ur hands on the back of a player if there is no force behind it but it seems these days if u so much as place a hand on the back its a free kick! we still want contests in our game! another rule i think has been taken overboard this year is delibrate out of bounds on many occasions this year i've seen players kick the ball into space 50m down the ground and its rolled out of bounds and they've given a free kick away?? has anyone else noticed that this year?

Agreed there Kaskill. I have shaken my head in disbelief at some of those deliberate OOB calls. You can almos guarantee the other team soon after does something similar or more blatant and get away with it. They are very hit and miss on that one.

That's the problem, guys! Inconsistency - and I think you'll notice that it's not because single umpires are inconsistent. The inconsistency goes through all three umpires. I've always said that the three umpire system has never been allowed to settle down at AFL level. I think there's been a rule change of some note every year since the three umps first started.

Let's just get the rules sorted - yes, including consistency for things like the out of bounds deliberately and the kicking in danger - get the SPIRIT of them sorted (that's being forgotten as well I think!) and then just bloody well LEAVE THEM ALONE for a few years!

On the Matthew Richardson example (if it's the one you mean, Dogsact) you're right! That one would have been a free kick anyway if I'd been umpiring because he took his opponent out of the contest. On the same weekend - and only the guys in On The Couch picked this up - you had the free kick to Riewoldt which was BS and you didn't hear boo about that!

Totally in agreeance. =D>

i think your spot on there TLPG consistency is the key to making these rules more bearable its just so disheartening when you see a call being made and then 20 seconds down the other end of the ground the exact same thing happens and its left alone it frustrates players the fans and coaches! your also right on the leaving the rules alone for a few years they change them @ the start of each year and noone knows what the hells going on!

I'm not even sure if the umpire at the other end even pays attention to what his buddy is doing - and that also doesn't help!

I ran in the three umpire system a handful of times. I paid attention to what my buddies were doing, and I got good partners because they were all finals. Ran one of my best games in one of them. Never did a home and away game with three though.

yeah i think the 3 umpires is ridicoulos! they never should have brought that in and i still dont see why they have when the game is more effective with 2? whats gunna be next they might aswell change the game to touch football

No, with the pace of the game they had to go to three. I never objected to the idea. Just the way it's been implemented!

well why dont they get some fit umpires that can keep up with the pace of the game instead of the little sooky weasles they have running around these days? i dont think they'll ever get it right no matter how many umpires are on the field unless they decide to leave the rules alone for a change and let everyone get use to them!

Don't underestimate the fitness of these guys. I used to work with an ex AFL boundary unpire. Fittest man I have ever known, even in his forties. I don't think their fitness is an issue.

haha yeah i know dogsact just letting abit of frustration out on the poor blokes i couldn't even start to imagin how fit these guys actually are!