Comments on: The Sydney Swans “Tunnelling” Tactic

By: Janette Mitchell

Janette Mitchell — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 08:30:37 +0000

The AFL have voiced concerns about dwindling crowd numbers at games and the following on TV. Well it is fairly easily summed up in two words; Substandard Umpiring.
I have watched my last game of AFL today. I am so sick and tired of the shocking umpiring. Every week we are forced to watch bad, poor, baise and sub-standard umpiring. Are umpires so “precious” tht teams & the AFL are not allowed to critique their work?
I started to watch NRL last year and noted their umpires were nearly as bad, but hallalula the NRL realised the negative influence this was having on the game and this year totally changed the format, in one instance where a very bad decision was made by an umpire that cost a team the game, he was removed.
How long are the AFL going to let the status quo remain? till there is no-one watching!
After all I don’t know if umpires are criminal in their incompetence or to give them the benefit of the doubt just not able to handle the pressure & pace of the modern game.
The fair and consistant umpire appears to be a rare thing. For goodness sake get rid of these men, after all it is a job, and if they are not doing their job, put them on notice that poorly umpired games will result in them being stood down. Couches and the head of the football teams should have the right to complain to the media and AFL about the shocking decisions of umpires that have caused them a loss.
Now is the time to act, not leave it till the horse has bolted to shut the gate.

By: the moose

the moose — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:35:25 +0000

i dont know how you could possibly pay a free kick even if the action is intentional. I may be incorrect but it appears to me that they are both moving towards the drop of the ball and bolton mantains a forward motion instead of engaging in a contest in pursuit of the ball Bolton is under no obligation to contest the ball as long as he does not cause illegal contact with his opponent which i dont believe he does. Football is continually evolving dont think its a big deal.

By: The Tiger

The Tiger — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:26:18 +0000

In Bolton’s defense, with the second incident the kick to Riewoldt was a shocker. Bolton was just running next to Riewoldt and Riewoldt reached back and across to take the grab, thus causing the contact.
On a second viewing both incidents look pretty insignificant in 100 mins of football.
Riewoldt is a good mark but he tends to land awkwardly as does Kossie.

By: ando

ando — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:17:39 +0000

@Dave, it does look dangerous and I think the AFL need to do something about it. I was reading an article and Craig Bolton was saying that it was not intentional. But from the footage it sure looks intentional.

Matthew Richardson has also expressed his concerns with the tactic. It will be interesting to see how the AFL handle this one.

@Kick2Kick
I agree that it should have been 2 fee kicks and that may have probably stopped it. We will wait and see if that is a free kick this week.

By: Kick2Kick

Kick2Kick — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:26:00 +0000

and St Kilda should be furious about it, it is obviously dangerous!

If the umpires had any brains and were able to think on their feet they should have paid free kicks to Nick on the game as its obvious Bolton had no eyes for the ball. Two free kicks and Bolton would have stopped.

So I dont blame Sydney, I blame the umpires…

By: Dave's Football Blog

Dave's Football Blog — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:44:53 +0000

I’m sure if anyone starts calling that a foul, people will hem and haw about how it’s the new “hands in the back” rule, but it looks plenty dangerous to me.