Hahaha yeh did you have him?
I hear there was a scuffle in the Wests vs SWS game when a SWS player left the bench and joined the fracas on the playing surface.
This led to the player count and subsequent zero points.
I can only imagine the player in question played no part in the game other than the fight. It's a tough decision against SWS using an archaic law, albeit fully in the rules.
I can only imagine that SWS would have been angry after the game.....towards Wests, the player or the laws of the game.
Over to you Tara....
Serves him right, everyone knows you can't run onto the field.
Sure is. I don't think he was necessarily the worst we have had, the amount of late shots that happen in div 4 is ridiculous and I honestly don't think there has been one called all year. They aren't official umpires and most are just doing it as a favour to help out.
But he is certainly the only one I've felt the need to comment on. Enjoys the power trip of being an umpire. Does he only do div 4? I think we get them again.
If the above is true, it seems like a pretty desperate act by Wests. It would be interesting to know what score S-W Sydney had, you could only assume from the Wests final score of 2.9 that they were losing, and probably comfortably.
Again if true, it certainly would leave a sour taste in S-W Sydney's mouth, even allowing for the fact that their player was in the wrong, and would mean clubs playing Wests from now on need to keep their wits about them.
I would have thought the spirit of the law was in relation to the advantage gained from having extra player(s) on the field during play, not during a fight. It is a ridiculously harsh interpretation to apply, unless the extra player remained on the field when play recommenced.
Far better to just report the player for misconduct in my view (plus for anything he may have done during the scuffle, if applicable).
The law as it stands is ridiculously harsh in any case. To wipe the score for an entire game in the event of an extra player being on the field is way over the top.
The rule used to be (certainly in Sydney football at least) that if an extra player was found to be on the field (after a player count), a report was made to the League and they then decided the outcome - ie possible reversal to the result and any adjustment to the scores.
Can't remember when it was changed, I think it was late 90s.
This is far preferable in my view that the current rule. But if a score adjustment HAS to be made on the day, make the adjustment for just the quarter in which the count occurs, not for the entire game.
It's not as if teams set out to cheat by putting extra players on the field. It's always a mistake, through miscommunication or whatever.
MOP, I honestly couldn't have put it better myself.
I assume SWS were up by >10 goals.
Not in the spirit of the rules is the crux of it.
The player in question never entered the playing surface. Wests coach had a hold of him against the fence as did one of our players. The player was back behind the fence and was standing next to our coach when the umpire called the head count. Yes I am angry because it was a stupid act to get involved when we were about 80 points up anyway. He was not the only player to jump the fence either just some were quicker to jump back over. The other thing was one of our players had been sent from the field prior to this and was marched back on for the head count. Had the umpires not allowed late hits behind play and taken control of the game then the brawl would never have happend.
Further more in relation to the player reported and sent from the field we have statements from Wests that they sent the wrong player off. I also find it incredible when almost all the players on the field were involved in a brawl they could only report on player and they wrong one at that.
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