Originally Posted by
KTigers
I don't think the umpires are inherently biased. I think the bulk of them take their job pretty seriously. It's a craft that a person
can get good at with experience, and some are better than others. There will be good umpires, average ones and poor ones.
Just like in any profession. If they are not full time umpires, it will be harder for them to get better at it. Same as any job.
I think they are influenced by the crowd noise. They need to try harder or be better trained to be not influenced by it. I think
the umpires benefit a bit from the AFL being very unwilling to criticise them.
They are a bit of a protected species because presumably the AFL is worried about the numbers coming up through the
ranks and they don't want experienced people leaving the game. That part is understandable.
There is something about the Dogs playing style and the umpires perceptions of it that has resulted in them benefitting from
some fairly substantial free kick differentials for awhile now. The free kick differential can't be put down to crowd noise like with
West Coast, because the Dogs just don't play in games where the crowd is almost entirely their own fans. Besides, they don't have
a lot of fans anyway. I always wondered why no one has really looked closely at their playing style. I've noticed they drop the
ball when tackled, but don't understand why they aren't pinged for incorrect disposal. Possibly someone needs to look at
the handpassing style that involves both hands moving at the same speed. Not sure how you can punch the ball when both your
hands are moving at the same speed. I'm curious why that isn't deemed a two handed throw. These are just a couple things.
Clearly something is going on that is different to way other teams play.
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