Doesn’t help when your trying to hang in there. Not the reason they lost though.
First half umpiring was deplorable. Summed up by the non call on Pickett then ten seconds later virtually exactly the same thing in reverse, free goes to Richmond. By then I’d seen n heard enough pro vic bs & headed to the pub for an afternoon of pool.
But I’ll say it again not the reason they lost.
That sort of thing happens all the time, game after game. Has done for years. The umpiring always looks biased when you have a stake in the game, but it's nearly always just a stuff-up, and they go both ways. Maybe unconscious bias could be a factor now and then, but it's pretty marginal.
This is exactly why there’s never any pressure on the quality of officiating, it’s acceptable that bias may happen. It’s as bad as accepting a totally uneven draw. Accepting a home ground advantage in a grand final.
It’s the biggest game of the year there shouldn’t be any bias marginal or not.
It’s as rediculous as the laughable “swings and roundabouts” argument we here in sport all the time from people from a bygone era. Like getting screwed over in a grand final evens out due to favourable umpiring in a round 7 game.
I had no stake in the game. We’d already won our GF.
The game played out to script. In reality GWS had everything stacked against then. No suprise Richmond used the ground better. No suprise the umpires favoured Richmond.
What was in both teams control was how they applied themselves. GWS folded like a deck of cards. Tigers were ruthless.
Interesting that 3 of 10 GWS's lowest ever scores were in 2019. The year they "on paper" have their strongest ever list.
Big question marks on game plan and coaching.
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