Staging

[sharp9]

I must be on a complaing bent.

Surely it's time for the AFL to clamp down on staging.

I can't believe it's that hard to spot. Umpires must be aware of it (judging by the fact that not all frees are paid when a playe goes sprawling!) In that instance the ump should immediately award a 50 metre penalty. eg for what Hardwick did on the weekend. Pathetic.

I would go further. Pay free kicks against players who do receive a small infringement but then make a meal of it

There are a few players, notably Mercuri, Brent Harvey, Caracella who are not only soft players, but cheats.

Look closely and you will see that every time they go in for a contest their first and prime objective is not to win the footy but win a free. They position themselves so as best to receive contact from which they can throw their arms up and hit the dirt - even when the ball is on offer. Considering how much talent
these players have it is very infuriating.

I can't believe their coach doesn't give them a bollocking for falling over all the time.

malthouse tried to make a joke of it by mocking the way soccer has attempted to deal with it - but at least they are trying. it's a blight on the game

[sharp9]

And another thing

Since when did they change the rule so that full forwards are allowed to push fullbacks squarely in the back before taking a mark????

Has Lynch ever had a free against him?

Sometimes I wonder if the umps feel sorry for him because he has an illness. honestly!!!**&^%#@

[penga]

i reckon MM gets it wrong just about every time, we should have a soccer style punishment given to players when they take a dive... i think it should be a reportable offense

[desredandwhite]

The problem is going to be identifying WHEN there is a dive. Some players act more than others, and more sometimes than other times. The umpies have trouble now with spotting free kicks. can you imagine if you had to say to them "ok, blow the whistle for a free kick if there is one there, but if there isn't and the player has played for one, award a free kick against him if the level of acting >= oscar levels, otherwise simply wave play on"

:)

[bricon]

I don?t think that policing ?staging? is a matter for the umpires; if they see a free kick, it should be paid. They should not be influenced by the on-field dramatics of players trying to milk a free.

The practice should be eliminated from the game, however I don?t see it as a major issue. The AFL should consider an education campaign, followed by citing players who ?dive? and applying fines in the first and second instances (say $1500 for a 1st offence, $3000 for a 2nd) and a suspension for subsequent offences. The publicity and embarrassment attached to being cited and fined for ?diving? would probably be a big enough deterrent for most players to reduce the incidence of the practice.

[NMWBloods]

So to take the first step, should we hand back our first win against the 'Roos last season...? ;)

[penga]

id like to see the way in which the umpire would call the free kick... ie currently when they call a free it is pretty reminiscent of what the infringement was...

therefore in this case would they blow the whistle and then trip over their own feet??? :D

[sharp9]

LOL

Yes I would hand back that win if I could. An absolute disgrace. Shameful, no question

[Skells]

Good to see Cousins was let off.

I think the AFL should consider making a rule if a player is reported from an incident which was "milked" and subsequently let off the other player involved in the incident should be charged (just a sugestion).