Round 7: the other games. Time to get out the black texta?

[Thunder Shaker]

The Sunday afternoon games are Collingwood v Gold Coast and Western Bulldogs v Essendon. I'll be interested to see what sort of reaction Cody Weightman gets from the Essendon fans, after he stated that he considered staging for frees to be part of his skill set. Will the reaction be hostile every time that he goes near the ball, or will it largely be barely remembered yesterday's news. Either way, I think it's stagers like Weightman, who will cause the end of the AFL's strict interpretation of their umpire dissent rule. That is, somebody will get a free from throwing themselves on the ground under no contact whatsoever, the aggrieved defender will make some sort of diving gesture and promptly get marched 50 metres. The stager will then smugly saunter to the goal square, to be further rewarded with an easy six points. This will then lead to much after game discussion, on whether we really want to give further incentives to blatant cheats.

If such cheating was penalised more harshly, there would be less incentive to do it. Cracking down on umpire dissent without also cracking down on staging for frees has left the game vulnerable to this farce.

In soccer, it's called "simulation" and attracts a yellow card. If we apply this to the AFL, staging for a free would be penalised with a $3000 fine for a first offence, plus suspensions thereafter. In addition, simulation that's caught by the umpire (or in a review bunker) should be penalised like an interchange infringement: a free kick from the centre, plus a 50-metre penalty, or a free plus 50. That's how harsh the penalties have to be to send a message that it's a blight on the game. Finally anyone who is found guilty of a staging offence loses their eligibility for best and fairest awards, including the Brownlow, because cheating is not fair play.

[Nico]

Are the WCE worse than we were in the 90's under Buckerina?

[Thunder Shaker]

Surely this is the worst loss in the history of the WCE? Being absolutely destroyed at home by Richmond. A big rebuild ahead for the Eagles.

No, West Coast have had worse losses, but only five with a margin greater than 109 points.

Essendon 25.10 (160) defeated West Coast 1.12 (18) at Windy Hill, round 15, 1989. That is West Coast's biggest loss and lowest score in the same game.

[i'm-uninformed2]

The best part is knowing Weagles fans are looking at the draw this morning for respite and seeing their next two games are … Brisbane and Melbourne

[Hotpotato]

The Swans do not bottom out, in this fickle town it spells doom, not for the true followers of course.