Absolutely Meg - we need to play much better of course.Originally Posted by Meg
Absolutely Meg - we need to play much better of course.
"You get the feeling that like Monty Python's Black Knight, the Swans would regard amputation as merely a flesh wound."
Like everyone else I was convinced by the Hawkins push on Friday night. And then I saw the slow motion replay in this article.
In that view both players do appear to be moving forward throughout the contest. Hawkins' right hand is on Harris' side, under his armpit and pushes to the side. His left hand isn't clearly visible much of the time but when it is, doesn't look open and flat and may not even have touched the back. The left arm doesn't seem to straighten in a pushing motion.
So I've gone from as outraged as everyone else to thinking, maybe the umpire was more right than wrong after all.
Not sure if I should amplify discussion about differentialsbut can't resist stats trivia.
It's a bit tricky to answer because historical free kick counts are a bit unreliable. There are none available publicly available prior to 1965, and some of the numbers at AFL Tables are a bit strange. Take this game for example, where the count seems to be 36-36, but frees against are missing in one table, making it look like 37-0. There are also cases where the count is different depending on which team you look at. So the home team might be 20 for, 16 against, but the away team is not 16 for, 20 against. I guess that can happen where a free isn't for or against a specific player.
Anyway - if we limit ourselves to games where the count makes sense in both directions (20-16 for one team = 16-20 for the other), we have 60-27 (+33) in Geelong's favour versus Carlton, round 17 in 1972.
There were a lot more frees per game in the 1970s - the mean and median is up in the seventies, compared with the mid-thirties today.
In the AFL era (1990 onwards), we have 44-18 (+26) in Carlton's favour versus Melbourne, round 10 in 1993.
If you want 2000 onwards: 38-15 (+23) in North Melbourne's favour versus Port Adelaide, round 6 in 2013.
There were 60 frees paid in the North game, which was a higher than average for this year - but Don Jolly paid 91 free kicks in the 1970 grand final alone, and its often cited as one of the best grannies of all time.
I think the ugly rolling mauls that dominated the majority of the 2000's were the result of umpires NOT paying frees, because of the belief that not paying frees "kept the game moving" - and I think that belief mistaken.
. . . except in '05 and 2012 Liz?
Loose translation from the Latin is - I am tall, so I hit out.
If we are now arguing our way out of blatant pushing in the back examples like this one from Hawkins, our game is in big trouble. It already is actually but I think you know what I mean.
Ah well slow motion replays are much like statistics in that they can be interpreted in various ways.
That replay was inconclusive however the footage shown on the coverage was from the other side of the contest and lead to several members of the commentary team saying how lucky Hawkins was to get away with it followed by much mirth and amusement at the fact he did.
Brisbane was robbed, pure and simple. Stewart dropped the pill when tackled and should have been pinged. Blind Freddie could see that- an obvious goal missed. This should not happen at AFL level- together with the Hawkins push, cost Brisbane the game.
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Brisbane was robbed, pure and simple. Stewart dropped the pill when tackled and should have been pinged. Blind Freddie could see that- an obvious goal missed. This should not happen at AFL level- together with the Hawkins push, cost Brisbane the game.
Don’t tell me the home crowd didn’t play a part-shocking umpiring!
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