Kouta wrote:
That wasn't a free. Joseph actually knocked it out, only for his handpass to bounce off Darling who fell on top of the ball and Joseph. Darling had possession like Brian Taylor's call noted. Jamison tackles Darling, yet the WC player received the free. Wrong.
Kouta.... I agree with your assessment of the situation. This decision and a few others prompted me to write the following that I am considering submitting to "The White Maggot" now called The Daily Maggot.
http://thedailymaggot.com/Umpires 10 to 1 in the WestAFL CEO Andrew Demetriou has denied rumours that the AFL plan to do away with the West Coast Eagles “10 to 1” agreement with West Australian umpires. Demetriou said “As a result of complaints made by visiting Victorian teams, some consideration was given to instruction the umpires to stop giving WCE a significant advantage in the number of free kicks and to stop them paying many more free kicks to WCE within goal kicking range.”
The AFL Rules Committee were given legal advice that such a direction from the AFL would breach the ’10 to 1” agreement that the Umpires Association have signed with the WCE. Although the terms of this agreement are confidential, it is understood that it includes a clause that states that WCE must receive free kicks at a ratio of 10 to 1 until such time in a game that they are in an unassailable winning position. The umpires may then proceed to pay free kicks to the opposition in order to try to even up the statistics.
A secondary clause in the agreement ensures that umpires must pay at least 50% of WCE free kicks within scoring range and conversely, under no circumstances pay a free kick to opposition sides anywhere in their forward line. Whilst it cannot be confirmed, it is believed that a clause in the OPSM sponsorship of umpires stipulates that the umpire officiating in the WCE forward line must wear OPSM prescription contact lenses but must take them out if they venture into the opposition forward line.
Demetriou said that these rules were in the best interests of the game to enable it to flourish in the non-Victorian states. In keeping with this concept he stated that the AFL would rethink the extent of the draft advantages given to the new Gold Coast Suns and Greater Western Sydney Giants. “We realised that we may have not given sufficient advantages to the new teams by giving them 90% of the first 50 draft picks. So we are now considering giving them 99% of the first 100 picks. This should have even more impact with the introduction of unrestricted agencies as it will allow better access for the new clubs to the best players in the league. To be fair, established clubs will be compensated by being in a raffle to secure the 100th pick and then get an equal number of picks afterwards.”
The AFL Coaches Association were asked for comment on Western Australian umpires via their Facebook and Twitter sites but a filter on their sites imposed by the AFL did not allow them to mention the words “umpires” or “West Coast Eagles” in the same statement. Responding to a complaint about the filter, Andrew Demetriou said that the AFL supported free speech as much as other powerful ruling bodies like China and Burma. One coach managed to circumvent the filter by suggesting that umpires for every second game in Perth should go back to wearing the traditional white shorts and that the outfit should be complimented by a blue, yellow and white top. The coach said that this move would make it clearer to visiting coaches to maintain appropriate match ups during the game and to keep a better track of all their opponents.
Mr Demetriou also defended the AFL decision to use three WA umpires for all WCE games in Perth. He said that the cost to fly in interstate umpires might make him have to fly economy with the players and that's just not on.
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