Retain ‘Finals’ rulebook

It seems like almost everybody agrees that the 2010 Final Series has been umpired extremely well, Grand Final Mark I even more so.

 

Consistency is a concept we at AussieRulesBlog often associate with umpiring performance. For the umpteenth time, we make the point that the interpretations applied during the final series, and the Grand Final in particular, are seriously different from those employed at the start of the season.

 

It’s hardly the first time these observations have been made. Each year in recent times there are early-season laments about over-zealous umpiring, but by finals time a degree of sanity has prevailed.

 

Must we go through this again in 2011? Surely even that muppet, Jeff Gieschen, who masquerades as AFL Director of Umpiring, can see that people are very happy with the umpiring performance during the finals series and make the decision to keep those interpretations in place for the whole of season 2011?

 

We can’t let the 2010 season slip away (almost!) without another mention of chief zealot, Stephen McBurney, who spent more time on the ground, in the role of emergency umpire, than the three umpires charged with umpiring the 2010 Grand Final. Pundits gave Darren Goldspink a hard time for hogging the limelight, but McBurney puts him well and truly in the shade!