AFL Umpiring Director Jeff Gieschen is quoted in The Age on the incorrect deliberate rushed behind decision (The Age).

"[The umpire] just got caught slightly out of position, which meant that he was looking from behind the players and all he saw was the ball go straight through the behind ... from close range with a reasonable amount of force," Gieschen said.

If that's the case, Jeff, we have to ask why the hell the whistle was anywhere near the umpire's mouth. If he can't see what is going on, he cannot legitimately adjudicate on anything. If he didn't see McMahon handballing, then he couldn't judge intent, nor could he see that McMahon's body had been pushed, causing a misdirected handball.

This is not an issue of umpires' positioning. It is ridiculous to expect that the umpire(s) can see every contest from all possible vantage points. Sometimes a free kick will be missed simply because the umpire doesn't have sight of the incident.

Sadly however, under Gieschen's direction, AFL umpires increasingly make decisions which they cannot see — holding the ball decisions most prevalently. Not having seen the event properly cannot be an excuse for an incorrect decision. Sometimes no decision is the correct decision, whatever the roar from the crowd.

Release the Giesch!!!!!

After four years at the helm, surely it's reasonable to expect that the Terry Wallace-coached Tigers could show an improved skill level? Their first quarter skill level against the Maggies was barely above abysmal. And in a telling postscript, senior players are disproportionately represented among the offenders.

In another repeat performance, former Richmond coach Captain Obvious (Robert Walls) has yet to master the art of saying anything remotely incisive or interjecting with a comment not consisting of a decontextualised statistic passed to him by the producer. "Breathtakingly boring" is the only description that comes to mind.

In the space of two weeks, we've traversed from rushed behinds that were virtually universally-acknowledged to warrant a free kick to an accidental rushed behind that is penalised under the new rule and which, I suspect, will be virtually universally-acknowledged as completely the wrong decision.

The ONLY saving grace was the Collingwood player's sporting kick ;-) to hit the opposite behind post and so not register a score.

Since it was an umpire who made the blunder, there's only one practical response: Release the Giesch!!

I’d like someone to explain the benefit to be gained from countdown clocks being displayed (The Age). I don't just mean at the ground for the paying customers, I mean on television and radio (you know what I mean!) and especially to the competing teams.

Who is not bored to the back teeth with players holding the ball up like some Olympian trophy to signify that the team is attempting to "ice the clock"?

If it's a close contest, I definitely don't want to know how much time is left. That knowledge kills the suspense and excitement. I want the players to be desperate at the contest right to the final second, not chipping the ball around a deserted backline to waste the few seconds the bench has notified them are left.

We've just killed off (hopefully) the Bowden Manoeuvre, which was nothing more than a time-wasting trick. I want to keep the coaches, media and crowd in total suspense until the siren sounds, and avoid the ugly time-wasting exercises that blight our game.

Another aspect of the Maxwell case has occurred to me.

If I tackle a player and my arm incidentally brushes his head, I'll be free-kicked for high contact.

If I am standing my ground and an opponent slides toward me, resulting in his head making contact with my legs, I'm free-kicked for high contact.

If I'm a defender trying to spoil a marking attempt and my arm brushes against my opponent's head, I'm free-kicked for high contact.

But if I run full out at a bloke and lay my hip and shoulder right down his centre line and his head is struck during the collision resulting in a broken jaw, I'm off scott free!

Anyone able to spot some problems of logic here?

I guess this is just what the world needs right now — another blog post about Nick Maxwell! In the wake of his suspension being overturned, there are some thoughts I’d like to share.

Let me start by saying that I think we need to value the mix of physical clashes and athletic prowess that make our sport so different from any other code of football. The one caveat that must, in my opinion, be applied at all times is that the ball is the objective.

Had Maxwell tried to genuinely tackle McGinnity, thereby making the ball his objective, and accidentally broken his jaw, we wouldn’t have this furore. Instead, Maxwell made the man his objective and shirtfronted him. It’s plain wrong to call this a shepherd.

The shirtfront is essentially a cowardly action. It’s one thing to tackle a bloke who’s not expecting it, but quite another to simply iron him out. We've moved on from the Sensational Seventies and blokes being laid out left, right and centre. Tackle the guy, and tackle him HARD, but the shirtfront has had its day.

The appeals board has got this one very, very wrong.

As for those poor souls bleating that the decision to suspend Maxwell was in some way outlawing the hip and shoulder, just go and have an Aspro and a good lie down!

Attending the Bushfire Appeal match last Friday, I repaired to the bar after a suitable interval to avail myself of a beer. I know all AussieRulesBlog readers will be stunned to read that beer prices have risen (again!).

I did a little quick (and not enhaustive) research. I can purchase online, home-delivered, a 30-can block of Carlton Mid-Strength for the princely sum of $37.99. This equates to around $3.40 per litre.

At Docklands Stadium however, Spotless, Fosters Group, the AFL and, one presumes, stadium management conspire to fleece us a whopping $6.00 for around 300ml of Carlton Mid-Strength. This — are you sitting down? — equates to around $18.00 PER LITRE. More than 500% the price of having the self-same product delivered to my doorstep!!! And it's in a plastic cup, no less! Oh, the indignity!

Those of sterner moral fibre than I may well remind me that I could forego the demon drink. And it’s true that there are many among the crowd who would be much more pleasant company were they to heed such advice. I'm a temperate chap though and confine myself to two beers for the game.

Now, Spotless will no doubt counter that they have to provide staff (who frankly are unlikely to be paid penalty rates, but could be paid a minor king's ransom at $18/litre) at a time when the rest of us are at our ease. Bollocks!

I am as guilty as anyone else. Every one of us who favour these THIEVES with our hard-earned dollars are saying to them: “Here, beat me up! Rifle through my wallet and take what you want!”.

Prices for what is loosely described as “food” are no less scandalous, but at least there's a modicum of preparation involved. $8 for a ham, cheese and salad sandwich made some time during the last week is pretty steep though. What irks most is that I can take my own food and feast like a lord — but I can't take my own alcohol . . .

The ONE saving grace of $6 per cup of beer, is the nice even change which should allow the queues to speed up to snail's pace now that the wunderkind on the cash registers don't have to think.

Like many other fans, both in the blogosphere and in the stands, I've been non-plussed by the seeming failure of umpires to enforce what we thought was a ban on deliberately-rushed behinds.

In a couple of on-line discussions, I've wondered whether the rule was limited in effect to combatting the Bowden Manoeuvre.

I decided it was time to do some detective work. The latest mention of the trial rule that I can locate on the AFL website is the report of Adrian Anderson's December 15, 2008 announcement of the raft of rule changes and trials.

In that report I found the following statement: “a) A free kick will now be awarded for any deliberate rushed behind.” I note the use of the word “any”.

In my previous post, I opined that the Giesch had changed his spots and was upholding the standard of commonsense in interpretations of rules.

I have now decided that the Giesch is being deliberately obtuse in a crazy bid to confuse us and thwart our anger at his charges. I'm onto you Giesch!! You can't pull the wool over MY eyes!

Memo Andrew: It's about time you muttered something like “Will no-one rid me of this troublesome umpiring Director?”, whereupon Adrian Anderson will ride off to the Giesch’s office and render him asunder (apologies to W Shakespeare). Seriously, mate, this is as big a joke as the whistle-blowers have ever been. You HAVE TO fix this or lose whatever shreds of credibility you have left.

Perhaps leopards DO change their spots? Sitting amongst the crowd at the NAB Cup Bushfire Relief game at Docklands Stadium I was, frankly, astounded that the trial rule changes were not attacked with more gusto by the adjudicators. Normally the Giesch’s blokes go at a new rule like a starving dog at a bone — but not so on Friday night.

Most contentious among the rule changes was the decision to punish “rushed behinds” with a free kick. I have yet to watch the game on the small screen, but, from the stands, there appeared to be at least two instances where a defender clearly “manipulated” the ball across the goal line. The crowd were somewhat nonplussed that a free kick wasn’t awarded. I have heard a suggestion that the rule is intended only to remove the Bowden Manoeuvre. If so, it has been successful, but more detailed information seems to be in short supply.

Less contentious, a rule prohibiting restraint of a player after having disposed of the ball came into play a couple of times (apparently — it’s one of the major failings of our game at present that increasingly contentious rulings on the field are not explained to the paying customers) with 50-metre penalties awarded, but there seemed to be many other occasions warranting such penalties.

Finally, a defender, caught on the boundary line near the goals, handballing vaguely in the direction of the goals, but certainly over the boundary line, was not penalised for deliberate out-of-bounds. In 2008, a similar defensive handball, aimed at the goal line, but instead going out of bounds, would have been penalised with a free kick. Not so in 2009 it seems.

All of this seems to suggest that the Giesch has indeed changed his “spots”. I fear there's been an outbreak of virulent commonsense at AFL Umpiring Central. No doubt the medication will take hold and blot it out soon. Then we can return to normal and have rules, especially new ones, umpired to the fine letter of the law at the beginning of the season and eased off in the run to finals. I just can't take these new ways of doing things, Jeff.

Release the Giesch!!

Dear Collo,

I can’t begin to tell you how gratifying it is to have the ground announcer tell me, at quarter time, that it’s quarter time. We in the cheap seats in the stands are forever grateful for this kindness shown us (remembering that the well-to-do in the Medallion Club seats have their personal screens on which to elicit this vital information).

And while I understand people in Dandenong, some 35km away, could clearly hear the ground announcements and advertisements running at breaks between quarters, apparently the residents of Christchurch, NZ remain blissfully unaware. Having turned the volume up to eleven already (Spinal Tap reference), no doubt you could find a way to crank it up to 15 or 16 to lead those poor Kiwis who remain at home into the AFL light.

Yours sincerely,

AussieRulesBlog

Aussie Rules Blog will be in recess for the next week as my public gesture of deep sympathy for those who perished, were injured or lost loved ones or property in the Victorian bushfires these past few days.

How good to see 2 double-page spreads of Aussie Rules in The Age's sports section this morning! Only the Border Medal and Andrew Symonds latest brain-fade kept Aussie Rules from the front page.

Of course, with nearly two months to go before the real stuff starts, every side is talking up their chances and every supporter is optimistic. I bet the Maggies are glad to avoid a home crowd this weekend with 43ºC forecast for Saturday.

Let's GO, Bombers!!!