Refer to my post after round 7 when the free kick count V Port was an astonishing 30-13 in the Eagles favour.
At the time , I thought 43 free kicks in a game of AFL was ludicrous until I watched the Hawks v Port game in Launceston over the weekend, where the most astonishing display of anxiety ridden whistle blowing resulted in a total of 54 free kicks and eleven 50 metre penalties!!! The 50 metre decisions incidentally, are now documented in the annals of history as an all time record for an AFL match!!
So, questions should be asked! Are there an questions being asked? Well, no!! Raised but not asked in a confrontational sense! Why?
Let's put the current state of the game in perspective. We have a growing undercurrent of opinion amongst the most respected contributors to our game both past and recent, suggesting that the need for a think tank to initiate and implement positive amendments which will assist in returning the game to some semblance of the beautiful free flowing code of football that uniquely set it apart from competitor codes such as rugby and soccer, the hybrid nature coupled with the pure athleticism and uncompromising bravery displayed in our great code remains incomparable.
May I suggest that the very core of the ugliness of the current standard of the game begins and ends ( Lock,Stock and Too Many Whistles ), with the Authoritarian Control Association!!!! (AKA Umpires Association). Yes, those little bastards who get under your nose and under your radar all in the name of justifying some kind of living that otherwise would elude the poor pricks.
Long and drawn point of view, apologies! but my point is: how can you have a free flowing game of footy when 54 free kicks are paid, and remember, it's not just about the free kick count, it's where they are paid! One stat that is not available anywhere is the goals from free kicks, that is one to keep the trained eye on footy fans!
