(07-18-2022, 03:53 AM)RiverRat date Wrote:Ever since he has arrived on the scene, he seems to have been setting his sights on replacing Razor Ray as the most (over) officious umpire. Where Ray used to sprint in to IMPOSE himself, this guy always seems to run in and POSE himself.Yes, I'm not claiming it's a deliberate bias, although the images [member=20]kruddler[/member] posted today from out at CheatsFC headquarters are a bit disconcerting.
I doubt that he has a bias against us but I wouldn't be surprised if he disproportionately rules against the less experienced teams because players on those teams are often less subtle in how they go about their business.
My problem is that he will reward someone like Selwood while penalising (or not rewarding) Fisher or Hayes for what is the very same act. I've no problem rewarding Selwood for what he does, it is a skill, but why not reward Fisher or Hayes as well? The Razor Ray analogy is very appropriate, I was actually going to mention the bemused look on the face of one of 22's associates, when they made a decision from 5m away and he overruled them from 30m away! At one stage the two other umpires just looked at each other like, "WTF? Oh, he's at it again!"
It's that difference that is extremely hard to explain outside of a personal subjectivity, and it's partially explained by an unconscious bias as you describe, but I'd also assert it the high profile complaints from voices like Scott and Dimma that also have an influence on match day. So I'd say we are too good, after our TPP penalties we have become the good citizens of AFL, never complaining, never trying to push back, but perhaps we have taken that too far! I'd be shifting the spotlight back on a few of the influentials.
It's quite possible that 22 enters games with a preconceived notion about who is going to win, because I've heard other clubs with similar complaints.
"Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck ....... Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck"