There was - as always - some absolutely mind boggling decisions last night....but its almost part of the game now....and , well ...we've just got to 'roll with it'. There was some pretty ordinary ones for them as well.
Overall, -as far as Dockers games go - I didnt think the umpiring was too bad.
As for the female umpire... Well, I profess that traditionalist, sexist me doesn't like the concept. Puts the lady in some pretty ordinary situations - or, will one day became a great issue where there'll be a huge kerfuffle / sh** storm as a result of crowd abuse/ player abuse / coach abuse.
In short, I reckon its putting someone in harms way, and its unnecessary. Still, we are 'of these times'....
However, I want to say this. In my view, she did a damned fine job and I'd be very happy to have her umpire again. Theres not too many in the current batch of AwFL umpires that I would say this about!?
I would suggest she was a little black & white, and maybe missed a couple, but....in totality, it certainly wasnt the worst umpiring perfomance all year, and I'd almost say it was one of the better ones. All credit to her!
Only real fault I saw ( and havent been back to replay to quantify) , but when she bounced the ball, they invariably bounced to her right. Its a technical issue that needs correction, but it was the same for both teams, so it wasnt to anyone's advantage. Wouldnt like it happening in a quarter where a team "really hits its straps" beacause it could dertermine a result, and so it needs to be fixed.
Unfortunately they'll fix it by simply doing away with the bounce and another great aspect of the game will be gone...
