I was at a wedding about a decade back that was attended by a number of prominent AFL umpires. I got talking to Shane McInerney, who seemed like a really good guy. It was late in the night, I was pretty drunk, and I told him about the most embarrassing thing I had done at work that year. He laughed politely, and I told him that the reason I shared that story was that every week I saw him embarrass himself at work, and that it was only fair that I share the experience of my own failings.
I think he saw the humour in that. I can’t really remember. He did say that fans yelling at him didn’t phase him because he was of the view it was all part of the theatre of footy, and that umpiring Haydne Ballantyne was really difficult because he was always up to no good, so it was very hard to disentangle the things you saw from the things you were expecting to see. That stayed with me, and I appreciate how hard that could be.
Anyway, I’m not sure I could muster the same civility for Margetts or Dalglish. What they see or expect to see in every circumstances is a potential free kick for West Coast. I’m sure they are good blokes doing their best, but I care about footy probably to a borderline-unhealthy degree, and I think their officiating of West Coast hurts the game.
