It happened in front of me several times today.

Yes there is a rule against it. It was applied against us in the 1st quarter, then the maggots must have forgotten it applied.

Another thing I noticed today was the delayed play on call until the NM player had run passed the closer defenders. It happened a few times and a number of people at the game commented on it.

it's illegal. i remember an instance a while ago where m johnson was lining up just outside fifty, he handed it off to heath black and bumped the guy on the mark while heath unloaded and got a goal. the free was brought back...

i believe the rule is something to the effect of the man on the mark has a zone around him (2 metres?) until play on is called.


also with the umpiring, for one of the kangas points in the last quarter i saw a fairly blatant throw, but then again i've been wrong before.
as for holding the ball, have they thrown the rule out completely? again, though, that's from only watching the end bits and it's entirely possible the umpires decided not to cause any controversy in such a close match by just putting their whistles away.

I think it was in the last quarter when North had it in our fifty, Ibo on the mark was sheperded out of it, the ump, blew the whistle and instead of giving us the kick for infringement they gave the north bloke the kick again. The second time around the same thing happened and the ump let it go, surely they have to do something about it. I know there's a new rule to protect the kicker but there needs to be a clarification on the man on the mark rule.

Let's not worry about the really tricky things like what's happening off the mark.

How about we use the preseason to clarify, for once and all, what constitutes holding the ball and incorrect disposal? I'm sick to death, as I'm sure most fans are, of watching incorrect disposal paid here and holding the ball paid there for what looks like exactly the same play. Then there are the times when it's not holding the ball or incorrect disposal, it's a push in the back! Not to mention that usually you can throw it or drop it and stand a 50/50 chance of getting a free for being tackled without possession.

So why not forget the TV-driven 9 pointers and use the preseason for sorting the real rules?

That is why it is so frustrating - there was some confusion amongst spectators from both sides today. Will practice make perfect? Or is it more about umpires being in the right position? And of course, that is only possible with hindsight. Dare I say, that I do have some sympathy for the umpires, for whom it is not possible to have a 360 degree view of the game.