tigatam said:
Yes it was.
The 50 metre penalty however was completely inconsistent with his other calls during the game, including one on the other side of the field at the same end where Essendon blazed away towards goal well after the whistle had been blown for a Richmond free and wasn't awarded as 50.
The 50 metre penalty was blatant cheating. Nothing else.
Don't know why you seem so suprised though? I cannot ever recall watching a game involving Essendon where they have been on the wrong side of contentious decisions. Umpires call the game to the 'home' team with the majority of support (As we see consistently interstate) and they always have the perception amongst the community of having more supporters attend games - Therefore, the 50-50 calls will always go their way.
The missed out of bounds call in Sydney was simply incompetence and it's disgusting that Geisch is hiding behind the 'His view was obscured' angle - May have been relevant if the bloke kicked with his inside foot, not the outside foot which was half a metre on the wrong side of the line.
Wouldn't waste your time stressing though. So long as the interstate, Collingwood & Essendon fans are all happy the AFL DNGAF about the rest of us.
