In the aftermath of Friday night's game, I spent some time trawling this thread and the game day boards (Scraggers and Tigers) over at Big Footy, and our game day board here.
To say Eleni Glouftsis copped a caning for her efforts would be putting it politely.
I re-watched the third quarter last night and paid particular attention to the umpiring, and to Glouftsis, especially.
Watching the game live, I didn't much notice the umpires but based on what I subsequently read, I was expecting a shitshow of a performance, especially from Glouftsis.
First, a disclaimer. I've only watched one quarter on replay so far.
But ... I didn't identify a single error made by Glouftsis in that quarter. The closest I got was her free awarded to Edwards for holding against Macrae at a centre bounce, which was there but was soft. She also awarded a holding free against Riewoldt to Keath or Cordy that was at the softer end of the scale, but was also there.
The only really dud decision made in that quarter was by Fleer against West for high contact on Houli, which looked suspect at the time and didn't get better on the replay. The HTB that wasn't given against McIntosh when he ran into Wood on the mark was the correct call—clearly no prior. I think that was Fisher officiating.
I want to give Glouftsis some credit. Bad bouncing drives me nuts. Her bouncing is as good as any umpire going around. Her communication on the field is good. And I understand she had umpired a full game the night before. Is the angst really warranted?
I suspect she gets noticed more for the obvious fact she's a female. I'm less convinced about the qualities of Williamson and Deboy than I am her.
I'll re-watch the final quarter tonight and follow up this post if I have more to add.