Jetters wrote:The AFL Rules of the Game DVD does a great job of defining prior opportunity.
The AFL Rules of the Game DVD does a great job of defining
the current interpretation of prior opportunity.
The reason why it's an interpretation is because it's not codified within the laws of the game.
Jetters wrote:It may not be defined using inflexible measures because of the random nature of the game.
Sure. I agree. The reasons why I originally said, way back when, that IMO Australian Rules Football is the worst adjudicated sport in the world is a mixture of a refusal to provide enough resources, constantly changing the rules, constantly changing the interpretations of the rules and the fact the game is inherently less structured and rigid compared to other sports.
Classic example is take a mate from another country and explain the rules, then whilst watching a game, explain why one incident was against the rules and why another was not. Its a laughable experience.
Jetters wrote:You may only come close to using inflexible measures in the example above because it is such a non-random, structured example.
I think some work could be done in this area, or at a minimum, leave the interpretations alone for more than 12 months.
One interpretation used to be for example, that you couldn't get swung 360 degrees without disposing the ball - thats out the window. It used to be that if you were in the kicking or handball action and the tackle caused you to not dispose of the ball correctly, that was interpreted as incorrect disposal and holding the ball. That's out the window provided the attempt is considered "genuine".
It's absolutely ridiculous. I love the sport itself, playing it and being involved with my club, but **** me drunk if its rules aren't a complete mish mash of palaver. There is far too much grey area and room for movement in how umpires can interpret the rules. One could argue therefore that it is not the umpires fault, but rather the umpiring management, and there is some truth in that.
Jetters wrote:The biggest problem the AFL has with umpiring is they don't educate fans on the rules, especially considering how often (too often!) they change them. The umpiring is often fantastic and fans think its shit. Lack of education.
I sort of agree, there is a lack of understanding of the changing interpretations. But thats only the case because as you mentioned, they keep changing!
The umpires at AFL level get a lot of the simple stuff wrong though. Too much so for an elite level of sport. How we still cannot tell if a ball is or is not over the line of the goal or whether or not its been touched or which side of the post its gone or still have doubt over HTB is completely farcical.