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"I've just about had enough." | First Thoughts - Umpiring & the AFL (25.05.26)
24 May 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is Kane's main concern about umpiring in the AFL?
I just want to go on a little rant this morning. I like it already. Just a little one. I'll sit back for a sec. I'm concerned with where the game is headed with some of the ridiculous free kicks that were paid, game-changing free kicks on the weekend. And the AFL will sit here and go, all of these free kicks were justified.
Chapter 2: How are controversial free kicks affecting the game?
The umpires were reviewed on Monday and they'll go, yep, there was an arm there or there was an off the ball there and that was the right free kick to pay. But when did our game become so soft? I'm seeing more diving. I don't think the Dacos free kick, the overturned one on Jimby, is a free kick.
If we sat down and designed our game and said, what should be a free kick and what shouldn't be, that's not a free kick. Like just to brush past him and Dacos flop and hit the ground and that to be... an overturned free kick, goal against at a pivotal moment. That's not the way that we designed the game to be drawn up. Cam Rayner got a free kick in the ruck on the weekend.
He kicked a goal from early in the game where it was just man-on-man contest, eyes on the ball, too strong. Rayner hits the deck and flops. Free kick, goal against. I saw an arm chop on Aaron Norton yesterday that wasn't an arm chop. Free kick, shot at goal against. Tholstrup got a 50-meter penalty against Tholstrup. West, which was just incidental contact.
He hits the ground, milks it, 50 metres, goal against. I think if you want to draw up the game, these are not the free kicks that should be paid. And I'm really concerned about it. Phil Thorpe getting a week for that little tummy tuck is not the way that the game should be adjudicated at the moment. And we are going down
a very, very interesting path where floppers and divers and exaggerators are rewarded with game-changing free kicks.
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Chapter 3: Why does Kane believe the game has become too soft?
And I've just about had enough, and I hope the AFL are watching and going, hmm, this is an interesting path that we're going down.
No, well said. I had flopping in there as well. Oh, man. The Reina one was a disaster. I hate when the players get up and start laughing. He laughed after. He laughed. He knew that he'd conned them.
Chapter 4: What examples of questionable free kicks does Kane provide?
That's why I said this last year to you. If a player gets a free kick for a goal and you say to the player, I feel like I've been conned here as the umpire, do you want to take this free kick? Because if you take this free kick and it turns out you flopped or staged or dived, it's a 10 grand fine. Do you want it or not? And then the player would say, oh, you know, ball this one up, I reckon.
That annoys me. Rochelle did the same thing.
At least he got fined.
Yeah, I know.
So why are we fining some and not others?
If it's a goal, it should be five times what the flopping fine is.
I'm happy with that. And why are umpires rewarding this behaviour? Why all of a sudden, if you get rid of the ball, say you kick it and you just get touched, the player is there running full speed, trying to pressure you, the player with the ball, and at the last minute, they just touch them or it's a little put. Every time now, it's a downfield free kick. Why is that?
Why are we so petrified of any contact in the game? These are big, high-stakes moments. These are goals against free kicks down the field, 50s goals in the goal square. No, I'm with you.
Oh, man. You know what? The other one that's really annoying me at the moment, and this maybe is because I sometimes look at things from a defender's perspective, Point of view, right? Yeah. Sometimes they put their arm around the waist, but they're not really retarding the other guy. He's still doing what he does. Yes. It's just a comfort thing, right?
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Chapter 5: How does Kane suggest addressing flopping in the AFL?
Three hours contact training during the season per week. Is that enough for these umpires who earn, if you're good, more than an assistant coach who would have 60 hours contact? What we're going to do. I'm going to ask Tom Morris about that to follow that up this morning. What we're going to do. What are we going to do?
Before we leave this morning, and you're going to have to hang around until 9.05, it'll hurt you, but you're going to have to do it, right? We're coming up with a Billy Madison-style board of floppers that should never get another look in. Let's do it on air.
Chapter 6: What are the implications of rewarding diving players?
Divers, floppers. Well, we can. See, you won't even give me five minutes.
You won't even give me five minutes. I will, but it's better if we do it on air.
All right. Okay. I'll tell you what we'll do. Give us ten minutes or so and we'll go head-to-head. We'll just go name after name. And they should not get another free kick like this for four weeks.
Like a tennis match? Yeah, like a tennis match. Okay. All right. We'll do that. Just to put a bow on this and to finish it off, here is Damien Harbwick speaking on umpiring after the game.
I've said this before. The game of AFL is the hardest game in the world to umpire. If you go back to 1984, I'll challenge you to do this. Go and have a look at the rule book then compared to the rule back now. Good luck. You know, I challenge anyone to umpire a game. It is really, really tough. And, you know, once again, we add layers and interpretation.
We've got four umpires and every person's interpretation, mine and yours will differ. Mine and yours will differ. It's very, very tough. So end of the day, don't look at the umpires. Let's look at the rule book and let's figure out what that looks like.
Pretty well said. And I'll tell you who's relieved. It's Nick Larkey for taking the advantage. Oh, what about that? So what's with that as well? Is that still a rule that the player opts to take the advantage or not? There was another one in Dudley with the Fremantle game.
So Larkey missed it and then the ball bobbled and another Kangaroos player threw the foot at it and kicked it out of bounds. That would have been the worst way to lose a game of all time. I know. That's the skipper.
All right, 1-300-736-736. Rant over. A lot of other footy we've got to get through as well. Good rant. I just had enough on the weekend. Welcome back. I like your listening. I know the CEO listens to us, Andrew Dillon. He's a baller. Genuine baller. Yeah. Deals. No. Deals. It's a swanny job. It's a Swanee job, but Dills and Swanee get together.
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