Lightning McQueen wrote:Are you still umpiring up north? I seen the Buffalo vs Wanderer game on TV the other night at zero o'clock, Pendles' brother goes alright.
Yeah, Did three A grade games been back in Div 1 (B grade) last two and this week)
We had an AFL listed umpire up here for the first six rounds (John Howorth #17) and he was fantastic with respect going through their decision making process and setting standards for training.
We did a lot of work on prior opportunity and what they look for in the HTB decision. Basically if a player isn't:
a) balanced and steady, b) trying to evade, c) fending, d) driving their head into a stationary opponent, e ) ignoring a prior option ignored & f) called to play from a free kick or mark, there no prior.
You can see how so few HTBs are paid at the AFL level and it looks scrappy because with the speed of the game if there's no Prior (see above) it isn't a legal tackle and they dispose of it legally it isn't HTB.
Every fortnight we were doing video sessions and quizzes with local and AFL footage to test our knowledge, 80% right was the acceptable pass level for or us, I got it once

with my lowest mark 68% my lowest score.
The other things he said is they are allowed two mistakes (error of law not judgement) per game get more than two and its a please explain and dropped. A howler is an automatic drop.
Reminds me I should go back to the 2019 ANZAC day thread and say what he said about the last five minutes of umpiring and how they were assessed....