Grey Morris: Local angle is painting NTFL umpires into a corner

For about 10 minutes on Saturday night this writer thought he was the condemned man when irate Waratah players, officials and fans sought answers to what they described as woeful, disgraceful and inept umpiring in their loss to the Darwin Buffaloes

Darwin Buffaloes’ Ryan O'Sullivan tries to get to the ball ahead of Waratah rival Nicholas Gooch. Picture: MICHAEL FRANCHI

RUNNING the gauntlet used to be when soldiers accused of cowardice or desertion were stripped to the waist and ran between a double row of their own men with clubs and swords to receive various means of corporal punishment.

For about 10 minutes on Saturday night this writer thought he was the condemned man when irate Waratah players, officials and fans sought answers to what they described as woeful, disgraceful and inept umpiring in their loss to the Darwin Buffaloes.

Coach Michael McLean kept his powder dry, despite asking this writer my thoughts on the men in green and grey.

What the game did was highlight the technical difficulties of the modern game, what constitutes an illegal tackle or a holding the ball decision from different angles and different interpretations of the three officiating umpires.

One Waratah player was shattered at the number of those decisions that went against his side in 50-50 situations, a number I discussed with McLean after he sought my version of events.

Was it the fact the Buffaloes were first to the ball: Were they more intense? Did the crowd reaction influence decisions? Do we need more experienced umpires?

All factors the league will have to address in the lead-up to what has the potential to be one of the toughest NTFL finals series for years.

One fan suggested the relative youth of the umpires and the fact they mixed socially and through employment with players from all the clubs and the boisterous fans who condemn every decision that goes against their side, equates to intimidation.

For a very small town that hosts a major football competition that may well apply.

Even more reason to recruit interstate umpires who do not have that association with local people, a means of keeping personalities and relationships at arms length.

This writer is not criticising the umpires’ endeavour, the three men who controlled the Tahs-Buffs game were fully committed to their task on what was a wet and slippery surface with 36 players prepared to risk serious injury in pursuit of the yellow Sherrin.

What is at stake is the reputation of the men in green after another blast from those off the field, not a good look with the serious part of the season about to commence.

The league must call a coaches meeting with umpires boss Mark Noonan this week to discuss the deteriorating relationship between the players and the whistle blowers.

Both parties have a role to play in the greatest of all games, some tweaking on both sides is required to make sure frustrations and anger does not move from verbal to physical.

The league tribunal and its match review panel have come under their own scrutiny from the football public again, much of it to do with the results coming out of the Wednesday night hearings at league headquarters.

The Pierce Liddle rough conduct charge has confusion written all over it with the player now subject to a lot of public opinion on whether he is guilty or not.

Given there were circumstances in the first two weeks when Liddle could not attend the tribunal to answer a charge that is now a month old, the tribunal’s decision to defer then wait for submissions from his own club on what penalty will apply borders on bizarre.

Player deregistration is a big part of this case. Liddle’s 16-game suspensions mean he will fall into the banned category if found guilty.

The three-man MRP has its own public relations problems to solve, the latest bump in the road coming from Dion Munkara’s “strike’’ and subsequent two-match ban while in the middle of post-goal celebrations against Nightcliff.