Since the umpires are mic'd up for the television audience, why not send that mic signal to the PA system so that everybody can hear the whistle & calls from the umpires? Obviously a sound guy has to monitor the level of the mic to cut out swears & to stop it from being too loud (eg STAND! four times a minute), but hearing the whistle & instructions over the PA would cut down the confusion. The umpires would no longer have to yell at the players or get up close to make themselves heard.
Half the crowd automatically disagree with the umpire anyway & that wont change, but having his calls made public could cut down on the frivolous & ridiculous calls that are being made. To make their call & explain it publicly puts the onus back on the umpire to keep it fair. If it changes the way decisions are made it could only be good for everybody!
Rugby & soccer umps address the crowd through the PA, why not AFL umps too? Also, players can't pretend to not hear the whistle when its coming through the PA!
Pair up the video replay with the umpire's audio & allow the umpire to change his call if it is proven to be wrong! We get a ball up instead of highway robbery!
This is the 21st century, get with the times & use the technology to our advantage!
