A dejected Essendon coach Brad Scott said he won't be seeking clarity around some contentious umpire calls in Saturday's 45-point loss to Geelong.
With the game hanging in the balance during the first half, it was the third term (premiership quarter) that turned the tide the Cats way.
On two occasions, Geelong supposedly got the rub of the green as an apparent missed arm-chop free kick to Sam Draper in forward 50 and a harsh deliberate rushed behind call against Jye Menzie broke the game open.
"If I thought it would help. If there's been a change in rule, then I'll seek clarification, but I suspect what'll happen is they'll say, 'sorry, it was a mistake'," Scott said post-game.
"We can't change it, we can't control it, so that's our lesson. Can we do anything about it? I'll only seek clarification on something if I think it's going to be a concern going forward. But I don't think you need to direct that question to me."
Jye Menzie pinged for a deliberate rushed behind...#AFLCatsDons pic.twitter.com/g0FUI7buZw
— 7AFL (@7AFL) June 29, 2024
Geelong kicked five goals to one and put the game beyond doubt as they recorded their first win in three weeks.
"We clearly lost momentum in the third quarter through a series of unfortunate events, and then we didn't – we weren't set up behind the ball, we got transitioned, you don't get a scoring opportunity and it goes down the other end and [the Cats] score," Scott said.
"We just had a patch there where we lost total control of the game. Now, that can happen through a variety of factors, what I'm most disappointed about is we lost momentum, then we lost composure."
The Bombers were unable to capitalise on their inside 50s, going at an efficiency of 31.7%, down from their average of 44.
Essendon's clearance work was also once again on display, leading the count 46-38 but failing to convert their opportunities.
Scott and his men will have their chance to redeem themselves on the big stage Friday night, when they face old rivals Collingwood.
The Bombers will finish Round 16 in fourth but have a lot of company surrounding them.
