The AFL have admitted that Crows forward Izak Rankine should have been awarded both a mark or a free kick in the dying stages of Adelaide's loss to Gold Coast on Saturday.
Rankine held a chest mark inside 50 inside the final two minutes of play between the Crows and Suns, before defender Sam Collins crashed into Rankine from behind, dislodging the ball free.
The loose ball was swept up by the Suns as Collins held Rankine as he fell to the ground from his aerial leap.
Despite pleading for a free kick with the umpire, Rankine was denied as the Suns exited their defensive arc quickly.
Ultimately, it was a crucial decision in the match as the Suns held on for the slimmest of victories, eclipsing Adelaide by a single point.
On Sunday, the AFL released a statement admitting that the umpiring non-call was incorrect.
"With 1:44 remaining in the Gold Coast v Adelaide match Rankine should have been awarded a mark. Subsequently, he was also held in the marking contest, which should have also warranted a free kick," the statement read.
"Upon review, the umpires missed it in real time."
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks and Gold Coast Damien Hardwick both commented on the non-decision post-game.
Nicks attempted to hold back his disdain for the divisive non-call, but it was evident he believed his side was due a favourable whistle.
โMy version is I think if he didn't mark it, he was tackled in the marking contest, but we made so many mistakes throughout the game. Things happen,โ Nicks said.
โYou get to the end of the game, and we've given ourselves a chance and you need every bit of luck in that moment. That last minute-and-a-half we clearly didn't get things going our way.
โSo, I sit here as a coach and say: 'what do I preach to the players?'
โI preach about being in the moment, don't blame others, get on with life, you've got to butter up and go again next week, so I'm doing my best to stay in that space.
โI'd say we've got some frustrated fans out there and I feel for them and I'm a little bit with them.โ
Were the Crows robbed of a shot at goal in the dying stages of the match?
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Hardwick avoided any conversation on the decision, siding with the umpires who have a "tough" job to do.
โWe're not going to go through every free kick are we?โ Hardwick said.
โIt's a tough game to umpire, we understand that. Fact of the matter is, the umpire calls the plays, I don't get to coach it from the box.โ
The post-game admission on a decision gone wrong is the third Adelaide fans have endured in three seasons, with Ben Keays' late goal ruled a point against Sydney in 2023, which ultimately saw the club miss finals, while the AFL deemed in Round 6 last year that Essendon's Sam Draper should have given away a holding the ball free kick close to the final siren, despite the umpires non-call in that game.
Gee, the โaflโ made a โmistakeโโฆ.. (a very consistent mistakeโฆ the free kick count of 25 to 24 is a pretty good indication).
Gee โ thatโll make a difference, all is better then, the โaflโ has nearly โsaid sorryโโฆ..
Will it admit it again if Adelaide misses a placing by 4 points?
Will it admit it again if Adelaide misses the finals (yet again) because of an umpire?
Will it apologise if Adelaide misses out on a place in the top 4 because of an umpire?
and the โaflโ is stupid enough to wonder why umpires are almost universally reviled as cheats.
Have any past umpire from any of the state leagues go through all the footage and pick out the blatantly incorrect decisions or the โarbitrary โ decision not to award a free.
In that game the โfree kick countโ would be dramatically different.
If the โaflโ has decided that Adelaide needs to earn over 3 frees to be awarded just the one โ it should have the balls to come out and say it and give a reason as to why.
Itโs looking more a more like matches are fixed every year โ every week.
The umpiring seems more and more to be โconsistentโ with a question of โwho do the afl want to win this game?โ
How long before players are given a script?
Free kick count was 25 to 14โฆ. not 25-24 (if it was Adelaide would have won by 4 goals).
Get it right Callum โ its not the third time in 3 years the afl has had to apologise for a howler that has directly cost the AFC 4 critical premiership points โ its the FOURTH time in less than TWO years, or the FOURTH time in the past 37 matches!
You forgot about J Dawson having his ripped off in the last 10 secs of the 2023 pies v crows game at the G!