Brad Scott goes scorched Earth on umpires after Nate Caddy collision
Essendon coach Brad Scott has taken a flamethrower to the AFL umpiring department after an incident involving one of his players.
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Essendon coach Brad Scott delivered a scathing review of the umpires after the collision involving Bombers’ forward Nate Caddy.
Caddy was streaming forward during Essendon’s 41-point loss to Gold Coast on Saturday afternoon when he crashed into the umpire.
The emerging forward, who kicked three goals, was not seriously injured in the accident but needed 15 minutes to get his breath back.
The incident comes just days after the AFL introduced potential suspensions to players who repeatedly make contact with the officiators.
Scott launched a stern defence of Caddy when asked if he thought the collision could spell match review panel.
Watch the incident in the video player above
“I’ve lost count of the amount of times I have contacted the AFL about moving the umpires out of the corridor (middle of the ground),” Scott said.
“They sprint into the corridor and they stay there – and that’s clearly where we want to get the ball.
“Even when I was at the AFL I tried to move them out of the corridor and they still wouldn’t move out of the corridor.
“We’ve been at them and at them and at them to move out of the corridor and the last response I had from Steve McBurney (umpires chief) was, ‘Just pretend they’re invisible’.
“Well, he wasn’t invisible and unfortunately it took the wind out of Nate Caddy, it took 15 minutes to get him going again.
“Whose fault is it? Certainly not Nate Caddy’s. And particularly given we put this on the agenda to move the umpires out of the corridor and they refuse to do it.”
Essendon won the free kick count but should have had another in a high tackle free kick to first-season forward Angus Clarke.
Scott doubled down on his review of the umpires, saying the reason the fourth umpire was introduced was to gain clarity on both sides of the contest.
“Not only that, the arc then tells our doctor to check on the umpire and assess the umpire,” he said.
“And it’s Nate Caddy’s fault? I don’t expect him to have anything to answer for that.
“Part of the reason for the four umpires was so they didn’t get blind sighted, so you can have an umpire on each side of the contest.
“Angus Clarke clearly got taken high in the forward 50, the umpire is on the other side and pays holding the ball.
“Now that happens but the reason we have four is so the umpire on the other side of the contest can see it and it would make sense if the umpire was on four quadrants on the outside.
“But they insist on running into the corridor and they’re coached that way, then we have a player collide and it’s the player’s fault.”
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