Leigh Matthews says umpire ‘choked’ in not awarding Collingwood crucial late free kick
DOM Sheed was the hero for West Coast after slotting the matchwinning goal in the Grand Final. While an AFL great slammed the umpires, a former whistleblower says the man in charge nailed it. VOTE
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THE AFL is expected to tick off on the contentious umpiring decision not to penalise Willie Rioli for an illegal shepherd at its official review of the Grand Final.
Former veteran umpire Matt James said umpire Brett Rosebury nailed the contentious decision that saw Dom Sheed win Saturday’s premiership despite Leigh Matthews declaring it an “illegal shepherd”.
Rosebury paid the mark to Sheed as Willie Rioli pushed Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard away from the contest, allowing his West Coast teammate to fly for the mark without pressure.
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The AFL has been attempting to crack down on blocks in marking contests, but Rosebury was in a perfect position to declare it a fair contest despite howls of protest from Pies fans.
The league’s review will not be finalised until Monday but early indications are that the umpiring department was supportive of the non-call.
Coaching legend Matthews said the umpires had swallowed the whistle in a final quarter with only four free kicks.
But 206-game AFL umpiring veteran James — a former Pies administrator — told the Herald Sun the three umpires had done a superb job in a nailbiting West Coast victory.
“Rioli definitely makes position to try to block him, but I also think Maynard plays it up a fair bit. That is my gut feel,” he said.
“If you are paying that, you are paying 20 free kicks of that type during the game. Maybe to the letter of the law it’s a free kick but the way they umpired all day, there was one to Chris Mayne who should have got a free kick earlier, but that was in line with what they paid all day.”
The AFL is currently reviewing its rules over blocking and shepherding in marking contests as part of its rules review.
Is Dom.
— West Coast Eagles (@WestCoastEagles) September 30, 2018
Is clutch. pic.twitter.com/7IvCdVEeNB
But James said free kick counts were often low in finals because players were so intent on not giving away free kicks.
““It’s a myth that umpires put the whistle away. Players play with more caution in finals. They live in fear of giving away soft free kicks that will cost them a game.
“Close games are easy to umpire because players almost umpire it for you.
“I thought the umpire were good, you didn’t really notice them. They were very unobtrusive.”
Matthews said on Channel 7 of the Maynard incident: “I think that proves that umpires can choke as well”.
“That’s a shepherd, that’s not a protection, that’s an illegal shepherd.”
“There were four free kicks in the last quarter, so what we’re saying is there was only four illegal actions in the last quarter.
“’I don’t believe in this principle that just because it’s a big game, last quarter, last quarter, don’t pay free kicks. If they’re there, they’ve got to be paid.”
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Originally published as Leigh Matthews says umpire ‘choked’ in not awarding Collingwood crucial late free kick