AFL 2023: Adelaide Crows to seek clarity over big umpire calls in Round 15 loss to Collingwood

The Crows went looking for answers and now the AFL has conceded Jordan Dawson should’ve received a free kick in the dying seconds of Sunday’s loss to Collingwood.

The AFL has conceded that it missed a vital free kick to Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson in the final seconds of the Crows loss to Collingwood, saying the umpires had a restricted view of the contest.

It comes as the Crows sought clarity from the league about some of the decisions that went against them in their two-point loss to the Pies on Sunday at the MCG.

For the second time this season, the Crows went down to the Pies in a thriller, with the margin just two-points on Sunday.

The missed free kick to captain Dawson was in the dying seconds of the match as the Crows were down by two points and would have resulted in a shot on goal.

Jordan Dawson speaks to the umpire after the final siren on Sunday. Picture: Fox Footy

With less than 15 seconds to go, Crows ruckman Reilly O’Brien kicked the ball into Adelaide’s forward 50.

Dawson, who has been stationed at full forward by Matthew Nicks, led and took possession of the ball and was immediately caught by Magpies forward Jamie Elliott and the ball spilt away and Collingwood were able to hold on for a win.

The Crows skipper was left holding his face after the incident and sustained a cut and bloodied lip.

After the siren sounded Dawson appeared to walk towards one of the umpires and shout“are you f***ing kidding me” on the broadcast.

If Dawson did receive a free kick, it would have been a shot on goal for the Crows, but with him bloodied it would have been up to the nearby Josh Rachele or even five-goal Taylor Walker to take it.

On Monday O’Brien said on Channel 10 in Adelaide that it was “obviously a clear free kick”.

“Dawse had a pretty fat lip with a lot of blood coming out of it post-game, he certainly got some contact,” he said.

Jamie Elliot and Dawson collide in the final seconds. Picture: Fox Footy

And the Crows skipper wasn’t happy.

An AFL spokeswoman said that umpire boss Dan Richardson confirmed the call was missed in the late stages of Sunday’s match.

This was because the umpires had a restricted view of the contest after the ball was quickly moved into the Crows’ forward 50.

While that was the main point of contention for the Crows, it wasn’t the only decision that went against Nicks’ side.

Star forward Izak Rankine thought he had snuck through a goal in the fourth quarter as him and John Noble chased the ballas it approached the goal-line.

After a score review it was deemed there was insufficient evidence to change it from the umpire’s call of touched.

Adelaide understands that the decision was 50/50 and the umpires original decision had been that it was touched behind.

There have also been questions regarding a lack of consistency for two free kicks that took a player out of the play.

Collingwood wonderkid Nick Daicos was awarded a 50m penalty and subsequently kicked a goal after he was impeded by former Crows captain Rory Sloane.

Minutes earlier Wayne Milera was blocked by Collingwood’s Brody Mihocek after he had dished off the ball.

But while the Crows were given a free kick they were not given a 50m penalty like Daicos was minutes later.

THE BIG FOUR CALLS

Dawson caught high?

Let’s start with the final one.

Despite an outstanding game in midfield, with 35 disposals, 12 tackles, nine marks, five clearances and 10 inside-50s, the Crows captain was sent to full forward by Matthew Nicks as Adelaide tried to summon up a late winner.

And it looked like it might pay off in the dying seconds of the game.

As the video in the player above shows, O’Brien kicked the ball into Adelaide’s forward 50 with less than 15 seconds to go and Dawson was able to grab the footy.

But as soon as he did he was caught by Collingwood’s Jamie Elliot.

The Crows captain immediately grabbed his face and with a cut and bloodied lip once the siren sounded he shouted at an umpire “are you f##king kidding me?”.

Did he have a point?

Dawson has gone down in Crows’ folklore for his after the siren winner in the Showdown last year. But with blood after the whack Dawson would have likely been taken off the field if a free kick was awarded.

Josh Rachele was the closest player to Dawson at the time, while Taylor Walker – who had already kicked five goals – was also nearby.

No goal for Rankine

For a moment, Izak Rankine thought he had pulled it off.

As the ball bounced towards the goal line midway through the fourth quarter Rankine and the Pies’ John Noble raced towards the footy.

Rankine looked to have gotten a glancing touch with his foot to the ball before it crossed the goal line but Noble also had his hand near the ball while Brayden Maynard was also in the mix to touch it with his foot just as it crossed the line.

Izak Rankine appears to get a foot to the ball. Picture: Fox Footy

Did it cross the line before Brayden Maynard touched it? Picture: Fox Footy

As the score review took place, Fox Footy commentators Anthony Hudson, Nathan Buckley and Garry Lyon were split on whether Noble had got a touch on the ball after Rankine’s.

“Good luck sorting this one out,” Lyon said.

The umpires call was touched and after the review it was determined that there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn this.

Izak Rankine robbed. Reckon that was a clear goal. How can the same ARC change Tom Lynch’s goal to a behind in last year’s elimination final, but deem that insufficient evidence?

— Sam Landsberger (@SamLandsberger) June 25, 2023

Daicos and Pendles questions answered

The Crows were still in the lead with around eight minutes to go as Collingwood looked to launch another attack.

Pies wonderkid Nick Daicos handballed it to Will Hoskin-Elliott in the middle of the ground and the young gun looked to get the ball back quickly.

But before he could he was body checked and stopped in his tracks by former Crows captain Rory Sloane.

As soon as this happened, Daicos and Collingwood star Scott Pendlebury immediately asked the umpire for a 50m penalty and the Pies were awarded one rather than being given advantage.

“Scotty and I quickly went up to him and said we thought if you give and get held it is a 50m penalty,” Daicos said on Triple M.

“So yeah the umpire was good enough to let me take it and gave the 50m penalty which was huge.”

Daicos kicked the goal to give the Pies the lead as Sloane was told by the umpire about what he had done wrong.

Even if the 50m penalty wasn’t awarded, Brody Mihocek had already marked the ball about 40m out so there was a good chance the Pies would have taken the lead anyway.

Rory Laird tackles Collingwood star Nick Daicos. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Crows gun Wayne Milera. Picture: Michael Klein.

But Crows get nothing

The Daicos 50m penalty was probably the right decision, given he was stopped in his tracks off the ball.

But Crows fans will be convinced there was a lack of consistency given that Milera could have had a 50m penalty for something similar earlier in the quarter.

As the Crows tried to put a surge together, Milera handballed the footy over Mihocek.

But as he went to run forward and potentially receive the ball in return he was body checked by the Magpies forward.

The Crows were given a free kick but. unlike what happened with Daicos minutes later. they were not awarded a 50m penalty, which would have resulted in Milera having a shot on goal.

North Melbourne legend David King said the Crows should have gotten a 50m penalty.

“Why doesn’t it happen when you are blocked and it is a downfield free,” he said on First Crack.

“This is a professional free (kick), you take him out of the play and they are gone. They were forward of it and they were having high quality entries of one-on-ones or better.

“And then the ball comes back and slow play … I think the AFL needs to look into this. If you give away a professional free kick which delays time it should be a free kick and a 50m penalty as per the Daicos one.”

Originally published as AFL 2023: Adelaide Crows to seek clarity over big umpire calls in Round 15 loss to Collingwood