The AFL has admitted that its ARC made a mistake in overturning a behind call to award Adelaide a goal in their win over the Melbourne Demons.
With 11 minutes remaining, Crows forward Ben Keays snapped a shot towards goal while being tackled and was awarded a point by the goal umpire who ruled defender Judd McVee got a touch on it.
Steven May was also sure that his teammate had got a touch that he went straight for the kick out, however, the officials stopped the game and went for a score review, where the Crows had the call overturned and were awarded a goal.
It was suggested that the official in the ARC appeared to review the wrong vision and didn’t watch the footage far enough to spot the hand touching the ball. It was therefore ruled that there was a “gap at all times”.
But The Herald Sun reported that the AFL contacted both Melbourne and Adelaide on Monday and conceded the error from the AFL video review system – and the goal umpire’s call was, in fact, the right one.
On its own, the extra points from this decision were not game-affecting. When the moment occurred, the home side had a 15-point lead, and their winning final margin was 13 in the end. But with 11 minutes to go, it could have had a mental impact on their chances of a comeback.
The Crows are no strangers to score review controversies after the infamous goal umpire error costing them a game against Sydney in 2023 – that ultimately saw them miss finals, and threaten court action.
While earlier this season, the ARC couldn’t overturn a shot from Brisbane’s Callum Ah Chee that appeared to go over the post.
It has re-ignited the debate for ball-tracking technology, but while it will again be in use in the AFLW season, the AFL is not prepared to implement it in the men’s season, with CEO Andrew Dillon saying last week that he wasn’t convinced that it was better than what is currently available.
“I wouldn’t say drastic (changes) but there will be refinements,” he said.
“So we used (the chip) in AFLW last season, we are using it in the VFL and we continue to test that.
“It’s a score assist technology for the AFLW, so it’s really helping there and we won’t bring it into the men’s competition as score review until we are really comfortable it’s better but it might be able to enhance it.”
AFL’s proposed in-season tournament ‘fraught with danger’
The reports this week that the AFL was considering introducing an in-season competition has been met with plenty of opposition, with AFL great turned commentator, Jason Dunstall, claiming that it’s “fraught with danger” amid a host of concerns.
While there are no concrete details as yet because it is only in the discussion phase, it is expected to run within the league’s premiership year, similar to the FA Cup and NBA, with the season paused to allow clubs to compete in a different tournament for extra prize money.
But Dunstall told Fox Footy’s AFL 360 that he was sceptical of the radical idea.
“I applaud the fact that we have forums and think-tanks and get-togethers – I think it’s really important – and we do tend to follow a lot of what happens in the US as far as sport goes, and I love the CEOs being imaginative; I love them being entrepreneurial,” Dunstall said.
Andrew Dillon. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
“But I’m not sure what’s in the water up there, because I see this as fraught with danger.
“We’ve gone through the phases of having a pre-season comp or a night comp during the season – now we’re talking about a season being too long.
“We’re going to shorten the home-and-away season to play these other games, which makes the season just as long as it was, plus you’re going to find a lot of players get rested for that because they’re more concerned about the premiership.
“You’ll get injuries to some that do play in it, and there’ll be clubs going up in arms about that, and what impact does it have on some of the awards?”
It’s believed that one of the driving goals behind this plan to shake up the season is to retain more fans’ interest for longer, amid the unevenness of the competition and lopsided results towards the back end of the season.
With Tasmania’s entry to the competition, it could see teams play each other once a year, in addition to Gather Round and a rivalry round, with the mid-season tournament making up the difference in broadcast timeslots.
While it has been compared to the NBA mid-season competition, the Fox Footy commentator pointed out one major difference, that the basketball games count for regular season points, whereas this floated proposal would be completely separate home-and-away games.
“We’re going around in circles. We’re like a dog trying to bite its own tail,” Dunstall said.
“We bemoaned how long the season was, and then the league decided to pay the players more money to lengthen the season. So that they get the bigger broadcast deal and get more revenue and get more people involved in the game.
“So, you can’t have one without the other.”
In confirming that this idea is being worked on, AFL CEO Andrew Dillon stressed that it was only in the concept phase, and may never get past the thought stage.
Worst news confirmed for Tigers’ Lalor
Richmond’s No.1 draft pick Sam Lalor might need surgery and Nik Cox’s concussion history has also ended his AFL season.
Two other Bombers will need surgery, with injury-plagued Zach Reid’s season cut short again due to last week’s hamstring injury.
Jye Caldwell suffered a syndesmosis injury in Saturday’s loss to Gold Coast and will be out indefinitely as he goes under the knife.
Sydney also received bad news on Monday, with forward Joel Amartey likely out for the rest of the season with a high-grade adductor strain, and Tom Papley sidelined for two to three weeks with a hamstring injury.
Adelaide forward Josh Rachele has avoided ligament damage, but he will still need knee surgery after landing awkwardly in Sunday’s win over Melbourne. The Crows are unsure when he will return.
Lalor re-injured his left hamstring only a couple of minutes into his return on Saturday against Geelong, with the Tigers confirming on Monday his season is over.
Sam Lalor of the Tigers is escorted off the ground with an injury during the 2025 AFL Match Simulation in February. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
The AFL’s concussion panel, which last month recommended West Coast defender Jeremy McGovern should retire on medical grounds, gave Cox hope he will resume his playing career.
While Cox will not play this year due to his concussion problems, the panel gave him a pathway to make an AFL comeback after meeting him last month.
Lalor has succumbed to a left hamstring injury for the third time, previously injuring it before he was drafted last year and then in the May Dreamtime at the ‘G match against Essendon.
The Tigers were cautious, holding him back for a week, but he limped off GMHBA Stadium after tackling Tom Atkins early in the first quarter.
“We are all devastated for the young man, and I am sure our fans are too,” Richmond high-performance manager Ben Serpell said.
“The injury mechanism here for Sam this time was very different to his original injury mechanism.
“He sustained the injury in a tackle. I think anyone who throws their body at the game as he did, and credit to him for doing that, is going to put their body at some risk irrespective of their injury history.”
Given Lalor’s terrible injury history, he might undergo surgery on the hamstring.
“We are a bit concerned about the integrity of the hamstring structure,” Serpell said.
“As part of that we will consult a few surgeons over the next little while to see if there is some surgical intervention available for us.”
Meanwhile, Cox is upbeat about his future after being told by the concussion panel he can resume his AFL career.
“While I’m disappointed that I won’t return to the field for the remainder of the 2025 season, this time away from the game will be used to focus fully on my health, recovery, and building the strongest possible foundation heading into pre-season,” Cox said.
“I’ve learned a lot about myself over the past few months, and I’m more motivated than ever to get back to doing what I love.
“My focus now is on continuing to work closely with specialists and the club to make sure I’m in the best place physically and mentally to return to football.”
The Swans, who beat Fremantle on Sunday, confirmed their injury news in a brief statement on Monday night, saying Amartey would be out for eight to 12 weeks.
With seven home-and-away rounds left before the pre-finals bye, Amartey could be fit in time for the start of September, but it would take a remarkable run by Sydney to reach the play-offs.
– with AAP
