Essendon’s three-point win over Adelaide on Friday night was marred by a controversial referee decision in the last second.
As the Bombers desperately tried to prevent the Crows from scoring in the dying seconds, Sam Draper dived for a loose ball deep in the defense and held it as he was tackled by two Crows.
Adelaide players made a wide appeal to hold the ball, but the referee called the ball questionable – denying Taylor Walker a chance on goal to win the match – as the final siren sounded to seal the result.
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A furious Walker was left to dispute the decision with the referee in a bitter ending for the home side – one that the AFL is likely to address on Saturday.
‘Adelaide may have thought they were unlucky as big Sam Draper decided to lay on the foot. I’m not sure you can do that,” Demons legend Garry Lyon said after the match on Fox Footy.
“It is unfair to ultimately limit it to one incident. But it looks like he fell on it and then hooked it back in.
Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley was adamant that the call should have been made to keep the ball against Draper, calling it a ‘brain fade’ that should have been punished.
“He made it happen and lied about it. Technically in any part of the field, at any time of the game, i.e. holding the ball. It was a little tap and then he laid on it,” Buckley said.
“The reaction of the players was also clear. The referee made the decision that it was a ball before the siren went because you could see the Adelaide players put their heads in their hands (implying) ‘that should have been a free kick’.
“Then the Essendon boys go up. It was a clear decision, not influenced by the final siren.”
Three-time premiership Lion Jonathan Brown insisted: “It’s not a brain fade now, it’s a winning moment.”
After seeing a vision of Draper brazenly mimicking his dive on the ball in front of teammates minutes later, Hawthorn legend Jordan Lewis, who was initially unsure whether he was holding the ball, admitted: “I’ve changed my decision.”
Brown said of Draper’s revival, “Now just rub it in!”
Although Essendon were clearly the better team all night – as evidenced by their statistical dominance – they will continue to count their lucky stars after that ending which will surely be discussed by the football world.
This improved the Bombers to 4-2 on the season ahead of next week’s blockbuster Anzac Day match against Collingwood.
Essendon skipper Zach Merrett admitted it was nice to be on the right side of a close result after last year’s loss to Port Adelaide following Dan Houston’s goal after the siren.
“I’ll be honest, I held my breath a bit in those last few seconds,” Merrett said of Friday night’s thrilling finish on Fox Footy.
“We obviously learned the hard way last year against Port Adelaide by kicking it out and Houston by scoring a great goal.
“We certainly spent a lot of time, work and energy on those moments. For the most part, it was very enjoyable to perform.
“But it was undoubtedly a line-ball call.”
