The AFL has admitted the umpires made mistakes in controversial 50m penalty decisions against Richmond in the season opener last night.
Five 'encroaching the mark' 50m penalties were paid and of the five decisions, the AFL has admitted two were wrong while one was a marginal call.
Shai Bolton was penalised in the first quarter which resulted in a goal to Zac Fisher to give the Blues an early 12-point lead.
The AFL has stated they found “no evidence” of any infringement from Bolton.
The second incorrect call was against Josh Caddy in the third quarter. Again, this resulted in a goal for the Blues.
In this case, Charlie Curnow ran backwards after taking the mark and Caddy showed “intent to clear protected area immediately”, but was still penalised.
While the AFL has conceded these two as incorrect, the third 50m penalty against Kamdyn McIntosh was deemed a reasonable decision for the umpire to make.
All umpires involved in round one games will be briefed on the incidents.