“That is an umpiring clanger”: Officiating in remarkable Magpies win over Roos questioned by footy greats

There were some controversial moments in the dying stages of Collingwood’s remarkable win over North Melbourne on Sunday.

Having found themselves 54 points down early in the third quarter, the Magpies fought their way back to get up by one point in a modern-day classic at Marvel Stadium.

But were the Kangaroos stiff in the end?

With 42 seconds left on the clock, Nick Daicos kicked the ball off the ground which was taken by North’s Bailey Scott on the forward flank. Pies pair Beau McCreerry and Steele Sidebottom rushed Scott, who played on for fear of being tackled.

The officiating umpire appeared to blow his whistle to denote a mark before calling play on, but should it have been a 50-metre penalty which would have given Scott a shot at goal?

Footy greats Jimmy Bartel and Leigh Matthews both believe the penalty was missed.

“The ball was kicked off the ground. You can forgive the umpires for trying to work it out,” Bartel said on Channel 9’s Footy Furnace.

“McCreery and Sidebottom came steaming over the mark. It should have been a 50-metre penalty, that’s as basic as it gets.

“People say, ‘Well, Scott played on’, but he played on because he didn’t hear anything from the umpire.”

Matthews believes it was a mistake from the umpire.

“That is an umpiring clanger,” he said.

“The two Collingwood players ran over the mark and played on so he really had no choice. That should have been a 50-metre penalty.

“Most umpiring calls are judgment calls. Every now and again, rarely, they make a clanger. That one is a clanger.”

Journalist Tom Morris added: “I just can’t understand how that’s not a 50-metre penalty given some of the decisions we’ve seen this year which are so technical and so tiggy-touchwood.”

The panel also took a look at two other incidents in the final quarter, one involving Nick Daicos as well as some slick handballs from Sidebottom and Isaac Quaynor.

“That’s a throw. You cannot throw the ball over your shoulder,” Bartel said of Quaynor’s swift release.

“The umpire is standing right behind him. That’s a line-out in rugby union.”

Matthews added: “The technical part of a handball is you’ve got to hit the ball off the platform hand.

“The platform hand can move but the ball has to be forced off by the fist. That’s the rule, isn’t it? Some of them are testing that theory.”

Bartel then put the spotlight on the Jack Crisp goal in the second quarter which might have been touched by Scott but wasn’t reviewed.

He asked: “Why wasn’t that brought back?

“Speaking to people who came into our office beforehand who were at the game, they could see it on the big screen. The first replay they said ‘that’s touched’.”

Morris says the AFL will review all the contentious decisions on Monday.

“I’ve spoken to the AFL this evening and they’ve just said, ‘We’ll look at these more closely tomorrow (Monday)’, with Steve McBurney, the rest of the footy team and Laura Kane,” Morris added.

To which Bartel replied: “I’ll tell you what will come out, ‘We’ve reviewed it, we’re happy with the process, we’ve ticked it all off.”