Essendon coach Brad Scott has revealed he was contacted by the AFL on Monday to admit to several mistakes made in the controversial clash against Geelong in Round 16.
The football world was sent into a frenzy on Saturday night after several controversial decisions made in the third quarter caused the Dons to lose momentum in the game and suffer a tough defeat to the Cats.
Despite there being no public message from the AFL on Monday, Scott revealed all in an explosive episode of Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
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“I was pleased the AFL took the initiative and contacted me directly,” Scott said.
“Yes (they told me that mistakes were made), but it is not a witch hunt, it is not about seeking revenge, mistakes are mistakes.
“I had no intention of contacting them unless there was something our players needed clarity about moving forward. Her explanation really helped. I don’t necessarily agree with everything, but whether I agree or not is irrelevant, what I really want to know is, particularly when it comes to holding the ball, what the referees are looking for, how they want to adjudicate the rule and how they should do it. Our players need to play with that. “I think we can get caught up in the debate, I am no longer interested in the debate, I am interested in how they judge it.”
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Scott said the AFL had “made it very clear” that the controversial decision to rush Jye Menzie in the third quarter “was a mistake”.
“If they are really clear, the AFL made it very clear that the deliberate running was a mistake. Well, we all make mistakes, I can now make it absolutely clear to our players that that was a mistake. Some of the other decisions, in particular, helped us in regards to the ball retention. Based on my interpretation of the rule, the umpires had a different view on that.”
With no public comment from the AFL, AFL 360 co-host Gerard Whateley pleaded with Scott to “tell us what we need to know as observers of the game”.
One decision that stood out over the weekend was the holding of the ball against Essendon defender Jordan Ridley.
“For example, in the case of Ridley there was no prior opportunity, but in the opinion of the referee there was not enough intention to get rid of the ball. “It’s an incredibly difficult game, that’s a mistake, the referees have said that,” Scott said.
“Stewart one, he had a previous opportunity and tried to get rid of the ball, so the game continues. I think fans would be a little confused by that.
“If you don’t have a previous opportunity and you get tackled and you make an attempt, it doesn’t have to be a correct elimination.
“Ridley’s is interesting, I find it very difficult for him to try to get rid of the ball with both arms immobilized… if Ridley dropped the ball there and threw his foot at the ball and missed, the game would continue.
“My concern is that the fans in the stadium would think he has the ball in his hand.”
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Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge preferred not to comment on the specific decisions made in the Essendon-Geelong match, but implored the AFL to “protect and defend the player who is trying to win the football”.
“I prefer to stay within the boundaries of what I have discussed with the AFL,” Beveridge said.
“You need to protect and defend the player who is trying to win football… from a performance perspective, especially for young players just starting out, it has a pretty significant effect on them.”
AFL360 co-host Mark Robinson asked Scott the question of whether the AFL has a problem with officiating.
“I’m a big proponent of explaining to fans that they are the lifeblood of our game. Bevo and I can ask for clarification and get it, but the fans need it too,” Scott said.
“I am now in a fortunate position where the only thing that matters to me is controlling what is controllable for our club and our players and seeking clarity from the referees, and that is what I got today. I may be frustrated, disappointed, angry, but none of that helps us. I really sympathize with the fans who would be really frustrated. Our fans also need to know that we have the clarity we need now.
“I don’t think it’s useful to go on a witch hunt over obvious mistakes. Mistakes will happen, clear up the mistakes, but clear up the gray areas.”
Robinson responded: “We have a big problem then, because you are instructing your players one way and the referees another way.”
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Scott insisted the game was “not in crisis” but said greater clarity needed to be shared with the football public.
“I don’t think the game is in crisis… the mistakes are easy to address, but it’s the grey area in between that we need clarity on,” the Bombers coach said.
“We’ve all agreed that refereeing AFL football is as difficult a sport as any other in the world, the problem we have is that there isn’t a depth of a thousand referees who are willing to referee AFL football, there aren’t enough at all levels.
“I was as frustrated as anyone with our play at the weekend, but I don’t think criticising the referees helps.”
Scott also revealed that the AFL admitted the infamous Sam Draper illegal marking interference was also a mistake.
Previously, Whateley said the AFL had not commented publicly on the controversial third-term decisions because they were not “game-defining” decisions.
“They were not considered game-defining decisions and therefore there was no public communication about whether they were right or wrong today, which leaves us in the space of conjecture,” he said.
Robinson added: “I’m surprised the AFL hasn’t clarified some of those decisions, it’s an important game and there’s been a lot of discussion about it. They said two weeks ago they were going to be very transparent in explaining some rules and decisions, we have the biggest weekend of controversial decisions and the AFL is nowhere in sight. I don’t think that’s comfortable, I can understand why they don’t want to fuel the debate, but they said they were going to do it and we are all open and honest in this industry.
“It is the build-up and the position of the ball that confuses everyone, it does not confuse everyone, it disconcerts everyone from one game to the next because of how different it is.
“I think I called it a royal commission type review at the end of the year… there has to be some kind of forensic examination of where the game is, how it has been played over the last ten years, numbers around the ball, what we need, what we want , if the history still exists in the game, if we want it in the game, what will happen if we don’t have it in the game.
“Those questions have to be put in the bucket and talked about.”
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Whateley noted that he believes the game is “at an interesting time” given the lack of synonymity between referees’ and fans’ perspectives on decision-making.
“Philosophically we are in a really interesting time, there are three branches: the laws themselves, the interpretation that is implemented and then the incident-by-incident implementation during the game,” he said.
“I feel like we’re in a phase where we’ll have ten holding the balls, ten pushing back, ten insufficient intentions, ten deliberately rushing behind and five will break in any direction and we’re in a phase where we say ‘they’re fine’.
“I think the only way to improve the game is to choose what the game wants to be right and what it wants to be wrong. Identify it, train it relentlessly, reinforce it. It will ruin your numbers as to what the right decisions look like, but I think that might be part of the problem, you can express everything within the laws: how about we choose a course?
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“When things look like this, this decision has to be made. We want it to be paid over and over again so the refs know it, the players know it and the fans can recognise it from the sidelines. They will still make mistakes, but I feel like when you can have five-and-five…”
Robinson was brutally honest in stating that he believes “we have lost control of the game.”
“We’ve lost control of the game. We need a summit… I want the AFL to get everyone together. It’s not the AFL’s game, it’s not the fans’ game, it’s not the coaches’ game, we’re all in this together. We need to have a summit and say: where do we want our game to be? What do we want it to look like? Umpires – what are their toughest decisions? How can we fix it better and make it easier for our umpires to officiate the game because right now, it’s inconsistent and it’s driving people crazy,” he said.
“The evolution of the game has complicated it: training tactics, ball crowding, 70-meter bubble, etc. We need a restart at the end of the year.”
