Thursday's Geelong vs Adelaide game ended with drama as an incorrect umpire call resulted in a free kick to the Cats. The Crows are no stranger to suffering from controversial umpire calls, with the Cats blunder marking their fifth incident in three seasons.

Lets refresh.

Dawson's Pie to the face

Round 15, 2023

In 2023 Collingwood beat Adelaide by two points in a game that would have helped secure Adelaide's place in the finals had they won. With only 15 seconds left in the game, captain Jordan Dawson received the ball in Adelaide's forward 50, only to be smacked in the face by Collingwood's Jamie Elliott, resulting in him dropping the ball.

Adelaide ruckman Reilly O'Brien was convinced Dawson should have received a free kick, as per AFL's high contact rules, saying "Daws had a pretty fat lip with a lot of blood coming out of it post-game, he certainly got some contact."

The AFL later admitted that all four umpires had missed the contact due to restricted view.

Keays' post-goal goalpost call

Round 23, 2023

Only eight weeks later during the Crows' final opportunity to make the finals, in a game against Sydney, Ben Keays scored a goal with only 78 seconds left in the game, placing the Crows four points ahead. However Keays' celebration ended prematurely as the ball was judged to have grazed the post, despite subsequent replays showing otherwise.

No score review was called and the Crows, who ultimately lost the game, were awarded a point.

The AFL chalked the mistake up to human error, but this wasn't good enough for Crows chairman John Olson who described the incident as "appalling, inexcusable injustice."

Draper's ball grab

Round 4, 2024

The opportunity to move past these incidents was taken away from the Crows, when they were once again denied a free kick during an Essendon vs Adelaide match in early 2024 when Essendon ruckman Sam Draper should have been called up for holding the ball.

"In review, and with the assistance of the broadcast angle and behind the goals Hawkeye vision providing a clearer look, you can see that the ball moves from under Draper's chest - to under his armpit/shoulder – which means the ball is still in his possession, and he has not immediately knocked it clear," an AFL spokesperson said at the time. "Therefore, it technically should have been a holding the ball free kick."

Had Adelaide received the kick and scored, they would have won the game. As it was, they lost by three points.

Rankine's ruined catch

Round 4, 2025,

It happened again in 2025, when Izak Rankine appeared to take a chest mark in the left forward pocket before dropping the ball following a challenge from Gold Coast's Sam Collins. The umpire called play on and the Suns went on to win by a point.

The next morning the AFL admitted that Rankine should have either been awarded a mark or a free kick for being held up in the marking contest.

Again, Adelaide was unsatisfied with the AFL's response, with CEO Tom Silvers saying the admission was "of no use or benefit to our club."

Taylor's second-last touch

Round 3, 2026

Which brings us to last night, when the new last touch rule was played against Zac Taylor, despite replays showing that the ball last made contact with Geelong's Tom Atkins. Once again, the league has admitted an error and promised to review it's "late-in-game process."

This review is unlikely to placate Crows fans, who will have to stomach yet another loss following an incorrect umpire call.

While someone may argue that this is simply the way the cookie crumbles, it does seem harsh for the Crows to have experienced this for a fifth time.

Unfortunately though, sympathy doesn't win them any points in this game (they need the free kicks for that).

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