Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade heavily criticsed the umpiring following his side's loss to North Melbourne on Saturday night, stating the officiators got it wrong at crucial times during the match last week.
The Suns went down by 13 points in a tight contest and Eade highlighted two occasions where the Roos received dubious free kicks which resulted in goals late in the game.
Eade, who highlighted the incidents during his post-match press conference, said he contacted the umpires during the week for clarification.
“I thought they might have phoned me, but they didn’t,’’ Eade said.
“They agreed that the two free kicks that the media brought up in the press conference weren’t warranted and they shouldn’t have been paid.
“And there was some other things I got clarification on also.”
However, Geelong coach Chris Scott, called out his rival, suggesting Eade's comments may have an impact on the umpiring this weekend.
“Sometimes saying that you’ve rung the umpires and got some clarification around some rules can have a benefit," Scott said on Friday.
“Last year, we played Gold Coast and Rodney Eade had made some comments about Tom Lynch being manhandled and he got two dubious free kicks very early in the game.
“Sometimes it works. I notice he’s done it again, but it’s not something we’ve done this week.
“It’s hard to read their mind on (whether it was a tactic by Eade).
“I’m not sure what to read into it necessarily. I just draw on past experience where there have been comments made and it’s only human nature for the umpires to react in some way.
“They would say that they’re very strongly impartial and they treat each situation on its merits, but the umpires are the same as us – you watch the opposition play in previous weeks and draw some conclusions from it.”
The Suns host the Cats at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.
