BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 14: Jeremy Finlayson of the Giants and Darcy Gardiner of the Lions wrestle during the 2019 AFL Second Semi Final match between the Brisbane Lions and the GWS Giants at the Gabba on September 14, 2019 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Former Hawks great Ben Dixon has hit out at the umpiring in the first half of Saturday night's semi final clash between the Lions and Giants at the Gabba.
Dixon said too many free kicks were awarded in what was a fiery contest between both teams.
In total, there was 54 free kicks paid on the night as GWS emerged three-point victors, setting up for a huge preliminary final against Collingwood next Saturday at the MCG.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s The First Crack Podcast on Saturday night, Dixon said the first half was over-officiated, stating umpires should put the whistle away more in September.
“I must say in that first half — and I’m not a big advocate of wanting to bash the umpires — but that was probably the worst half of football I saw from an adjudication point of view,” Dixon said.
“A final should be let go, it’s contested — it’s everything you want it to be. But ‘Razor’ (Ray Chamberlain) — and I love Razor — he might’ve got some shrapnel from the fireworks before the game in his eye on a couple of those decisions,” in a reference to Canberra Raiders NRL star Joey Leilua suffering that very injury in his side's final against the Melbourne Storm on Saturday night.
Dixon's main issue with the officiating was a warning issued to Adam Kennedy in the second quarter which is sure to draw criticism during the week.
Veteran umpire Shaun Ryan could be heard telling Kennedy he would pay free kicks against him if he continued to target Charlie Cameron's injured elbow.
“Come on, grabbing an arm, hitting an arm — there was nothing in it,” Dixon said.
“Everything would be thinking it’s just got to be played. Play it on its merit. Defenders push, shove, punch — do whatever they want to do, so there was nothing untoward and everything was blowing up because he had tape on his arm. If he didn’t have tape on his arm and he did the same actions, would he have said something?
“I was really disappointed with that. We’ve got millions of people watching and we’ve got an umpire telling a player not to pull and hit an arm.”
Ryan's adjudication likely falls under the AFL's Law 17.7.1 titled Rough Conduct — Spirit and Intention, which states: "Players shall be protected from unreasonable conduct from an opposition player which is likely to cause injury".
Dual premiership Kangaroo David King was equally perplexed by the decision.
“No one understands that, it’s not clear for anyone,” King told The First Crack Podcast.
“We need to review the actual laws of the game and make them simpler for everyone.
“That’s so technical — we still don’t know right now whether it’s a free kick or not.”
King also questioned the constant commentary from umpires.
“If there’s a free kick to be paid, pay it. But what’s the conversation for? I don’t understand the conversation,” he said.
“Do we need to have a conversation with the umpires? Why? If the players acted outside the rules, pay a free kick. If he hasn’t, what’s the conversation about?”