AFL clock management is again under scrutiny, but this time it is the umpires in the gun.
About 27 seconds were lost inside the final two minutes of Sunday's thriller between the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne, the clock ticking down as Bailey Dale of the Dogs prepared to take his free kick.
The moment was dissected and revealed on the Zero Hanger Six Points podcast on Monday morning.
The AFL rules state players have eight second to take their kick after a free, but there was chaos surrounding this moment on the outer wing.
Dale took time to compose himself after an illegal tackle from Paddy Cross, Ryley Sanders need help up off the ground, and Cross appeared to have an issue with blood on his face, yet the clock kept ticking.
Cross copped contact high in the front on tackle on Dale, and Channel Seven commentator Brian Taylor wasn't alone in assuming he would go off under the blood rule.
"27 seconds have come off the clock!"@StevoMedia flags another in-game clock drama from late into the Bulldogs’ close win over the Demons.
MORE >>> https://t.co/pvKRkjwGci pic.twitter.com/6yp1o5fXG7
— Zero Hanger (@zerohanger) May 25, 2026
Amid all this, the umpire did not call time off. The clock kept ticking. Effectively a quarter of the last two minute block evaporated.
This is not an issue for the time keepers as they do not have the power to stop the clock. They can only do so after a signal from an umpire.
None was forthcoming. Almost 30 seconds can be an eternity in a close game. Should the ump have called time off?
The Dogs held on, and Marcus Bontempelli was charging down the wing when the siren sounded, but clearly the lost time helped the Dogs' cause in a stirring contest.
