The AFL needs umpires. Independent arbitrators between ultra-competitive football clubs that uphold and enforce the rules that govern the code. Important as they may be, and forgive me for stating the bleeding obvious, they don't always get it right.

And players don't always respond well when such mis-steps occur.

Here's a stroll down memory lane - a look at five unforgettable run-ins between a player and an officiator.

2. Seeing Greene

Well before his well-documented and universally loved redemption arc reached its epic conclusion, Giants skipper Toby Greene was seemingly rubbing people the wrong way on a weekly basis.

Iin the case of umpire Matt Stevic, Greene out his shoulder through him.

Greene was initially handed three weeks for the incident with Stevic, but the AFL made the extraordinary and well-received decision to appeal that sanction, successfully having the ban doubled to six weeks.

It meant Greene missed his side's 2021 semi-final loss to Geelong, and the first five matches of the 2022 season.

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