Sam Draper holding the ball: AFL admit decision was 'technically' incorrect during Essendon win against Adelaide

Kieran Francis

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Sam Draper holding the ball: AFL admit decision was 'technically' incorrect during Essendon win against Adelaide image

The AFL has admitted the holding the ball non-decision against Sam Draper was 'technically' incorrect during Friday night's thriller at Adelaide Oval.

Essendon held on to win against Adelaide by three points, with the controversial call coming about a second before the final siren sounded.

The Sporting News has all the latest on the disputed decision.

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WATCH: Sam Draper holding the ball non-decision

With three seconds left on the clock and the ball 15m from Adelaide's goal, Draper flopped on top of the ball and Adelaide's players, including Taylor Walker desperately appealed for a free kick.

However, the officiating umpire decided to blow the whistle for a 'ball-up, with the siren going about a second later to seal a thrilling Essendon victory.

See the incident in the video below from 0.17.

After the final siren, Adelaide players were fuming with Walker seen saying, 'what a joke' to an umpire as the official left the ground.

Walker would have been the player to receive the free kick and kick for goal after the siren.

AFL statement on Sam Draper decision

“In the moment and at ground level, the Umpires believed that Draper dived on the ball, and then the ball came out to Draper’s left, and was then knocked back under him by Walker,” an AFL spokesperson said in a statement.

“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 Drapers chest - to under his armpit/shoulder – which means the ball is still in his possession, and he has not immediately knocked it clear. Therefore, it technically should have been a holding the ball free kick.

“It’s a very challenging one for the umpires in this situation, with the ball on the ground, to see exactly where the ball is, under a large number of players and who has control of it. On ground level they were not certain of all these factors, so they didn’t pay it - which is the correct approach at the time."

What's the AFL rule regarding diving on the football?

AFL rule 18.6.5 - Free Kicks - Holding the Ball: Diving on Top of the Football

A field umpire shall award a free kick against a player who dives on top of or drags the football underneath their body and fails to immediately knock clear or correctly dispose of the football when legally tackled.

WATCH: Sam Draper mocks umpire decision to not award holding the ball

In added controversy to the decision, Draper was seen mocking the umpire's call by re-enacting his dive with teammates post-match on Adelaide Oval.

In front of Jake Stringer and Nick Hind, Draper dove on to the Adelaide Oval surface while laughing with his fellow Bombers.

What the coaches said about the decision

Matthew Nicks (Adelaide)

"I’m not going to make a comment around umpiring, that would just add to the night," Nicks said in his post-match.

"There were a number of different opportunities that – I don’t know how many times we went in (inside 50) in a row – but we found our aggression and our assertiveness, and where had that been for the night? That was another disappointing part.

"I thought we looked slow and reactive early, which put us on the back foot.

"Credit to Essendon, they were sharp early – we were off, which we’ll look into."

Brad Scott (Essendon)

"I haven’t looked at a replay, masses of numbers around the ball – there are a lot of decision holding the ball, for and against throughout the night," Scott said post-match

"We’ll obviously focus on the one in the last couple of seconds, but I can show you a couple of others too if you like."

Controversial decision cost Adelaide in 2023

Adelaide missed out on the 2023 finals after a Ben Keays goal was incorrectly deemed a behind in the dying stages of the Round 23 clash against Sydney at Adelaide Oval.

With their season on the line, Keays appeared to have scored a late goal, but the umpires deemed the ball to have grazed the post and the Swans ultimately held on for a 74-73 victory. 

Replays however showed a different outcome.

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan fronted the media and admitted the decision was a "mistake" - however, the final decision and result will stand. 

The decision not to review the potential goal left plenty and McLachlan told reporters that it would have been overturned if it went to a review.

“There was a goal umpiring decision that should have been reviewed and it was a mistake,” he said. 

“It’s a human error but given the context and moment, it was of great consequence. It would have been overturned and been a goal.

“The result stands, but this was a mistake.”

Adelaide won the next week against West Coast in Round 24 and would have made the finals if they got the four points against the Swans.

Kieran Francis

Kieran Francis Photo

Kieran Francis is a senior editor at The Sporting News based in Melbourne, Australia. He started at Sportal.com.au before being a part of the transition to Sporting News in 2015. Just prior to the 2018 World Cup, he was appointed chief editor of Goal.com in Australia. He has now returned to The Sporting News where his passions lay in football, AFL, poker and cricket - when he is not on holiday.