Veteran AFL umpire Shaun Ryan has confirmed that the correct decisions were made during several key final quarter moments in Thursday's Anzac Day clash.
Essendon fans were left furious after they felt they were dudded by some calls in the dying stages of their side's four-point loss to Collingwood.
A couple of non-call holding the ball decisions attracted most of the criticism in the wash up.
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Ryan, who was one of the three field umpires for the match, was asked whether their post-game review aligned with the assessment from much of public.
"No it's not actually," Ryan said on SEN on Saturday morning.
"To be honest, it's probably the other way."
The senior official acknowledged that mistakes were made during the game, but the decisions to call 'play on' following tackles on Jack Crisp and Jaidyn Stephenson were correct.
Crisp was brought to ground in a Joe Daniher tackle, only getting away the handpass once he was on the deck.
Most players had stopped, assuming a free kick would be paid, though the umpire waved play on.
Ryan ticked that call off, saying Crisp adequately disposed of it, but acknowledging the roar of the crowd of 92,000 makes things hard for players and officials.
"He has prior opportunity, the first tackle doesn't stick and then the second tackle takes him to ground and because he's had a prior opportunity he must either handball or kick the ball and clearly on the replay he handballs the ball," Ryan said.
"We can't penalise a player for holding the ball when he actually disposes of the football. The correct call is 'play on'."
Umpire Shaun Ryan has explained the rationale behind the controversial decisions made in the final quarter on #AnzacDay.
— AFL.com.au (@AFLcomau) April 27, 2019
Audio courtesy of @1116sen. pic.twitter.com/nikWXE4153
The other contentious call in the final moments saw Collingwood awarded a free kick after Callum Brown was pushed in the back, though Stephenson appeared to have been caught holding the ball by Matt Guelfi in the lead up.
"This is a scenario where Stephenson doesn't have prior opportunity," Ryan said.
"So what the player must then do is make an attempt to kick or handball, he doesn't have to successfully kick or handball."
That should stop Bombers fans whinging, right?
