AFL fans and commentators have reached their limit with the contentious time-wasting rule, which resurfaced on Sunday night and hurt the Bombers in their loss to the Suns.
With Gold Coast leading by five points late in the fourth quarter, Essendon’s Jayden Laverde was penalized with a 50m penalty, resulting in the Suns’ match-sealing goal. After Jye Caldwell was penalized for holding the ball, Laverde picked it up and innocently tossed it to Brayden Fiorini, not realizing that Touk Miller had been awarded the free kick.
Seeing two Suns players in front of him, Laverde mistakenly threw it to Fiorini. Because Miller was supposed to receive the ball, Laverde’s action was deemed time-wasting, and Miller was given a 50m penalty and a set shot, extending the Suns’ lead to 11 points and ending the Bombers’ comeback hopes.
Dwayne Russell commented on Fox Footy: “The little things become big things in the grey areas of our game. Sometimes they’re inconsequential until they end up in a goal.”
Essendon coach Brad Scott noted post-game: “I think Jayden just threw it to the player he thought whose free kick it was. Umpiring is really hard because people say use common sense, but they also want the umpires to umpire to the letter of the law, so I don’t get too concerned about that decision.”
He added: “I didn’t think the umpiring had any bearing on the game tonight. Whichever team prevailed deserved to win. This round, umpires faced a big challenge with some changes to interpretations, and I think they’re doing a good job.”
Nevertheless, the harsh call left fans and commentators outraged. While the umpire’s decision was technically correct, many criticized the rule itself and its application. Former St Kilda coach Grant Thomas tweeted: “Disgraceful decision to Essendon. The game is in utter disarray.”
Journalist Christian Montegan added: “Once again common sense fails to prevail in AFL umpiring. Laverde clearly didn’t know who was supposed to have the ball. Why would Essendon time waste when they were a goal down? Pathetic.”
One fan commented: “I love Essendon slander as much as the next guy, but that 50m penalty against Laverde is absolutely diabolical, it just sucked all the life out of the game.”
Another remarked: “It’s wrong. Miller walked away with his back to Laverde. Laverde turns and sees two other Suns players, knowing the tackler isn’t getting the free. That leaves the player closest to the man on the mark. AFL, what happened to the common sense rule?”
