Two contentious 50 metre penalties from Friday night’s classic between Adelaide and Hawthorn are in the spotlight as new AFL football operations boss Greg Swann faces a busy start to his tenure.
And you can add a controversial call to stop play late in the fourth quarter to let a cramping Will Day leave the game to Swann’s list amid confusion around the injured player send-off rule.
Meanwhile there’s a fresh injury concern around Day’s foot after he returned to Melbourne in a moon boot after the same foot that required surgery earlier this season was stomped on.
FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.
Day was allowed to exit the match in a pivotal moment with 3:38 remaining due to cramp, despite being away from the play, with the Hawks trailing by 14 points.
It was met with immediate criticism from Fox Footy commentators, with Hawks legend Jason Dunstall declaring “you can’t stop the game for cramp” and “there’s something wrong with that rule.”
Demons great Garry Lyon added “that’s not on” and “is open to manipulation all day long”.
“It’s not Will Day’s fault,” Lyon said. “It’s the umpire who should’ve identified: ‘No, you’ve got a cramp, get out of the road and get on with it’.”
While it didn’t affect the outcome of the game as the Crows held on to win, it shines a light on the rules around stopping play for injured players.
The AFL this season introduced new rules to assist clubs in removing players from the field who suffer head knocks as the league focuses concussion management, while umpires are also instructed to stop play if a player is injured in the vicinity of play.
However Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph clarified instances like Friday night should prompt a please explain from the AFL, suggesting Melbourne could’ve manipulated the rules to thwart St Kilda’s epic comeback last week.
“Add another one to Greg Swann’s hit list, he absolutely needs to clarify the injured player rule before this costs a club a final,” Ralph said on Fox Footy’s post-match coverage.
“Umpires under the rules are told to stop play if the player is injured within a kick of play.
“It’s not supposed to be used for concerns like cramp, according to the AFL’s umpires boss Steve McBurney.
“This is the drama of, it’s so easy to fake a cramp. Imagine last week if Max Gawn was smart enough in those last eight seconds to drop to the ground with a cramp and give his team 40 seconds to work through how to defend that 6-6-6 breach.”
Crows ‘exploited’ Hawks weaknesses | 06:01
Day returned home on Saturday morning in a moon boot and very sore after his foot was stomped on in an anxious wait on how the star midfielder pulls up in the coming days.
It can be common for players who return from travel sore to be in a moon boot, however there’s clearly heightened concerns given Day’s injury history with his foot, which sidelined him for four months.
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell was initially unable to provide a concrete update on Day, who last week returned for his first game since Round 3 due to a navicular injury.
“Not sure. I figured I’d get asked about it, so I deliberately didn’t talk to the medical guys, because I don’t have an answer yet,” Mitchell said after the game.
“He was cramping, he had ice on most parts of his lower body, as plenty of players do. Unsure just yet.”
Lyon doubled down on his criticism of the Day situation post-match and believes Swann and the AFL need to immediately clear up the rules around when umpires are allowed to send injured players off the field.
“Knock that on the head straight away. Let’s treat head knocks with the seriousness they need. But if it’s a tap on the ankle or a sore knee, bounce it and away you go,” he said post-match.
“(The Day incident) is 40-55m off the play. This doesn’t stop the game.”
Discussion about this post