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Jordan De Goey detail adds to Adelaide's pain amid AFL furore over Izak Rankine free kick

The Crows were left fuming after their controversial four-point loss to Collingwood.

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·5-min read

Craig McRae has revealed Jordan De Goey might miss Collingwood's next match against Fremantle due to concussion, leading to questions about whether the Magpies star should have been allowed back onto the field on Saturday. Controversy erupted after the Pies grabbed a thrilling four-point win over Adelaide at the MCG after Izak Rankine was pinged for running too far without bouncing the ball in the dying stages.

Post-match analysis showed the umpire made the correct call because Rankine ran further than 15 metres without bouncing. But the AFL world was left heavily divided about whether it was an appropriate time to call the much-flouted rule considering it very rarely gets pinged.

Jordan De Goey and Izak Rankine during Collingwood's clash with Adelaide.
Should Jordan De Goey (L) have been on the field when he kicked the match-winning goal amid the controversy around Izak Rankine (R). Image: Fox Footy/Getty

Umpires hardly ever crack down on the rule, making it even more hard to swallow for Adelaide considering it came when they were trying to attempt one last attacking raid in the final minute. And a revelation from Collingwood coach McRae will only add to the Crows' misery.

Speaking after the game, McRae revealed De Goey is in some doubt to play next week after kicking the match-winner on Saturday. De Goey hit his back and head on the ground and left the field early in the final quarter after a heavy fall during a contest.

He was given the all-clear and returned to the field in the dying stages, taking a clutch mark and kicking the winning goal with just under two minutes remaining. But questions will be asked about whether he should have been allowed to return.

"Potentially. Yeah,” McRae said when asked if De Goey was in doubt for the clash with Fremantle next week. “Any time there’s something like that, you’ve got to look out for that. But he was important, wasn’t he, at the end, too? Sliding doors moments, really.”

Jordan De Goey, pictured here after kicking the winning goal for Collingwood against Adelaide.
Jordan De Goey celebrates after kicking the winning goal for Collingwood against Adelaide.

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De Goey's mark and goal came at the end of a passage of play that started with Adelaide's Ben Keays having a kick that would have sent the Crows deep into attack. But Collingwood defender Isaac Quaynor pulled off a brilliant smother on Keays' kick and the Magpies took possession.

With less than a minute remaining, Rankine sent Adelaide inside 50 but was penalised for running too far. And while the Crows didn't get clean possession when the ball was brought back, it killed their last chance.

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks refused to buy into the discussion post-game. "He's extremely fast. He had a great game of footy ... I won't be making any comment around the (decision)," Nicks said.

St Kilda great Leigh Montagna was among the many who believed the umpire should have put the whistle away. “Where’s the sense of occasion from the umpire?,” he said on Fox Footy.

The Fox Footy LAB later showed that Rankine ran 24.2 metres without bouncing the ball - well past the allowable 15 metres. “We know it’s 15 metres, you have to bounce the ball or dispose of it, at least. He has ran too far, he’s gone past the 15 metres, it is 24.2 metres before kicks the ball," David Zita said on Fox Footy.

“So the correct decision was made. Is it consistent with others? I’m sure Crows fans and others will have their say on that. But it was an extraordinary match with an extraordinary finish.”

Zita later highlighted the fact that Harry Sharp ran 22.3 metres and wasn't pinged in Brisbane's clash with Richmond on Saturday night. "Crows fans will be frustrated that it gets paid against them but not for other ones," he said.