'Umpire knew it was incorrect': AFL greats clash over bizarre incident

A number of AFL greats have clashed over Dane Rampe’s bizarre moment of madness on full-time of the Swans’ win over Essendon.

The Sydney co-captain jumped onto an SCG goal post and started climbing it, just as Bombers midfielder David Myers attempted to slot a match-winning goal from beyond the 50m arc.

Myers’ shot fell well short and the Swans prevailed by five points, but Rampe’s bizarre acrobatics put him at risk of conceding a free kick right in front of goal, which would have ensured the visitors claimed the four premiership points.

AFL laws stipulate that players must not intentionally shake a goal or behind post.

Jake Stringer and Cale Hooker were among the Bombers to rush over to controlling umpire Andre Gianfagna following Myers’ failed shot.

Gianfagna, who saw the chaos unfold and had ordered Rampe “down, down!”, dismissed their complaints.

The AFL’s umpiring department have since reportedly ticked the decision off, stating that Gianfagna’s warning to Rampe was sufficient.

Following speculation that Rampe could still be fined for climbing the post, he was not cited by match review officer Michael Christian.

He also escaped any punishment for telling an umpire he spoke like a ‘little girl’.

‘Hard done by’

But Hawthorn champion Dermott Brereton, who labelled the moment ‘extraordinary’, said Essendon fans had a right to be filthy.

“That umpire was not surprised. He knew it was incorrect, yet he told Rampe to get down rather than award a free kick,” Brereton told SEN radio.

“It doesn’t look like the kick wasn’t affected by it. But if you look at the timing of it, he jumps to the post — obviously the ball’s out of screen — somewhere around the time he would’ve been striking the ball. Now does that then mean it is in play?

“I think the Bombers are a little hard done by on this. If you held a gun to my head and said ‘what’s the decision’, I’d be leaning to awarding a free kick against Rampe.”

Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes, who said he’d never seen anything like it, was highly critical of the umpires.

“It was a free kick every day,” Cornes told SEN.

“If the umpires had come out and said ‘we didn’t see it and we were focused on the goal and the goal umpire was watching the kick and the ball came through and he didn’t see it in his peripheral vision’, yep we’ll understand, umpires miss some things. But they saw it and they ticked it off.

“Once again, the AFL ticks off a decision. When do they ever come out and say ’hang on, we put our hands up, we got it wrong’?”

However, Western Bulldogs champion Bob Murphy disagreed, commending the common sense approach.

“We’re so critical of the umpires when they get very technical and they have ‘no common sense, no feel for the game’.

“(But) I thought the umpire last night umpired the game beautifully in those final moments, telling Dane Rampe to get down,” Murphy said.

“I think the umpire was shocked like we all were … (but) in the moment, ’Get down Dane’ — it has no impact on the game.”