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Sport Nation
"Non-free of the year” AFL legends bermused by crucial missed call
SEN • August 17th, 2025 1:18 pm
The Adelaide Crows claimed an almighty three-point victory over Collingwood to all but sew up the minor premiership – but it wasn’t without controversy.
With just moments remaining between the two sides and the Crows fighting to hold on to the tightest of leads, the ball was punched over the boundary line on the outer wing.
In what appeared to be an attempt to flick the ball back up to himself, Adelaide star Riley Thilthorpe kicked the ball away from the boundary line, however a free kick was not paid.
The Magpies were able to win back the football and surge forward in one last attempt to steal victory, however, were unsuccessful, putting their top four hopes in extreme danger.
Following the contest, Fox Footy callers Jason Dunstall and Garry Lyon were blown away by the missed call, stating that the indiscriminate act by the Crows forward should have been penalised.
“How he (Thilthorpe) gets away with this... I don’t know how all the umpires miss this,” Dunstall told Fox Footy.
“This is time-wasting. He’s punched it out of bounds to start with, then he’s looking at it and toes it off the ground.
“That is not by accident. There are umpires all around him and they don’t pay it.”
“I think it’s the non-free of the year,” Garry Lyon added.
“I think it’s the non-free of the year,” Garry Lyon added.
“Whether he’s trying to kick it up to himself or not is irrelevant, you’ve kicked the ball away at a critical time of the match.”
In what was an incredible battle in the wet, Collingwood dominated field position, amounting 71 inside 50's against Adelaide's 37 - the second largest inside 50 differential for a losing side ever recorded.
Following their heroic win, the Crows sit six points clear atop the AFL ladder, guaranteeing a home final and a double chance ahead of September.
