Izak Rankine gifted contentious 50-metre penalty in dying stages of thrilling Adelaide win

7NEWS

17 hours ago

Controversy erupted after a contentious 50-metre penalty during the thrilling last quarter between Adelaide and Hawthorn on Friday night.
Before eventually going on to win by 14 points, the Crows were gifted a certain goal when Izak Rankine was walked to the goal line because James Sicily encroached on the mark.
Sicily and his nearby teammates Massimo D'Ambrosio and Jack Scrimshaw protested that it should have been play on because Rankine appeared to run off his mark.
Replays later showed the reason Rankine moved off his mark was because the ball was in fact touched before it got to him, meaning it shouldn't have been a mark in the first place.
But it was paid as one, and the umpire wasn't satisfied that he moved enough to call play on.
'Hawthorn thought it was play on — it wasn't,' James Brayshaw said.
Matthew Richardson added: 'Izak Rankine thought it was play on', and Kane Cornes said, 'He played on!'
Sicily could be heard pleading his case to the umpire after the goal was kicked, which extended the Crows' lead at the time to 12 points, giving them the buffer they needed to hang on with 14 minutes left.
'Even he thought he played on,' Sicily said of Rankine, to which the umpire responded, 'He (the controlling umpire) didn't call play on, the umpire didn't call play on.'
Cornes couldn't believe it: 'It's just a disgraceful 50-metre penalty.
'The player on the mark reacts to the player with the ball. He's allowed to move because he's played on.
'And we'll have a look at it — it's touched anyway, so that's the reason Izak Rankine played on, that's the reason Sicily reacted.
'How can you miss that?
Crows spearhead Riley Thilthorpe slotted four goals in the comeback win, which returns them to top of the AFL ladder.
The fast-finishing Crows kicked six goals to two in the last quarter for a gutsy 15.11 (101) to 13.9 (87) triumph.
The Crows slipped 32 points down late in the first term before a sell-out 50,654-strong crowd at Adelaide Oval.
They recovered to take the lead, only to lose it and trail by eight points at three-quarter time.
The Crows, with stars Rankine and Taylor Walker kicking two goals each in a final term, then finished with a flourish.
Walker converted two long-range set shots to seal victory — he kicked three goals for the game, as did Rankine.
Adelaide sit top with a 15-5 win-loss record but Collingwood could reclaim pole position with a victory over the Brisbane Lions on Saturday night.
Hawthorn (13-7) remain in fifth — only a win ahead of ninth spot — and hold fresh concern over influential midfielder Will Day, who limped from the field late.
The Hawks were gallant but ultimately overpowered by the Crows who were well-served by Irish-born defender Mark Keane (21 disposals, six marks), halfback Wayne Milera (19 touches) and winger Dan Curtin (20).
Key forward Thilthorpe's four-goal haul was complemented by Rankine and Walker while captain Jordan Dawson kicked two majors from his 21 disposals.
Hawthorn stalwart Jack Gunston booted four goals and Jack Ginnivan (19 disposals) two.
Hawk duo D'Ambrosio (25 possessions) and Karl Amon (23) were standouts and skipper James Sicily dominated in the air with 11 marks.
In a wildly fluctuating fixture, Hawthorn raced to a 32-point lead late in the first quarter.
The Crows hit back with 6.6 to nothing in the second term for a 16-point advantage at halftime.
Adelaide went 18 points up before a steely response from the Hawks returned six of the next seven goals as the visitors edged eight points clear at the final change.
The Crows then jumped 12 points up before two goals from Gunston, both from holding free kicks, out the Hawks one point up.
Adelaide responded with the last three goals of the game, with Walker's two long bombs sending the sell-out crowd into raptures.