Essendon have escaped with a heart-stopping three-point win over Adelaide after having a last-second umpiring decision fortuitously go their way.
The Bombers were hanging on to their slender lead for dear life in the dying minutes of the game, but looked set to cough it up after the siren when big man Sam Draper found himself at the bottom of a pack inside Adelaide’s forward 50.
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Draper appeared to drag the ball under the pack with just seconds remaining on the clock and was jumped on by Taylor Walker, who trapped the ball underneath.
Crows players from everywhere appealed for holding the ball to be paid to Walker, who would have had a set shot to win the game after the siren from well within range of goal.
But the umpire was unmoved, blowing the whistle for a ball-up, just as the siren sounded to end the all-time thriller.
A furious Walker remonstrated with the umpire after the siren, but it was too late as the Bombers escaped the lion’s den with the four points.
Channel 7 expert Luke Hodge was on Walker’s side.
“That is holding the ball,” he said moments after the result was final.
“You’ve got four umpires, one of them should have seen that.”
James Brayshaw added: “It’s a brave umpire that pays that in the last second of the game.
“He probably dodged a bullet there, the big man.”
Matthew Richardson said the moment would “be analysed for days”.
“It was line ball,” Richardson added.
“There was one angle that looked like it (the ball) got pushed back under him. Then there was the other angle that looked like he was definitely lying on top of it.
“If that’s anywhere else on the ground at any other time, it would have been called.”
Brian Taylor went straight to Draper after the game to get a first-hand account of the controversy.
“I can’t breathe, that was intense,” the ruck said.
Asked whether he thought it should have been a free kick, Draper said: “I don’t think so, I think I got pushed or my legs gave way — I don’t know, either one.
“What else can I do?”
But all before the last-second controversy, it was a Nic Martin bomb from 55 metres out that put the Bombers in front to give them the match-winning lead.
Essendon climb into the top eight with a fourth win of the season but the Crows remain in the mire with one win and five losses.
Martin’s strike with about eight minutes left put the visitors six points up and the Bombers then held on bravely despite a series of Adelaide attacks.
Essendon skipper Zach Merrett was a standout with 28 disposals, seven clearances and a crucial last-term goal while Jade Gresham (26 touches) and Jye Caldwell (26) were also busy.
Martin capped his influential 27-disposal display with the late game-breaker while Harrison Jones and Kyle Langford kicked two goals each.
Adelaide’s Jake Soligo continued his break-out form in the midfield with 31 disposals, 10 clearances and a goal.
His captain Jordan Dawson was superb with 31 touches, two goals and nine tackles while Mitch Hinge (25 possessions) and Josh Worrell shone in defence.
The Bombers started brightly and held a slight edge at quarter-time, 2.4 to 2.2.
Essendon’s early efforts were largely built by skipper Merrett, who dominated the opening term with 13 disposals and four clearances.
The visitors then cashed in with three consecutive goals, and when Jake Stringer snapped accurately they held a 22 point lead.
But Adelaide clawed their way back in to the contest with captain Dawson scoring two of their three unanswered goals.
Crow Darcy Fogarty had a shot after the halftime siren to level scores but missed with Essendon, holding a 31-16 inside 50 advantage, up 5.9 to 5.4 at the long break.
The third quarter swung wildly, with Fogarty triggering a four-goal burst in nine minutes.
Adelaide’s scoring spurt created a 19-point lead but just when the Bombers appeared down and almost out, they rallied.
The ever-lively Jones snared his second goal and his dangerous teammate Langford then scored two late majors — his set-shot on the siren gave the Bombers a three-point buffer.
Essendon crept five points up until the 10th minute of the last quarter when Adelaide’s Ben Keays goaled after a free kick to give the home side a one-point lead.
Crow livewire Izak Rankine soon produced a snap from heavy traffic which bounced through for a seven-point break with 12 minutes left.
The Bombers’ inspirational Merrett answered his team’s predicament, swooping on a loose ball and converting to again reduce the margin before Martin’s long-range conversion gave the visitors enough breathing space.
– With AAP
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