Overview

• The match review officer ruled that Essendon forward Nate Caddy bore no blame for his collision with umpire Robert O’Gorman during the Bombers’ loss to Gold Coast.
• The AFL’s mid-season sanctions, introduced July 1, target careless umpire contact only at stoppages and did not apply to Caddy’s incidental collision.
• Essendon coach Brad Scott and others have intensified calls for umpires to avoid running down the corridor after collision risk was magnified, countering officiating head Steve McBurney’s “pretend they're invisible” advice.
• Under the new policy, players face tribunal referral after four incidents of careless umpire contact within a two-year span, but advocates argue positioning changes are the practical fix.
• AFL football boss Laura Kane and the Players’ Association have committed to reviewing umpire-contact protocols by the end of the season.