Craig McRae has delivered a damning assessment of the AFL’s standard of technology, declaring it’s “not up to scratch” after a controversial score review went against his side on Friday night.
The AFL Review Centre has drawn the ire of footy pundits throughout the season, but in Collingwood’s thrilling win over North Melbourne, it was a “missing frame” that left all guessing.
Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
At the 12-minute mark of a frenetic final term at Docklands, with the Magpies trailing the Kangaroos by just two points, Patrick Lipinski set sail on a goal-bound kick from 50 metres out.
North Melbourne’s Cam Zurhaar got a touch on it right at the goalline, though, with the goal umpire promptly calling for a score review after a soft call of ‘touched behind’.
Zurhaar clearly got fingers to the footy – with vision showing them pulled back by the ball – with the question then turning to whether the Sherrin had crossed the back of the behind line before the touch.
The goalpost angle showed two frames that told different stories. The first suggested part of the ball hadn’t crossed the back of the line when it was touched, while the second displayed a definitive touch with the ball having crossed the line.
The ARC just needed to see the frame in between.
But as the current technology doesn’t allow that, the ruling was ‘insufficient evidence to overturn the umpire’s call’.
“Is it touching there or not?” Fox Footy caller Anthony Hudson asked of the first frame.
MORE COVERAGE:
THE 3-2-1: PIES PREVAIL! Friday night classic keeps wildcard dream alive to inflict Roo heartbreak
AFL DAILY: Dons star rejects rivals; fresh details as pedestrian car accident leaves Crow ‘shaken’
DEEP DIVE: AFL’s next big trade domino has begun to wobble. These five names are at the centre
This frame of North Melbourne’s Cameron Zurhaar attempting to touch the ball before it crossed over the goal line was deemed inconclusive by the ARC.Source: FOX SPORTS
Dwayne Russell added: “They say it’s a game of millimetres, well there’s a millimetre in that.”
It was a millimetre of evidence we agonisingly weren’t privy to, and McRae post-game grasped his opportunity to vent his frustration at that fact.
“I’ve got a strong opinion,” he began to reporters at Marvel Stadium.
“I do. And I don’t know if I can share it, but the technology is not up to scratch.
“And I know that, because I’ve seen technology out there that’s way better than what we’re using, and the AFL’s seen it, too.
“The decision itself is what it is, but the technology doesn’t show the full picture … it misses a frame. It probably looked like it was touched, but insufficient evidence – we’ve got technology that’s there to be used.
“I’m not sure why the AFL is resisting using it. I’m not privy to any conversation, other than I’ve seen the footage that’s out there that we could be using.”
The belief, at present, is that the AFL isn’t willing to invest financially in more specialised hardware relating to its ARC technology – particularly given they’d have to standardise it across all venues.
Asked who had seen the footage McRae spoke of, the Pies coach responded: “The AFL have seen it. There’s a private company that produced it.
“I’ve seen it myself. I’ve seen the frame-by-frame capability of this technology. Now, that’s only one version – I’m sure there’s more.
“This is a pretty amazing, tight competition with big stakes. Grand finals decided by inconclusive footage? I’m not sure that’s the world we want to live in, in 2026.”
He finished by adding: “And technology is not bulletproof … there are mistakes still made with technology, but I know the technology is out there to make this better (and) more accurate in terms of assumptions of what’s out there.”
Schultz, Blamires injury update | 01:05
Ultimately, Collingwood still got the chocolates in a scintillating four-point win – its fourth on the trot – after withstanding a threatening North Melbourne surge.
It puts the Pies a game and a half clear inside the top 10, with the 11th-placed Roos agonisingly on the wrong end of a crucial swing game.
Speaking during Fox Footy’s post-match coverage before his press conference, McRae revealed his reaction to a peculiar question one of his players was asked recently about wildcard aspirations.
“Every win is huge this time of year, and particularly when you’re playing teams around the same ladder position,” McRae told Fox Footy post-game.
“But yeah, last week one of our players was interviewed and was asked, ‘Are you striving to make the top 10 and this wildcard?’ and I just almost cringed.
“You know, it’s like, ‘Are you serious?’ Like, why would we put ceilings on ourselves?
“We’re in the business of trying to get as high up the ladder as we can and qualify. And that’s all this is.
“We’ve got six games to go now, and that’s all it is. We just need to keep winning, and who knows where you’ll be on the ladder? So we’ve just got to put that energy into those things we can control.”
Collingwood clashes with Carlton next Saturday night in another finals-shaping blockbuster.