Essendon coach Brad Scott has attacked the AFL about the placement of umpires in a game after Nate Caddy flattened an umpire in the Bombers forward line.
Umpire contact in centre bounces has been the topic of the week, with coaches and the AFL CEO being asked about their thoughts on it.
Essendon lost to Gold Coast by 41 points on Saturday, with Suns coach Damian Hardwick discussing the issue of umpire contact as star midfielder Matt Rowell looks at a possible suspension because of his indiscretions.
Scott clarified that his problems lie solely with where the umpires are placed throughout the match, particularly in the corridor, stating he tried to fix the problem when he was working at the AFL.
MORE: 'Hiding' - Michael Voss's Carlton coaching performance questioned in loss to Collingwood
“I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve approached the AFL about moving the umpires out of the corridor,” Scott told the media in his post match press conference after their loss to the Suns.
They sprint into the corridor and they stay there and that’s clearly where we want to get the ball and even when I was at the AFL, I tried to move them out of the corridor and they still wouldn’t move out of the corridor.”
Nate Caddy was involved in this collision with an umpire. #AFLDonsSuns pic.twitter.com/g7DmjAGInS
— AFL (@AFL) July 5, 2025
Scott added that they have asked the AFL head of umpiring for advice, but received advice that he feels isn’t useful.
“So, we’ve been at them and at them and at them to move out of the corridor, and the last response I had from (AFL head of umpiring) Steve McBurney was ‘just pretend that they’re invisible’, well, he wasn’t invincible.”
Scott also confirmed that Caddy was winded after the incident, and the AFL Review Centre (ARC) asked the Bombers to check out if the umpire involved was injured”
“Unfortunately, it took the wind out of Nate Caddy. It took 15 minutes to get him going again, so whose fault is it? Certainly not Nate Caddy’s. Particularly given that we’ve put this on the agenda to move the umpires out of the corridor, and they just refuse to do it."
“(I) understand the umpire contact around the ball ups and that’s a challenge we’ve got to solve but who’s responsible for this, I mean is it Nate Caddy because we lost a player for 15 minutes and then not only that, the ARC tells our doctor to go and check in on the umpire and assess the umpire.”
Essendon will look to bounce back next week as they take on second-last Richmond at the MCG.