As is so often the case in September, an umpiring decision has stolen the headlines for all the wrong reasons, with both sets of coaches from Friday night's qualifying final weighing in on some contentious calls late in the first half of Geelong's win over Brisbane.
The Cats looked set to blow the game open and put the Lions to bed ahead of the main break, before an umpire blew his whistle from the other end of the ground, awarding a free lick to Lion Cam Rayner, gifting him a golden opportunity directly in front of goal.
Rayner had been dealing with a hard tag from Geelong's Mark O'Connor, with the Cat being physical with the star Lion for most of the night.
A push in the back from the Geelong defender resulted in Rayner hitting the deck, with the umpire awarding Rayner a free kick, as he would go back and slot the goal. After the ball sailed through the sticks, Rayner would go up to O'Connor to taunt, before he was quickly put back on the ground by Zach Guthrie.
SCENES at the MCG?!?!
— 7AFL (@7AFL) September 5, 2025
Cam Rayner gets one free kick, kicks the goal ... then gets another free kick, and kicks another goal!
😳 pic.twitter.com/ndvni3vlGH
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Guthrie's shove saw Rayner awarded with another free kick directly in front, giving the Lion two quick goals to bring his side back into the contest.
Asked about the decisions post-game, Brisbane coach Chris Fagan said he'd have to watch it again, but jokingly said the decisions helped flatter the final score for his side.
"I'd have to watch all that back, the Geelong crowd weren't too happy with it," he said.
"I haven't watched the replay so it would be unfair for me to make any comment on it.
"Obviously the umpire saw something and doubled up, but it probably helped flatter the scoreboard a little bit for us because Geelong were by a mile the better team tonight."
Meanwhile, Geelong coach Chris Scott was less worried about the decisions, instead emphasising how the focus was on how his players reacted to them.
"The emphasis for us was making sure the players didn't get too frustrated by it. And I thought that was, for the most part, handled pretty well on our part. It's just one of those things," he said.
"But we shouldn't kid ourselves that a free kick 10 metres out from goal is the same as a free kick at the other end."
While both coaches were fairly measured in their responses, many greats of the game were unafraid to offer their honest feedback on how the umpires handled the incidents.
"That's soft as butter," Hawthorn great Jason Dunstall said on commentary for Fox Footy.
Meanwhile, Collingwood great Nathan Buckley was pointed in how he viewed the decisions.
"Disgraceful. I'm not a Cats supporter but I was angry. That was ridiculous, it's a final. That is so soft," he said at halftime on Fox Footy's broadcast.
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Rayner had been blanketed out of the game by O'Connor to that point, with just one disposal.
But his two late goals would give him confidence as he emerged from the main break by collecting 10 disposals and adding another goal.
But his efforts weren't enough, with the Cats overcoming the umpiring to win easily by 38 points.
Brisbane will look to reset next week in a semi-final against either Fremantle or Gold Coast, likely without their co-captain Lachie Neale.