Crows forward Izak Rankine gave away a free kick in the dying seconds of Adelaide's four-point loss to Collingwood on Saturday afternoon, as he heartbreakingly injured himself in the same passage of play.
Rankine was called for running further than the permitted 15 metres without a bounce after grabbing the ball out of the pack with 23 seconds left in the final term.
He took seven steps before taking a bounce, then ran a further 14 strides before kicking the ball into the Crows forward 50 on step 15.
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However, the field umpire pulled Rankine up and awarded a free kick to the Pies.
Collingwood then held the ball in their possession to run the clock down and nab their sixth win of the season.
Rankine was in disbelief after the call, which could have given the Crows a chance to kick a goal and win the match away from home.
To make matters even worse, that exact passage of play saw Rankine suffer a hamstring strain.
The club provided an update on Rankine post-match.
"Unfortunately it happened in the last few seconds of the game and Izak came straight from the ground," high-performance manager Darren Burgess said.
"We will need to assess him in the coming days to determine the severity of the injury and go from there."
It's another disappointing result for the Crows, who coughed up multiple chances in their round nine clash against the Lions, only to end the game in a draw.
That draw was followed by the AFL admitting an officiating mistake was made in the Crows three-point loss to Essendon earlier in the season.
The league said they should have penalised Bombers ruckman Sam Draper after he jumped on the ball and made no attempt to dispose of it, to wind down the clock and help Essendon over the line.
"In the moment and at ground level the umpires believed that Draper dived on the ball, and then the ball came out to Draper's left and was then knocked back under him by (Taylor) Walker," an AFL spokesperson said in April.
"In review, and with the assistance of the broadcast angle and behind the goals Hawkeye vision providing a clearer look, you can see that the ball moves from under Draper's chest – to under his armpit/shoulder – which means the ball is still in his possession, and he has not immediately knocked it clear.
"Therefore, it technically should have been a holding the ball free kick."
For the Pies, Jordan De Goey came in clutch again, grabbing six marks, 26 touches and kicking two goals in their narrow win.
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