'That one was incorrect': AFL makes another rule change on the fly after ARC controversy

The AFL will no longer allow the ARC to review scores, unless the goal umpire asks for one, according to head of footy Greg Swann.

While every goal will still be reviewed, marks on the goal line and behinds will now be left to the goal umpire.

It comes after a weekend of huge scrutiny, with multiple controversial decisions stemming from the ARC.

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In the North Melbourne-GWS game on Sunday, a score review was called on a Giants goal to determine whether Roos defender Griffin Logue had touched it.

After a deliberation, the goal was confirmed, despite broadcaster replays clearly indicating the ball brushed Logue's left hand.

The call came at a crucial moment in the fourth quarter of a game ultimately decided by just seven points.

Former Essendon coach James Hird believes it was a blatant clanger from the ARC.

"To our eye, he obviously touched it and I think it's going to haunt the ARC," Hird told Nine's Footy Furnace.

"The (Logue) one is a clear error in my opinion.

"I think the ARC is lucky that the Giants won by seven points and not less than a goal."

Speaking on Monday afternoon, Swann said the ARC reviewers made a mistake and got the Logue call incorrect.

"In this case, they both felt there wasn't sufficient evidence to turn it over and went back to umpire's call. We've had another review of that today and you can see it was touched. That one was incorrect," Swann said.

Earlier on Sunday, a bizarre ARC ruling that awarded a mark to St Kilda well over a minute after the fact sparked just as much outrage.

The confusing sequence unfolded midway through the second quarter.

St Kilda's Rowan Marshall appeared to take a mark, but the on-field umpires initially did not pay it, instead ruling it had crossed the goal line and was a behind.

Play continued as normal for a full 33 seconds before the ARC intervened from upstairs, abruptly halting the game and voiding all recent play.

After reviewing the incident for over a minute, the ARC reversed the on-field call, took the behind off the board, and Marshall was sent back to the goal line and awarded a set shot from an angle, which eventuated in a goal.

Swann said that the eventual Marshall verdict was correct, but took too long and disturbed the flow of the game.

"The second one with Saints and West Coast that the ARC has intervened like that. The ARC reviews everything on the basis that every score matters. They got that decision correct. It obviously took way too long and stopped the game mid-game," he said.

"Going forward now, the ARC won't do that. The ARC will still do goal reviews, but they won't intervene in a score like they did on the weekend, unless the goal umpire asks for a score review.

"Was it right, yes. Did it take too long, yes."

The reaction to the Marshall decision flabbergasted commentators in the moment.

"Seriously, a minute and a half to make a decision? Are you kidding me!" Ben Dixon said on the Fox Footy commentary.

"They should have 30-45 seconds, and it should be done - let it go.

"It looked like it was controlled over the line. But to pull the play back?

"I can't believe that. I know that's a goal to St Kilda and they just creep away with a 21-point lead. But that's embarrassing if you look at it.

"That was inconclusive. We lose a minute and a half of play.

"If you're going to call it, you've got to call it. You've got at least 15 to 20 seconds to recognise that on the call out. "

"That is farcical … unless there's some other angle that we're missing, that is a mare of a decision," Cameron Mooney added.

"For a ball that looked pretty much over the line, shouldn't even be paid a mark."

"That is as bizarre as we've ever seen AFL football played," commentator Dwayne Russell said.

This latest incident comes at a time when the ARC is already facing intense scrutiny from fans and pundits alike.

The system was heavily criticised when the AFL's ARC doctor incorrectly ordered Tom Edwards off the ground over a suspected concussion, further fuelling the debate around the centre's accuracy and impact on the flow of the game.

The ARC has also been used to review and overturn last touch out of bounds calls this season, but inconsistently and ultimately slowing down the game. The initial reason for the enormous change to the boundary line system was to speed the game up.