Footy world praises goal umpire for 'unreal effort' during AFL game: 'Give this goal umpire a pay rise'

An AFL goal umpire has received an outpouring of praise from the footy community after leaving fans in disbelief with a move in Sunday's match between the Sydney Swans and Gold Coast Suns.

Goal umpire Taylor Mattioli was knocked off her feet in opening quarter of the match at the SCG by Suns defender Sam Collins as Swans star Brodie Grundy took a shot at goal from outside 50 - but that didn't prevent her making the right call.

After consulting with the on-field umpire, Mattioli said she believed the ball had been touched by a Suns player before crossing the goal line.

Replays soon showed that she had made the correct decision, with Jarrod Witts getting a touch on the footy.

Mattioli's excellent call from the deck earned praise from footy fans far and wide.

Ex footy star Daniel Gorringe posted the clip to TikTok, saying: 'Give this goal umpire a pay rise.'

Another user wrote: 'Unreal dedication. Need more of this.'

A third user replied: 'That was the highlight of the game.' 

High-octane Tom Papley helped inspire Sydney to a 53-point AFL monstering of Gold Coast at full time.

Separated by 11 points at the main break, the Swans kicked eight consecutive goals across the second half to claim a 17.8 (110) to 8.9 (57) win at the SCG.

It was quite the reversal for the Suns, who had thrashed Hawthorn by the same margin last week.

Papley was the star of the Sunday showing, slotting three goals from 13 touches and getting the 35,649-strong crowd rocking when he claimed his third of the day, a classy curling effort from the boundary line after pulling in an outstanding diving mark.

'We just gave them the ball back, that was the reality,' Suns coach Damien Hardwick said.

'We tried to hit kicks that weren't in our repertoire, and we just gave them easy goals.'

Sydney had no shortage of firepower as they charged past the 100-point mark, with Joel Amartey (four goals), Sam Wicks (two) and Will Hayward (two) among their nine goal-kickers.

Errol Gulden again starred in the engine room with 30 touches and was well supported by Isaac Heeney (28) and Justin McInerney (26).

Sam Flanders, in his 50th game, laboured hard in the Suns backline to lead the game with 34 touches while midfield bull Matt Rowell (15 contested possessions, 12 tackles) played like a man possessed.

Amartey, Papley and Heeney punished the Suns for their poor defence to boot the three opening goals.

But the Swans fell asleep in the second term, with Bailey Humphrey slotting his second goal of the season before Jed Walters added another.

Walters earned the ire of the Swans faithful after being paid a mark near the boundary line in the back pocket, with the hosts arguing the ball had gone out on the full.

Inaccuracy denied Gold Coast more reward for their effort, with Nick Holman hitting the post before Jack Lukosius committed an egregious shank kick.

'They had momentum. They had their tails up but they weren't able to put the six on us,' Swans coach John Longmire said.

'Our defenders did a good job and were able to withstand that, and that does make a difference.

'Pressure and defence. Very simple.'

The Suns all but kissed goodbye to their hopes of a victory away from home when Sydney kicked five unanswered goals in the third term.

Longmire's side continued to pile on until the final siren, with star recruit Brodie Grundy kicking his first major for the Swans in his 200th AFL game.