Taylor Adams dive: Collingwood AFL hardman ‘should be a meme’ for questionable act against Richmond

Taylor Adams faces criticism on social media for an apparent dive.

The Collingwood midfielder was chasing Richmond defenseman Daniel Rioli to the limit in the second quarter of his AFL blockbuster on Friday night when Rioli rolled over the ball.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Taylor Adams slammed against Richmond for diving.

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Adams initially looked like he was preparing for contact, but when Adams realized Rioli had gone down and left the ball behind, Adams was flat-footed and had to make a split-second decision.

Rather than following Rioli to the ground, Adams, whose momentum also took him past the ball, dove right over his opponent in a move not dissimilar to that used in Olympic diving.

He edged over Rioli and almost completely avoided contact before the ball trickled over the boundary line.

Curious, he then got up and asked the referee for a free kick.

Fans were quick to smash the star midfielder for the jumping performance.

“Taylor Adams was supposed to be a shooting star meme after that,” said one.

But Channel 7 commentators Brian Taylor and Luke Hodge weren’t so quick to assume the worst, suggesting he may have just been trying to protect Rioli.

“Gosh, what did Adams dive for?” Taylor said.

“I think that was a safety leap – he was trying to avoid Rioli,” Hodge added.

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