As with the recent cases we've been on the wrong end of this year, it's not play-on until the umpire calls it as such - so whether Richards had played on or not, it's only relevant whether the umpire called it. They can't say "I hadn't called it, but you really had played on, so there's no 50".
I think the umpire just got flustered due to where it happened and the fact it was soccered through straight away for a goal. In any other part of the ground, there would have been time for the umpire to think, even if the opposition player had picked it up and started running off with it. IMO the fact he had to make a split-second decision whether to call 'all clear' for the goal, or a 50m penalty, got the better of him and he panicked with the wrong call.
As others have said, the fact that Waite had 2 goes and grappling with Richards after the mark (even before reaching in and knocking the ball out) should have been 50m anyway.
Obviously Pyke is going to have to refine his technique as whatever he's doing, the umpires don't like. But I don't think they had a clue what was actually happening when they kept pinging him for blocking - really at best he's just holding his ground as his opponent jumps into him, I'm not sure how that's a different result to Pyke jumping back into his opponent. Fair enough if he's actually pushing a player in the air (back, sideways, under the ball or whatever else), but that's not what Pyke's doing.
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