Dragging the ball in vs gaining possession

Rewatching the Yeo free kick and I’m baffled that anyone thinks he dragged it in. The purpose of that penalty is to prevent players returning the ball to a content and forcing a ball up. There was no content for him to drag the ball into - he gained possession with the purpose of clearing the ball.

I’m very confused about the behaviour the AFL are trying to encourage, because in that situation they are pretty much saying he shouldn’t have tried to get the ball out.