AFL greats say Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick was visibly “frustrated” with a number of aspects of his team’s three-point defeat to St Kilda on Saturday night, including a contentious free kick awarded late in the contest.
After the game, Hardwick called the free kick awarded to teenage defender Mac Andrew for tripping over Max King “unwarranted.” With just over three minutes remaining in the play at Marvel Stadium, the St Kilda striker scored the game-winning goal.
After the game, former Hawthorn sniper Ben Dixon spoke on Fox Footy and expressed his confusion with the game-winning call.
“Dimma (Hardwick) and I agree on this one. There are four umpires and one umpire watching the match,” Dixon remarked.
How are you unable to see that they are clutching each other? And why do you think you can get away with that? Neither one appears worse than the other.
Western Bulldogs legend Brad Johnson questioned: “Where’s the hold? I’m still trying to find where it is.”
Tigers champion Jack Riewoldt meanwhile believes King was favoured due to being the offensive player, saying it was “100 per cent weighted to the forwards”.
“Whether that’s an unconscious bias that: ‘It’s deep in 50, so if anyone’s going to hold, it’s going to be the backman because they’re defending’. I reckon there’s an element of that,” Riewoldt said.
“That is not a free kick and it had a very, very big impact on the game tonight.”
Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes was also critical of the decision, calling it a “disgraceful free kick” he thinks ultimately decided the result.
“In the cold light of day, that free kick cannot be paid in that moment because you’ve got both players jostling for position,” Cornes said on Channel 9’s Sunday Footy Show.
“Mac Andrew said to the umpires: ‘You’ve got to pay that both ways’. Firstly King grabs him and rips him around, then there’s jostling, there’s no tug of the jumper.
“It’s two players fighting for position, they’ve been at it all day. 100m off the ball with three minutes to go and it decides the game That free kick just cannot be paid.”
At quarter time, the Saints led the Suns 3.1 (19) to 1.1 (7).
Gold Coast defender Sam Flanders (10 disposals), Joel Jeffrey (eight disposals) and Sam Collins (six disposals, four marks) have held plenty of poise across the back line for the visitors in the first term, but the dangerous Higgins and Butler up forward have hit the scoreboard in return.
Max King levelled the goal kicking battle with twin brother Ben, slotting a set shot from 45 metres out on a 45 degree angle.
His kick gave the Saints a 21-point lead with seven and a half minutes to play before half time – as well as the game’s first goal in the second term, 16 minutes in.
A late Ben Ainsworth goal for the Suns brought the margin back to 14 points, with just two goals kicked in the quarter and six in the first half.
Flanders continued to absolutely dominate off half-back, registering 26 disposals, eight marks and five intercept possessions in the first half.
Marcus Windhager has clamped gun Sun Touk Miller hard in the first half, limiting the two-time All-Australian to just three disposals by half time.
Ben Long kicked the Suns off with a bang in the third quarter, converting from a set shot to bring back the margin to eight points.
Jack Higgins found himself in the right place, right time later on though in the goal square, taking an uncontested mark to stroll in for his second of the night.
Sub David Swallow replied almost instantly after being subbed on for Brayden Fiorini, before Dan Butler and Matt Rowell kicked goals soon after in a scoring run not seen so far tonight.
At three-quarter time, the Suns trailed by eight points – with the Saints evidently not making the most of their around-the-ground control.
Ben King kicked his second of the night as the maiden goal in fourth quarter, and cut the Suns’ deficit to just three points with only half a quarter to go.
Despite Windhager having the better of Touk Miller all night, the midfielder kicked a crucial goal to give the visitors a two-point lead with eight minutes to play.
But the match turned again with less than three minutes to play when Suns defender Mac Andrew was penalised for an off the ball hold on Max King – which the big Saint converted.
And from there, the Saints didn’t relent as they held on for a three-point win.
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