The AFL’s football operations boss Greg Swan is facing more scrutiny over the controversial stand rule after a contentious free kick changed the momentum of Hawthorn’s win over Gold Coast. The Suns had kicked five unanswered goals and reduced the margin to just two points early in the third quarter of Friday night’s blockbuster when Mabior Chol was the beneficiary of a controversial holding-the-ball call.
AFL under fire over ‘dog’s breakfast rule’
Chol’s opponent Sam Collins took a mark deep inside his own defensive 50 and took a couple of steps back before going to play on, only to be set upon by Chol, who raced in from behind the mark but never stood still on it. Chol was called to stand but, because Collins played on so quickly, never did, and was able to step over the mark straight away and lay a tackle. Despite his protests that Chol had never adhered to the stand rule, Collins was penalised for holding the ball, and Chol kick-started a run of three goals in about three minutes to flip the game back in the Hawks’ favour.
“When did he stand? When did he stand? When did he stand?” Collins could be heard arguing. It was a line-ball call which, despite arguably being technically correct, has only added to the confusion and frustration over the stand rule.
“Boys, I love Greg Swan, everyone knows that. If he’s listening, Swanny — please, just fix this dog’s breakfast of a rule. On behalf of the whole competition,” James Brayshaw said on Channel 7.
Swan was amongst the crowd at People First Stadium, alongside AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon. “This rule has become a farce, and this is the last thing our game needs,” Dale Thomas said. “He (Swan) will be sitting there going, ‘Why? Why did you pay that?’ Because that is the last thing that he wants. He is a footballing purist; he wants clarity, and for these things to be improving the game. At the minute, they are doing nothing but causing confusion and making the game a lot worse.”
It proved to be a flashpoint in the game as Hawthorn went on to kick nine of the last 15 goals of the match and seal a 16-point victory to stamp their top-four credentials and put the Suns on the brink of dropping out of the top 10. Hawthorn dominated the midfield and scored their goals in rapid spurts as Gold Coast sunk to a fourth straight defeat and lost defender Daniel Rioli to injury.
The Hawks won 17.11 (113) to 14.13 (97) to improve to 9-1-4 and third place. Dylan Moore kicked four goals, and the Hawks midfield dominated the centre clearances 20-12, the Suns flattered by winning the last four.
Ben Long booted four goals for the Suns while Noah Anderson amassed 43 touches, nine more than any other player on the ground. Mac Andrew and Joel Jeffrey were solid at the back for the Suns, but Hawthorn’s ball-up dominance and their quick-fire goals in the first, third and fourth quarters proved the difference in front of 19,576 fans. Jai Newcombe starred for Hawthorn with two goals, 30 disposals and 10 clearances.
There was carnage in the first half, with Jarman Impey (hamstring) ruled out and Rioli likely fracturing his jaw after high contact from Josh Weddle that’s set to land the Hawk in hot water. Sun Sam Clohesy will also come under scrutiny for his driving tackle on Cam Nairn, who returned after passing his HIA. Hawthorn’s Karl Amon also limped off late in the third quarter.
The Suns, facing unprecedented scrutiny because of their stalling form, had all the early ball, amassing 71 to 44 uncontested possessions in the first quarter. But when Jed Walter spilled an easy mark and Mitch Lewis kicked a goal at the other end, it sparked a run of five majors in 10 minutes that gave the visitors a 21-point halftime lead. Nick Watson (three goals) whizzed through the traffic and grubbered through a terrific goal, before Newcombe bombed one on the siren.
They added two more after halftime for a 34-point lead, before the Suns found something, Touk Miller squeezing out a much-needed goal. They kicked the next four to lead by one, before the Hawks kicked three majors in less than three minutes to push the lead back to 20 points. Things finally tightened up, with Christian Petracca bursting onto a loose ball to make it a seven-point game and give the hosts momentum at the final break.
But it was quickly reversed, Connor Macdonald capitalising when Andrew spilt a tough mark to begin the final quarter, and former Sun Mabior Chol snapped a major and roared in delight to push the lead to 19 points. Two more centre clearances to Hawthorn created their third and fourth goals inside five minutes, and the margin was 31 points. Long and Walter goals gave the Suns hope, and Nick Holman scrapped hard for a major in his 150th AFL game. But Hawthorn had done enough, a breakaway Moore goal all but sealing the result with nine minutes remaining.
