Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick was clearly “frustrated” over several elements of Saturday night’s three-point loss to St Kilda – including a controversial free kick paid late in the game – according to AFL greats.
Hardwick post-match labelled the free kick paid against young defender Mac Andrew for holding Max King “unwarranted” – a decision that resulted in the St Kilda gun kicking the match-winning goal with just over three minutes left in the Marvel Stadium clash.
Speaking on Fox Footy after the game, former Hawthorn sharpshooter Ben Dixon was also left baffled by the decisive call.
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“I’m on the same page as ‘Dimma’ (Hardwick) on this one … we’ve got four umpires and there’s one umpire staring at this contest,” Dixon said.
“How can you not see the two of them are (holding each other)? And how do you justify giving that a free kick? One doesn’t look worse than the other.”
“Clearly unwarranted”: Dimma on FK | 07:11
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.”
Lyon frustrated despite win over Suns | 09:39
With it, the Suns let a big opportunity slip to consolidate a spot in the top eight as their winless away record continued (0-6), falling to 7-6 overall in Hardwick’s first season at the helm.
It came on a night Hardwick labelled the low-scoring 51-48 game “terrible” and “horrific,” conceding his side didn’t “handle” the defensive style well.
Riewoldt, who played in three premierships under Hardwick during a golden era at Richmond, believes his former coach was clearly unhappy with how a number of factors played out in what could prove to be a costly loss for Gold Coast.
“The word ‘frustrating’ came out a lot, you could sense ‘Dimma’ was frustrated,” Riewoldt said on Fox Footy.
“Frustrated about the umpiring, frustrated about the way they play away from home. I think he’s frustrated that he needs his senior players – and he hasn’t got a lot of older, senior players – to stand up early away from home.
“They have a lot of young talent but they need someone to follow … (Hardwick) will go: ‘Right, I need you guys to play well early for me away from home’.”
Gold Coast has its bye next week before it faces Fremantle at Optus Stadium on the other side of it.
Source Agencies
