Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick was filthy, and the AFL world was on his side, when a 50-metre penalty was paid against his team during Saturday’s loss to Hawthorn in Tasmania.
With just nine points separating the teams in the third term, veteran defender Tom Barrass was gifted a goal (his first as a Hawk) when there was confusion about who was standing the mark for Gold Coast.
In his first game for the Suns, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan thought he was on the mark, as ruckman Jarrod Witts left the area.
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The umpire could be heard in the background saying stand and move out, but he didn’t mention a name.
Ugle-Hagan continued to stand as Witts headed to Hawthorn’s forward line, and the 50m penalty followed, but the umpire wanted Ugle-Hagan to move.
Hardwick blew up in the coaches box, while commentator Gerard Healy said, “It’s got to be the most hated rule in the history of the game, the stand rule … and this is the reason why.”
Fans and experts agreed.
Channel 7’s Kane Cornes recycled a tweet from 2021 when the AFL’s former footy boss, Steve Hocking, departed the league.
“Congratulations to Steve – now can we scrap the ‘stand’ rule?” the Cornes tweet read.
Responding to today’s outcry, Cornes said: “This was our chance. Instead they doubled down. #stand.”
Fans were irate.
“I hate the stand rule with a passion. Makes the sport look so cheap,” one fan blasted
And another: “It’s the stupidest rule introduced, makes the game look like such a joke. The amount of times you see two people standing on the mark not knowing if they can run off or not … only to give a pointless 50.”
Fans also took aim at the umpire, too, for not articulating clearly which player he was speaking to.
“Umpires be yelling player names unnecessarily ALL game and the only ever time they actually NEED to say a player’s name (when there’s multiple players on the mark) – they never do. Make it make sense,” one fan blasted.
And another: “Can we please get umpires that know how to accurately communicate information? How many times does this happen with an umpire not adequately explaining then punishing a player for not understanding?”
The crucial goal gave Hawthorn a 15-point lead and then Jack Gunston, who finished with five goals, quickly added another to make it 21 at the final change.
The Hawks then kicked the only four goals of the final quarter to run away with a 49-point win.
The victory extended their winning run in Launceston to 11 matches, while the Suns are winless from 11 starts in Tasmania.
The Suns failed to kick a goal in the final term and have now conceded more than 100 points in their past four games after a promising start to the season.
Jai Newcombe was heavily involved for Hawthorn with 30 disposals, six tackles and 12 clearances, while Gold Coast’s Noah Anderson was top of the possession tree with 31.
The Hawks dominated possession and territory in the opening quarter but perhaps didn’t fully capitalise with a 28-14 lead at the first break.
In his first AFL game in 596 days, former Bulldog Ugle-Hagan booted his first goal as a Sun in the 20th minute after nabbing a one-handed mark.
The Hawks sunk the boot in with a run of five goals in the second quarter to open up a 60-14 advantage.
But the Suns lifted with four of their own in a row, including two to Ben Long, who kicked around his body from 40m out to reduce the margin to 62-39 at halftime.
Ugle-Hagan nabbed a strong mark early in the third quarter before setting up Bailey Humphrey, who nailed the set shot from 50m out.
Conor Nash broke the Suns’ run of goals and steadied the Hawthorn ship with a major off a holding-the-ball penalty.
The Hawks, who move to equal top of the ladder with other games to play, are 6-1 for the season while the Gold Coast are 4-3.
– With AAP
