Richmond’s Sam Lloyd kicked the winner after the siren, something even champions have failed to do
WHERE does Sam Lloyd’s bomb to win Richmond the game on Saturday night rate among the great after-the-siren winners? THE HITS AND THE MISSES
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RICHMOND’s Sam Lloyd joined an exclusive club on Saturday night when he kicked the winning goal against Sydney after the final siren.
It has happened 38 times since 1913 with Barry Hall the only player to do it twice — for St Kilda against Hawthorn in 2001 and for the Swans against Brisbane in 2005.
Lloyd launched his drop punt from right on the 50m line about 20m in from the boundary in the left-hand forward pocket, making it one of the best post-siren efforts based on degree of difficulty.
“His action in kicking that ball was absolutely perfect,” former Magpie Michael Christian said on 3AW. “He just flushed it. The pressure of the moment, knowing that he had to make the kick to win the game, was just amazing.”
Former Tiger Nathan Brown wasn’t surprised.
“He’s that sort of big moment player. He was huge in that first round against Carlton when he kicked a couple of left-foot snaps to get them over the line.”
Where does his kick rank in the post-siren winners of recent history? Here are our contenders ... and some kicks that didn’t go as planned.
MALCOLM BLIGHT (North Melbourne) v Carlton, 1976
The best ever. There was no 50m line back then but Blight recently estimated his kick at Princes Park travelled 83m. Blight had already kicked three — including a banana from 35m — when he outmarked Mark Maclure at the 28-minute mark and the siren sounded with North behind by a point. Mike Williamson’s hysterical call captured the moment: “Blight was have to kick this 85-90 metres. It’s not over yet. What drama here at Princes Park. Malcolm Blight, it’s a big kick, it’s a mammoth kick, it’s a goal. I’ve seen it all now. I have seen it all.”
TOM HAWKINS (Geelong) v Hawthorn, 2012
The Kennett curse lives. Skipper Joel Selwood hit up the big forward 55m from goal with the Hawks up by four points. The siren sounds and everyone waited with bated breath. Hawkins launched and it was never in doubt. It was a huge kick that travelled at least 60m to secure Geelong’s two-point win over Hawthorn and ninth in a row since the 2008 Grand Final.
ASH McGRATH (Brisbane Lions) v Geelong, 2010
An unbelievable end to an unbelievable game. The Lions were gone for all money midway through the third term as they trailed the Cats by 52 points. But a spirited Brisbane outfit wouldn’t be denied as McGrath marked and had to kick the matchwinner in his 200th career game from 50m. It was all set up for a fairytale ending really, we should have seen the writing on the wall when he marked with one second on the clock.
GARY BUCKENARA (Hawthorn) v Melbourne, 1987 preliminary final
This one is a classic. The Hawthorn forward marked 55m out in the dying minutes of the preliminary final against the Demons when future star Jim Stynes ran through the mark. Disaster. A 15m penalty was awarded and Buckenara nailed the goal to send the Hawks into the Grand Final. Buckenara later said he would have kicked the goal regardless, while the blunder ignited Stynes’s passion for the game. Years later he reflected, saying: “As soon as I darted off the line I was on, I just knew, I just went, ‘Oh no’. “It was horrible. My dad was there. My mum was there. It was the first game of footy they ever saw.”
Special mention to other clutch final goals from Gary Ablett v North Melbourne in the 1994 prelim and Billy Brownless v Bulldogs in the 1994 qualifying final,
KARMICHAEL HUNT (Gold Coast Suns) v Richmond, 2012
What a story. A rugby league convert kicking the winning goal for the AFL’s newest franchise? Not even then-league chief executive Andrew Demetriou could have come up with that one. Hunt was cool as a cucumber as he delivered the knockout blow against a dismal Richmond side from 25m out on a slight angle. The microwaves were rumbling for Richmond members after that one.
PETER RICCARDI (Geelong) v Carlton, 2002
After being 37 points up at three-quarter time against the Blues, Geelong went to sleep at Colonial Stadium as Carlton came roaring home. But the Cats escaped thanks to a clutch 55m bomb from Riccardi that wasn’t pretty but it was long and it was straight. To this day some Carlton players insist it was touched off the boot but the record books say the Cats won by four points.
HONOURABLE MENTION: TONY LOCKETT (Sydney Swans) v Essendon, 1996
All he needed was a point to send the Swans into the Grand Final and the game’s leading goalkicker didn’t disappoint. Although it wasn’t a goal, it was the sweetest point he’d ever kicked.
... AND THE MISSES
MATTHEW LLOYD (Essendon) v Western Bulldogs, 2002
If you asked any Essendon fan who you’d want kicking for goal after the siren win, almost everyone would have said Matthew Lloyd. Kicking from 30m out on a slight angle, you’d back the champion goalkicker to nail it 99 times out of 100. Unfortunately for Essendon this was the one in a hundred shot. Lloyd missed and the Bombers drew with the Bulldogs. Reflecting on the kick on Sunday, Lloyd joked: “I wasn’t far out. Choked a bit. I kicked five straight before that so I got them in that position.”
BRAD JOHNSON (Western Bulldogs) v Geelong, 2009
Like Lloyd, Johnson was a deadeye in front of goal. Whenever the smiling assassin had it within range, you’d back him in every time ... But not this time. Admittedly, he was on a tight angle but less than 15m out from goal. Dogs fans would have wanted the ball in his hands but it wasn’t to be as the siren sounded just as he was about to kick and he didn’t get the angles right on his checkside.
NICK RIEWOLDT (St Kilda) v Essendon, 2009
The Saints were 19-0 in 2009 when they came up against a Matthew Knights-coached Essendon outfit in Round 20. The Bombers somehow built a 40-point lead only for the Swans to launch a remarkable comeback that would ultimately fall two points short. Riewoldt missed a shot to win the game 40m out on a 45-degree angle. It was an ugly kick, right off the side of the boot. It never looked like it.
ADAM GOODES (Sydney Swans) v Essendon, 2011
A dual Brownlow medallist and two-time premiership player, not even Goodes could deliver the after-the-siren goal the Swans needed to sink the Bombers. With Paddy Ryder standing the mark 45m out, Goodes, who had kicked 3.3 for the night, launched from directly in front only to narrowly miss and deliver the Bombers a stirring one-point victory under the roof at Etihad Stadium. Former coach Paul Roos, who was commentating the game, backed in the star to kick it, declaring: “He can hit them, he can hit them nicely, I’ll back him from here.” He didn’t.
STEPHEN KERNAHAN (Carlton) v Essendon, 1993
All he needed was a point. The angle was tough and he was nearly 50m out but a behind would have secured the Blues victory. The Carlton legend had kicked 5.1 for the day despite being unwell but the pressure was too much. His kick came off the side of his boot and sailed out on the full. “ ... And he misses! It’s out of bounds, it’s a draw!”
DAVID MUNDY (Fremantle) v Geelong, 2014
In Sam Lloyd territory only on the opposite side of the ground and down the highway at Simonds Stadium, Mundy narrowly missed to the near side, handing Geelong a two-point win. He had too long to think about the kick — Mark Blicavs was forced from the ground with the blood rule, causing a major delay. It was so long coach Ross Lyon, who was standing in the players’ race, even had the time to call out and let him know there was just four seconds on the clock.
SIMON BEASLEY (Footscray) v Brisbane Bears, 1988
This is a classic. Beasley takes a brilliant mark on the boundary against the Bears at Carrara and is on the toughest angle imaginable as the siren sounds. He can’t play on and he had the added challenge of thousands of fans who swarmed onto the field as he lined up his kick. The goal umpire struggled to get a clear view but Beasley missed, much to the delight of the pitch invaders.
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