St Kilda v GWS Giants game ends in a draw after Jake Carlisle misses mark with two seconds left
GWS defender Phil Davis concedes he was lucky not to give away a free kick to Jake Carlisle following the contentious marking contest in the dying seconds of yesterday’s draw against St Kilda.
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FRUSTRATED St Kilda coach Alan Richardson and star midfielder Jack Steven were both convinced Jake Carlisle should have been paid a free kick in the dying seconds of yesterday’s thrilling draw with Greater Western Sydney.
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Carlisle spilled a mark about 40 metres out from goal when GWS captain Phil Davis came in from behind to spoil. Front-on footage of the incident appeared to show Davis’ arm making contact with Carlisle’s neck, but the nearest umpire had his vision obscured.
The key-position Saint would have almost certainly given his team the lead — and a much-needed victory — if the free kick had been awarded.
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Giants defender Phil Davis conceded he was lucky not to give away a free kick but thought the correct decision was probably made.
“It doesn’t look ideal, but I think stuff like that happens. If I had a free kick for every still
shot that looks like a free kick, I would have a lot. That is football, isn’t it? I got away with it,” Davis told Channel 7 on Sunday morning.
Richardson said he thought it was a free kick.
“I’m sure the vision will show as much, I probably carried on a little bit too much (in the coaches’ box),” Richardson said.
“I don’t tend to worry too much about umpiring decisions but when there’s two seconds on the clock there’s nothing else to worry about.
“Simon Lethlean (former AFL footy boos, now St Kilda football manager), who was with me, said it was probably not a free kick.”
GWS coach Leon Cameron thought Carlisle had taken the mark and lauded his skipper’s ability to close down the Saint’s space at the last second.
“I thought Phil spoiled really well all day, they (the umpires) are closer than obviously what I am but I thought Phil spoiled late,” Cameron said.
“I think what’s happening is the umpires are making sure if you’ve got to clunk a mark, you’ve got to really clunk it.”
Steven, who delivered the ball to Carlisle, thought his teammate should have been awarded a free kick.
“I thought it was a free, but I’m very biased,” he said.
“I don’t know. It’s tough being an umpire.
“It would have been a nice finish after the siren with big Jakey.”
The midfielder, who was one of the Saints’ best with 29 disposals and a goal, admits he made an error with his delivery to Carlisle.
“I popped it up too much, I should have speared it in,” he told 3AW after the match.
VFL/AFL legend Leigh Matthews agreed that a free kick should have been paid and Carlisle should have been kicking for the win from about 45m.
“We thought it was (a free kick) too, and we’re not biased,” Matthews said.
The Saints had somehow clawed their way back from a three-goal deficit midway through the last quarter, kicking a trio of goals that tied the scores with less than three minutes left.
Carlisle was left lamenting the missed mark he says he should have taken at the conclusion of a largely forgettable game.
Carlisle admitted he had “spent his bullets” and was exhausted after a frenetic final term. He went for the mark but couldn’t hold it on the first attempt, and Davis came over the top to spoil.
“My eyes lit up,” Carlisle told Fox Footy immediately after the game about the ball coming into view. “The kick was a bit high. I spent my bullets.”
The loudest noise from the small crowd of 14,956 came when the final siren sounded immediately after. They wanted a free kick, but when Carlisle was asked if Davis infringed, he said: “I just feel I should have marked it.”
This first draw of the season is one that both sides will look back on with frustration. The Giants, who seemed to have made a habit of playing in draws, will rue kicking 9.19 (73) to the Saints’ 10.13 (73). They blazed away at goal and at times looked anything but the serious premiership contender we suspect they are.
St Kilda, too, knows it blew a chance, not just in the final term, when it seemed to be running out the game better than its opponent. The Saints dominated the inside 50m count 67 to 46, but just couldn’t capitalise on the scoreboard.
The effort and application was there. The polish that should have seen them win this game and get their rollercoaster season back on track was missing, and it is something coach Alan Richardson will have to address soon.
They were brave, and had to make do it without Jack Newnes, who was out of the game with concussion in the first term.
Richardson was proud of his team’s efforts against one of the AFL’s leading sides, but was left lamenting missed opportunities.
The Saints had a lopsided inside 50m count — going inside on 21 more occasions — but couldn’t make that count on the scoreboard.
“It’s a bitter pill to swallow when you give yourself an opportunity, but in all reality we haven’t been flying. Clearly that’s an understatement,” Richardson said.
“Against a quality team, with ‘Newnesy’ (Jack Newnes) out of the game pretty early (due to concussion), we played in a way that gave ourselves an opportunity to beat a really good team.”
St Kilda had its fourth-lowest crowd at Etihad Stadium — 14,956 — but Richardson credited the voice of the fans for helping to lift the players back from an 18-point deficit midway through the last term.
“We’re a team that needs to fight and scrap,” he said. “We were able to create 50-odd midfield turnovers. That gives yourself an opportunity to go back at the opposition.”
“Our best performances, our best footy is underpinned by defence and contest and really hunting the opposition. For big parts of it, I thought we got that today.”
Giants coach Leon Cameron admitted his team was “lucky” to have held on for the draw, after conceding 21 more inside 50s than their opponents.
“I know you can win games by having a discrepancy (of) inside 50’s or a discrepancy in statistics, but I thought our backs basically saved us,” Cameron said. “The scoreboard, even though we had a few more scoring shots, we were probably lucky to get away with the two points.”
BEST
St Kilda: Steven, Hickey, Ross, Acres, Savage, White, Carlisle, Long, Geary.
GWS: Deledio, Davis, Cameron, Shiel, Ward, Coniglio, Whitfield, Finlayson.
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