‘It’s wrong’: Commentators fume at ‘worst deliberate call’ in AFL nailbiter

The AFL community was left in disbelief after Jack Steele was pinged for a questionable deliberate call against the Magpies.

St Kilda midfielder Jack Steele.

Another season, another deliberate call controversy.

The AFL community was left scratching its head after St Kilda midfielder Jack Steele was pinged for a questionable deliberate call during Friday evening’s Round 1 fixture against Collingwood at Marvel Stadium.

The Saints were trailing by 16 points in the fourth quarter when Steele tried to kick the Sherrin off the ground towards the opposition goalposts.

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However, the 26-year-old was awkwardly pushed by Collingwood’s John Noble during the kick attempt, making the ball dribble out of play.

And to the bemusement of many, the umpires penalised Steele for deliberate out of bounds.

“It was going the other way and then the ball tracked. That is amazing,” commentator Brian Taylor told Channel 7.

“It’s wrong.”

Former Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge continued: “He was getting pushed as he did it.”

Richmond great Matthew Richardson pointed out that Steele’s mindset would have been to keep the ball alive, particularly considering the match situation.

“You’re the team going into attack, you need goals to win,” he explained.

“You’re clearly wanting to keep the ball in.”

Worst deliberate call I’ve seen,
Keeping it alive. Going into attack.
Encourage it !!!!

— Mark Stevens (@StevoMedia) March 18, 2022

Some extraordinary calls late in this game… 😅#AFLSaintsPies

— Cristian Filippo (@C_Filippo23) March 18, 2022

Jack Steele of the Saints. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

St Kilda ultimately suffered a 15.12 (102) to 12.13 (85) defeat to get its 2022 campaign off to a disappointing start, but the blow was softened considerably by a blockbuster performance from debutant Jack Hayes, who wasn’t even on the team’s roster until three weeks ago.

The 25-year-old booted two goals as the Saints came from 35 points down to snatch the lead early in the fourth quarter on the back of five unanswered goals.

“The game turned on the back of him. He has absolutely torn this game to shreds,” Melbourne great Garry Lyon told Fox Footy at three-quarter time.

“A cult hero was born tonight”.

Hayes finished the game as the No. 1 ranked player on the ground, according to Champion Data’s rankings scores, with three goals and 10 marks as a key tall.

St Kilda will next face the Fremantle Dockers at Perth’s Optus Stadium on Sunday, March 27, with the first bounce scheduled for 6.20pm AEDT.