AFL 2020: Jack Newnes seals Carlton win with miracle goal after the siren following contentious down-field free kick
The AFL has revealed its ruling on the controversial decisions that led to Carlton’s Jack Newnes stealing victory from the jaws of defeat against Fremantle after the siren.
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The AFL has ticked off on the two free kicks within seconds that saw Carlton steal four points from Fremantle through Jack Newnes’ miracle set shot.
But the league has conceded Michael Gibbons should have taken the shot instead of Newnes.
As the Herald Sun revealed today, the umpires department believed the decision to award the free kick downfield was consistent with the league rules.
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Sam Docherty was hit high and late by Andy Brayshaw and while it was a line-ball decision the league approved the decision to penalise the Dockers midfielder.
The AFL said in a statement: “ After review today, both the deliberate out of bounds free kick paid against Fremantle’s Matt Taberner and the decision to award a downfield free kick to Carlton’s Sam Docherty after he received prohibited contact from Fremantle’s Andrew Brayshaw were assessed and warranted as correct decisions.
“The review also determined the downfield free kick taken by Carlton’s Jack Newnes should have been awarded to Carlton’s Michael Gibbons.
“It is also noted the review allows for a different perspective and additional vision available compared to that of the umpire at the time.”
The Blues flew back to the Gold Coast on Sunday to meet their families aware they are only a game outside the eight.
Newnes said on Sunday he had channelled Robbie Gray’s inspirational goal against the Blues, determined to hit the Sherrin well after he was told to take the free kick by umpires.
The AFL’s wording of the down-the-ground free kick rule has changed from 2019 to 2020 but the intent is still the same, giving the team with that free kick maximum advantage.
The rule states a free kick can be awarded where the offence is or where the football is, “whichever is the greater penalty against the offending team”.
Blue miracle: Breaking down the last two minutes of Carlton’s thrilling win over Fremantle
“For the avoidance of doubt free kicks awarded outside the playing surface will be taken at the nearest location on the boundary line or where ever the football is at the time, whichever is the greater penalty against the offending team,” the 2020 Laws of the Game document says.
It means the decision to pay the free kick 50m from goal was correct by the match-day officials.
But in the drama of that moment, with Gibbons only metres from the ball and Newnes 15m away, the league concedes the Blues rookie should have been awarded the free kick.
David Teague said post-match he would still have backed in Gibbons, who often slots goals from that range post-training and has kicked 24.18 in his 32 games.
Docherty’s kick inside 50m saw Brayshaw jump up and then cannon into him late after Matt Taberner had given away a free kick for deliberate out of bounds.
But Docherty was leaping forward and appeared to make the most of contact to his chest as Brayshaw attempted to spoil the ball.
Taberner’s deliberate out-of-bounds free kick that set up the Docherty kick was consistent with the AFL’s ruling this year.
It’s not a free kick is it? Love the drama and the execution from Newnes but Brayshaw jumps up and lands and doesn’t hit him high. It’s after the kick so it is downfield. What a finish pic.twitter.com/KJkY4w1oSL
— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) August 15, 2020
Seems pretty clear from the 2020 rule book the free kick was correctly awarded down field. If you believe it was a free. (And Gibbons was closer than Newnes) pic.twitter.com/B588RzlqXU
— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) August 15, 2020
Huge moment. Wow. Much debate here - should that have been paid down field, or back where Docherty had the kick in? 🤔 #AFLFreoBlues
— Lauren Wood (@LaurenHeraldSun) August 15, 2020
I am even more confused now. Can it be down field if it’s out on the full? (I should know) Great finish #AFLFreoBlues
— Josh Fraser (@jfraser17) August 15, 2020
Don’t get me wrong.... over the moon with the result and such a clutch kick by Jack. But on replay, shouldn’t it have been Gibbons free kick??? @7AFL #nearestplayer #AFLBluesFreo
— Dennis Armfield (@Darmfield27) August 15, 2020
Newnes said he might have passed the ball to a teammate had he not been told by teammates the seconds were counting down.
“I thought we had a couple of chances before my shot so I knew I needed to nail my one and fortunately I made good contact and we won the game which is massive for the club,” he said.
“The umpire said it was for me. I didn’t know there were 10 seconds left. If I knew there were only 10 seconds left I wouldn’t have taken it but it all just worked out that way and was lucky enough to slot it.”
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir conceded the Blues had done well to get the ball into the hands of Newnes.
“I think they did a pretty good job of getting the right player the ball. But I would have been asking our players to do exactly the same thing in the same situation,” Longmuir said.
“Every team would have tried to do the same thing, and they probably pulled one over the umpire’s eyes. But that’s alright, that’s footy. We’ll take it, cop it on the chin, move on and get better.”
HOW BLUES, NEWNES WON A THRILLER
Jack Newnes kicked a magnificent set-shot goal after the siren to keep Carlton’s season alive, with the Blues coming from behind to notch a thrilling four-point win at Optus Stadium on Saturday night.
Thirty-four days after losing to Port Adelaide courtesy of a Robbie Gray goal after the siren, the Blues turned the tables to record an after-the-siren win of their own
after a drama-filled final two minutes against Fremantle.
Recruit Jack Newnes was the hero, the former St Kilda wingman kicking truly from 45m tight against the boundary line to slot just the 64th goal of his 166-game career.
The Blues trailed almost the entire match and were wasteful in the closing stages but would not be denied, winning 5.10 (40) to 5.6 (36).
Harry McKay and Liam Jones both missed set shots in the final two minutes as Carlton surged time and again, and the Dockers looked to have the game sealed when they cleared defensive 50 with less than a minute to play.
“I just went through my routine,” Newnes said.
“There was a couple of cameras in the way so I tried to get them moved and then just wanted to make good contact.
“(It was a) similar spot to where Robbie Gray kicked it against us about a month ago, so it’s exciting.”
Newnes’ kick came from a controversial down-field free kick against Andrew Brayshaw, who bumped Carlton defender Sam Docherty after he had kicked the ball out of bounds on the full in the Blues’ forward line.
Docherty had himself been awarded a free kick for a deliberate out of bounds by Matt Taberner on the wing with 16 seconds remaining in the contest.
But a controversial down field free kick was paid against Docker Andrew Brayshaw after Sam Docherty kicked the ball out on the full, resulting in Newnes’ opportunity to win the match.
The former Saint delivered, hitting the ball perfectly from 45m out on the boundary as the Blues celebrated what was the only goal of a thrilling final term.
Carlton coach David Teague said he was unaware of the free kick against Brayshaw.
“I was looking ahead of the ball, saw it go out of bounds on the full and was yelling, ‘number off, number off’ and didn’t realise we had the free kick,” Teague said.
“He (Newnes) is a really straight kick, which is good in the wet, you don’t want to be kicking around corners.
“But having said that, there’s nothing you can do. I just sat there and enjoyed it. That kick changes four points for our football club.”
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir says Carlton players “probably pulled one over the umpires’ eyes” when they got the ball into Newnes’ hands.
But the coach said he does not feel hard done after the loss and he would have expected his players to do the same thing if they were in that situation.
While Carlton forward Michael Gibbons appeared to be the closest player to the ball, Newnes hustled to take the free kick and slotted the matchwinner from outside the boundary line 45m out.
“I think they did a pretty good job of getting the right player the ball. But I would have been asking our players to do exactly the same thing in the same situation,” Longmuir said.
“Every team would have tried to do the same thing, and they probably pulled one over the umpire’s eyes. But that’s alright, that’s footy. We’ll take it, cop it on the chin, move on and get better.”
Midfielder Ed Curnow was superb for the winners with 33 possessions and nine clearances, with the Blues’ onball brigade running deep to put the team in a position to strike.
The win ended a two-game losing streak for the Blues, who now sit just one game and percentage outside the top-eight with six games to go.
They meet Gold Coast Suns on Friday, ahead of games against Collingwood, Greater Western Sydney, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane to round out the season.
“We’re a really close group and we said going into it we really believe we can go a fair way this season,” Carlton captain Patrick Cripps said.
“We’ve got our sights set firmly on making a run for it in the back end of the year.”
MIDS STOP RUN-ON
The biggest issue in back-to-back losses for Carlton has been their inability to stop a run of opposition goals.
On Saturday it looked like the Dockers would continue the trend when they moved 19 points clear with their third straight goal in the opening term.
But midfielders Ed Curnow, Marc Murphy and Sam Walsh stepped up to support captain Patrick Cripps and halt the Dockers’ momentum.
All four had five contested possessions for the quarter as the Blues won the overall count 40-32 for the term. They also combined for nine clearances as the Blues won that indicator 11-10.
It was the key to the momentum shift and the Blues would have been thrilled to see Cripps playing a support role while Curnow and Murphy in particular took the lead.
CRISIS AVERTED
A loss for Carlton would have devastating, with the Blues the better team for three quarters.
Missed opportunities in the third quarter, and then late in the fourth, however, threatened to see their season end in devastating fashion.
Newnes, Michael Gibbons, McKay, Walsh and then Levi Casboult early in the fourth, saw the team seemingly kick itself out of the match, despite being the better team.
But the Dockers’ inability to get the ball forward with any purpose meant the game remained alive until the death.
It’s a win that moves the Blues to 50-6, just one game outside the top eight and within striking distance if they can get some momentum.
DEFENSIVE DOCKERS
No team has entered half time with more than two goals during the Dockers’ three-week winning run, with Justin Longmuir’s defensive system getting the job done.
But for all their field position and possession dominance, they are not scoring enough to put teams away early.
Fremantle won the inside 50 count 15-4 in the first quarter on Saturday and kept the Blues goalless until halfway through the second quarter, playing the game in their forward half.
But when Levi Casboult and second-gamer Matthew Cottrell kicked back-to-back goals the margin was only six points and an arm-wrestle ensued.
The undermanned Freo backline deserves all the praise it is getting, but the next step for Longmuir’s team is to convert their possession dominance to scoreboard ascendancy.
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WIN WILL BUILD BLUES’ BELIEF
Carlton will attack the rest of the season expecting to win every game after keeping its faint finals hopes alive with a thrilling after-the-siren win against Fremantle on Saturday night.
The Blues climbed to within striking distance of the top eight with their fifth win of the season, moving past the Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast to sit in 11th spot, one game behind eighth-placed Melbourne.
Blues coach David Teague underlined the significance of the win as the Blues end their stay in the Perth hub.
“I’m really proud of this footy club and the way it’s tracking and the people we’ve got involved. Today was a really good one for our people,” Teague said.
“If we win every game we will play finals. We go out there every week, there’s no game we go out there thinking we can’t win.”
Teague praised his midfield, with Ed Curnow racking up 33 possessions and nine clearances in a standout performance while Sam Walsh (25, seven clearances and a goal) produced arguably his best game for the season.
Matthew Kennedy finished the game with a cork but Teague said the midfielder should be available to face Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium on Friday night.
SCOREBOARD
FREMANTLE 3.2 4.3 5.4 5.6 (36)
CARLTON 0.1 2.3 4.8 5.10 (40)
GOALS
Fremantle: Taberner 3, Lobb, Frederick
Carlton: Newnes, Casboult, Cottrell, Walsh, McKay
BEST
Fremantle: Ryan, Fyfe, Taberner, Cerra, Mundy, Brayshaw
Carlton: Curnow, Cripps, Walsh, Murphy, Setterfield, Cottrell
INJURIES
Fremantle: Nil
Carlton: Nil
Venue: Optus Stadium
NATHAN SCHMOOK’S VOTES
3 – Ed Curnow (Carlton)
2 – Sam Walsh (Carlton)
1 – Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
Originally published as AFL 2020: Jack Newnes seals Carlton win with miracle goal after the siren following contentious down-field free kick
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