Nick Watson free kick furore: Is Hawthorn’s ‘wizard’ treated unfairly by the umpires?

Nick Watson appeared to be clearly taken high in a round 1 incident that the umpires called ‘play on’. We examine the issue and whether the Hawthorn forward is judged differently by umpires.

Hawthorn dynamo Nick Watson deserves a fairer whistle if he keeps driving through the ball, according to former Hawthorn coach and AFL umpiring director Peter Schwab.

Watson was again in the headlines on Friday night after being denied a headhigh free kick in the goalsquare in the second quarter of a win over Essendon.

The goalsneak collected the ball running into goal and appeared to stay at his normal height, without ducking, and was collected around the neck by Bomber Archie Roberts.

Archie Roberts appears to get Nick Watson high in this play, but the umpire called a ball up. Picture: Michael Klein

The umpire did not give a free kick, calling instead for a ball up.

Former umpire Shane McInerney put that call down to “umpire error”.

Watson missed out on some calls in the opening two games of the season amid questions whether he was playing for free kicks too often.

McInerney said umpires “don’t have time to think about who a personality is” when they blow a whistle, but some players like Watson can work harder for a whistle.

Schwab, who coached the Hawks from 2000-04 and then served as league umpire boss last decade, said Watson’s 170cm height meant he would naturally draw more high frees, he deserved a fair run.

“As long as Nick attacks the footy and he is going hard at the ball, he should get free kicks,” Schwab said.

“All I would be saying to Nick, which is probably what Sam (Mitchell) would be saying, is to keep attacking the footy. Then you have evidence to say ‘here are 5-6 incidents where we believe Nick is attacking the ball and not dropping his knees and ducking into it’.

“Keep running through the ball and attacking the footy and if you feel he is doing everything right and being taken high and not rewarded, then you have a backlog of evidence that he is playing this way and isn’t getting the free kicks he should be getting.”

This tackled was paid a high free kick, Watson’s only high free so far this year. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos

Watson drew 17 high tackle free kicks in his first season in 2024, equal with teammate Dylan Moore and Roos ruck Tristan Xerri for the third most in the AFL.

James Peatling led the league with 22.

Watson also landed 19 of his 27 free kicks for the season inside 50, but only converted four of those into goals.

The Hawks forward has received three free kicks in two games this season, one was for a high tackle, which came in the fourth quarter of the Bombers game when Mason Redman caught Watson high in the centre square.

McInerney stood in 502 AFL games and while he said umpires don’t get drawn into who players are when making a call, they are aware if some players push the boundaries.

“High contacts might have to be 60-40 rather than a 50-50,” McInerney said.

“Some players just have a style about them that challenge the rules and they are looking for where that edge is. In the case of the weekend, it might just be as simple as it was a free kick error and that is where I am leaning to.

“There are some players that just seem to find themselves in the middle of this stuff. It is more of a coincidence than anything else but understandably it becomes a pretty strong talking point.

“The umpires are aware of players not so much staging for free kicks but making the decision making process tougher.”

Collingwood great Nathan Buckley labelled the Roberts tackle as “just too high” and “one that’s missed” on Fox Footy, while Bulldogs champion Brad Johnson agreed: “he stayed up tall and didn’t duck, that’s a free kick”.

Last season the Hawks went to the AFL asking for clarification after forward Jack Ginnivan missed out on a series of high tackle calls.

Watson could see the lighter side of things after the 26-point win, telling Fox Footy “the Gods were paying me back for that high free kick” when he was on the end of a deliberate rushed call against Bomber Andy McGrath.

Watson got this free for a deliberate rushed against Andy McGrath. Picture: Michael Klein

McGrath was closed down by Watson later in the second term and handballed the ball through the goals, resulting in a free kick and certain goal for Watson.

Bombers coach Brad Scott bemoaned after the match that teams are told the ball could be rushed if a defender feels he is under pressure.

McInerney thought the deliberate call was “a bit harsh” and it would serve as a warning for defenders this season.

“In this instance you are probably going to see defensive players have looked at that,” he said.

“The fact they have seen an umpire willing to pay it, it might create a situation where a player doesn’t want to take a risk.”

Originally published as Nick Watson free kick furore: Is Hawthorn’s ‘wizard’ treated unfairly by the umpires?