Seven, Fox Footy say Anzac Day phone-gate wasn’t their fault; Chris Scott takes a double-barrelled crack at the AFL

Brad Scott was left frustrated during the third term on Anzac Day, when communications from the coach’s box to the interchange bench were cut.Credit: AFL Photos

Fox Footy and Seven are both adamant they’re not to blame for the Anzac Day electrical failure that cut telecommunications from the coaches’ boxes to the interchange benches.

Three sources familiar with the issue, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, have told this masthead a power board was short-circuited because of the rain, but mystery surrounds who out of the broadcasters, the AFL and the MCC was actually at fault.

The outage left coaches from Essendon and Collingwood unable to send messages from the box to the bench during the third quarter.

The screen displaying the countdown clock was also affected, according to a source that was in the interchange area, and an electrician was needed to fix the issue.

Collingwood coach Craig McRae.Credit: AFL Photos

One source with knowledge of the matter said the power board belonged to a broadcaster, but both Seven and Fox say they were not to blame.

Seven say all powerboards installed by the network were placed safely under cover, away from rain, and that a member of their technical team assisted in rectifying the issue.

Fox say they followed safety protocols in installing their equipment. The AFL and the MCC were both contacted for comment.

Essendon coach Brad Scott spoke after the Anzac Day blockbuster of his frustration at the situation. Though he did not blame the communications outage for the Bombers’ defeat, his team lost control of the match during the third term.

“It was pretty frustrating,” Scott said. “That’s as helpless as I’ve felt in a quarter of footy, when we can’t communicate with the bench. Every time I went to go down to the bench they said it was back on, and then came back off. We couldn’t work out what was going on.”

Collingwood coach Craig McRae, who coached from the bench, said the drama did not affect his team, which has more senior players to problem-solve on the run.

“When you have a team that’s performing, you’ve got to get out of the way sometimes – the great Leigh Matthews taught me that way back,” McRae said.

“It’s a big snowball, he used to call it, going down the hill. It gets bigger with more momentum, get out of the way of it.

“I’ve certainly been trusting these guys. They know what to do in the moment, so quite often when that happens, just relax, we’re OK – let the players be.

“We give them the keys, and they drive the car really well at the moment.”

Thanks so much for joining us throughout today and tonight.

We will be back with another live blog on Sunday afternoon, so please join us then.

Have a lovely evening and bye for now.

Jedd Busslinger celebrates his first win as an AFL player.Credit: AFL Photos

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has praised his players for their dominant win over the Giants tonight.

The win came with an inexperienced defence and without some influential players such, as Adam Treloar and Sam Darcy, due to injury.

“I’m over the moon,” Beveridge beamed post game.

“We were a bit rattled early. We went in knowing they would have a reasonably strong intercept presence as their key backs are crafty and position well.

“So we knew, being a tall short down there, that we were going to need to use the ball well, and with Naughton and Khamis down there, sometimes only one.

“They got a lot of uncontested marks, so we knew we had to take a calculated risk and have more presence forward of the ball, and that’s why Rory Lobb went forward.

“It was going to mean, with our inexperience, that we would be a bit vulnerable down back, but in the middle parts of the game we managed to get territory from centre bounce and our efficiency on forward half turnovers – to give six goals from 15 forward-half turnovers is a good strike rate for us.

“The centre bounce and stoppage side of it was really pleasing.

“Everyone who supports them are very proud of the boys. It was a terrific outcome.”

Aaron Cadman of the Giants tumbles over a pack.Credit: Getty Images

Giants coach Adam Kingsley hasn’t spared his players, lashing their failures to win the stoppages or defend against the Dogs in their loss in Canberra tonight.

“We didn’t tackle, we didn’t win the ball, ourselves, and they scored far too easily – our stoppages tonight were disappointing,” Kingsley said.

“They are a great stoppage team with great stoppage players, and we failed to cope with that at all and that showed in the third quarter, but it was an issue the whole game.

“We didn’t stick our tackles, [and] didn’t defend as we would expect.”

Kingsley said he was proud of how his side played the game out and found some goals in the last term.

“But I would have like to do something about that third quarter when it happened, not wait until three-quarter-time,” Kingsley said.

Laitham Vandermeer of the Bulldogs tackles Jack Buckley of the Giants.Credit: Getty Images

GWS defender Jack Buckley admits his side has to lift its physicality after the Bulldogs dominated them at the clearances and around the ground tonight.

Buckley said the Giants had their colours lowered the past two games, and they would cop it again next week if they don’t lift against NSW rivals, the Swans.

“To play AFL football you have to win contests, and we didn’t do that. We got what we deserved in the end,” Buckley told Fox Footy.

“The Swans are as good of a contest team as anyone, and they’ve been that way for a long time, so if we don’t bring it next week, it will be the same. It’s on us.”

Marcus Bontempelli of the Bulldogs runs with the ball.Credit: Getty Images

Western Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli loves the versatility his side is building, but he won’t get carried away by their win over the Giants tonight.

The superstar midfielder (who was subbed out as a precaution in the second half) was among his side’s best as they proved a class above the Giants, despite being without injured star forward Sam Darcy and veteran defender Liam Jones, who was left out in favour of first-gamer Jedd Busslinger.

Regardless, the young Dogs powered over the Giants, who were good early but were goaless from half-time until midway through the last term.

“The versatility we are building into our team, with guys like Joel Freijah, Sando [Ryley Sanders] and guys like Rhylee West who have been around for a while but have really spent those years honing their craft – it’s made us a handful to play against,” Bontempelli told Fox Footy.

“We are trying as much as we can to get that even contribution, as we know how important that is across the season.”

Bontempelli said he wasn’t happy with the team’s slow start, but he loves the growth he is seeing from younger and lesser-known players.

“I’m thinking we are building our integrity in a game, and we want to be a really tough team to play against, no matter who your opponent is,” Bontempelli told Fox Footy.

“They are a really good team and I think we are starting to see the team that we want to be, and the team that we can be but as you know the challenge is to back it up.”

Bulldogs star Tim English celebrates a goal.Credit: AFL Photos

The Western Bulldogs have steamrolled GWS by 32 points to notch their first back-to-back wins of the AFL season.

Luke Beveridge’s side flexed their muscles with five unanswered goals in the third quarter to set up a 17.11 (113) to 12.9 (81) victory at Canberra’s Manuka Oval on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs (4-3) move into seventh place on the ladder ahead of Sunday’s matches, having defeated the Giants in eight of their nine meetings since 2020.

James Harmes impressed in his recall with a game-high four-goal haul, while captain Marcus Bontempelli had his usual influence before being managed out in the final term.

Joel Freijah also starred with 27 disposals, nine clearances and 19 contested possessions after recovering from a hit to the head in the third quarter.

The 19-year-old, with his head over a ground ball, was collected by a side-on Tom Green. A free kick was paid against Green.

Meanwhile, the Giants (4-3) drop from fourth to sixth after suffering back-to-back defeats.

Jake Riccardi led the Giants with three goals, as Bulldogs defender James O’Donnell helped nullify star forward Jesse Hogan (two), who was returning from a calf injury.

GWS defender Lachie Ash finished with a game-high 31 disposals, while Lachie Whitfield shook off an ankle complaint to finish with 30.

Whitfield had limped off the ground in agony late in the first term after taking an innocuous kick outside of the contest, and played on with heavy strapping.

Riccardi kicked two first-quarter goals as the Giants had the better of the play early, boasting a six-point lead at the first break.

The second term was a see-sawing affair, with the Bulldogs soaring to lead by 13 points, before Hogan and Toby Bedford levelled the scores at 7.5 (47).

Giants skipper Toby Greene (two goals) could only give his side a one-point lead when his soccer kick hit the post.

And the lead was short-lived, with Tim English slotting a major after the siren thanks to a rucking infringement by Giants counterpart Kieren Briggs.

The Bulldogs emphatically shut out their opponents from the contest to kick 5.3 to 0.1 in the third quarter, and reached a game-high 52-point lead on their way to victory.

Bulldogs debutant Jedd Busslinger, replacing an omitted Liam Jones, provided an early highlight in the opening term when he denied Darcy Jones’ left-foot snap at goal with a mark on the line.

He subsequently gave up possession to Finn Callaghan, but the highly rated Giants midfielder matched his gaffe in the next play.

AAP

Jesse Hogan of the Giants.Credit: Getty Images

The Giants have found some life in the final minutes, with Tom Green kicking a goal from open play and Jesse Hogan winning a free kick and snapping his second.

It makes the margin look a little more flattering. On a more important note, Fox Footy noted that the Dogs had passed the Giants on percentage earlier on, but the Giants will likely finish ahead of them now.

It’s early in the season, but you never know which sides you might need a percentage advantage over at the end of the home-and-away season.

Dogs 107, Giants 74 with three mins to play.

Aaron Naughton of the Bulldogs attempts a mark.Credit: Getty Images

Aaron Naughton is playing game 150, and he’s kicked a goal so the Bulldogs players swarmed in to celebrate with him after he just booted his first major of the night.

They are loving these final few minutes as they hold a big lead and can run out the game with a smile.

Dogs 107, Giants 55 with seven mins to go.

Rhylee West has been superb tonight, kicking three goals from four kicks (five disposals in total).

Fox Footy’s Nathan Buckley has praised West for his pressure, hard running, and his work for his teammates.

Dogs 101, Giants 55 with 10 mins to go.