AFL: Christian Petracca’s winning goal for Melbourne Demons kicks off a technology debate

Christian Petracca’s match-winning goal against St Kilda on Saturday has fired his side back into the top eight, and started a technology debate.

Christian Petracca kicks a goal during the round-14 AFL match between his Melbourne Demons and the St Kilda Saints at Traeger Park. Picture: Kelly Barnes/Getty Images

Christian Petracca’s incredible match-winning goal against St Kilda on Saturday has sparked debate over the AFL’s goal-line technology, with his Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin calling on the league to get it better.

His team Melbourne 8.4 (52) beat St Kilda 7.7 (49) at Traeger Park in Alice Springs.

Goodwin said goal-line cameras should be installed at every venue that hosted AFL games after his side was the beneficiary of a controversial call that ultimately won them their clash against St Kilda.

Demons star Petracca’s four goals fired Melbourne back into the top eight, but his fourth and last — a contender for goal of the year — has sparked debate over goal-line technology.

He was initially stiff not to have been paid the mark, using his brutal strength to snare the ball with Callum Wilkie hanging off him and two other Saints in the vicinity.

Petracca slammed the ball on to his boot while being tackled and, after the Sherrin took a lucky turn and dribbled towards the goal, St Kilda’s Dougal Howard, after a desperate lunge, was adamant he touched it before it crossed the line.

SUNDAY UPDATE: The AFL will install goal-line cameras at all venues for the remainder of the season after Melbourne’s Christian Petracca was controversially awarded a goal in Saturday night’s three-point win over St Kilda. Read more in the Sunday Herald Sun here

With a “soft call” of a goal, the incident was sent to the ARC to confirm the decision but, at Traeger Park. there was no goal-line camera.

The ARC operator in charge on the night said: “We can see the ball’s clearly touched, but there is insufficient evidence to confirm if this touch is before crossing the back of the goal line. Reverting to the umpire’s call.”

There are varying levels of goal-line technology available at AFL grounds, with the Alice Springs oval’s tech not in the league of somewhere like the MCG.

“If you are going to have goal-line cameras you probably need them at every game,” Channel Seven commentator Matthew Richardson said.

Goodwin said it was “nice to get one your way” but the game had to remove doubt from such vital moments.

“I think I spoke about it a while ago around the importance of getting it right,” Goodwin said.

“If we can’t get the technology to a point where you can’t make accurate calls you are better off not having it.

“When you are trying to pick up touched ones from a fair way out or on the goal line you need the technology at every venue.”

St Kilda coach Brett Ratten did not want to pin his side’s three-point loss on that moment.

“It is the AFL’s call if they want to put the money and the resources into it or whether they want to back in the umpire,” Ratten said.

“We’ve got bigger things to worry about from our end about trying to kick straight and trying to defend players and stoppage set-ups.

“It might happen once a year or twice a year to your team. It’s up to the AFL to make that call.”

Petracca’s goal — which came with still more than six minutes left on the clock — will leave St Kilda fans nervous over their now more precarious season.

It has been nearly a decade since the Saints have played finals, and Melbourne on Saturday night ensured things would get just a little bit more uncomfortable for St Kilda fans in the run home as they await the end of the post-season drought.

In a game extremely close to must-win for Melbourne, the Demons were led outstandingly by Steven May in defence and X-factor Petracca with four goals as they survived a late Saints onslaught to run out as three-point winners and jump back into the top eight.

The Saints are in there with them, but have lost three out of their last four and just a game ahead of their rivals.

St Kilda would have hated watching Petracca turn into a star of the competition this season, and the Demons gun further twisted the knife in the early stages of the match.

Petracca led the Saints draft board for much of 2014, yet when push came to shove St Kilda ended up going with the concussion-cursed Paddy McCartin with its No 1 pick.

It is going to be a decision the Saints regret, and Petracca contributed to this early on in Alice Springs.

Sunday Herald Sun