‘This is a disgrace’: Channel 7 star’s heart broken on live TV

AFL legend Luke Darcy embodied the sentiments of every Western Bulldogs fan as he cut a despondent figure on live TV.

Luke Darcy was every Western Bulldogs fan on Saturday night.

The AFL legend had his heart broken twice in two days as his beloved team saw a top four spot slip through its grasp when a season that promised so much hit a late speed bump that may derail its premiership hopes.

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The Dogs’ nailbiting two-point loss to Port Adelaide on Friday — their third defeat in a row — combined with the Lions’ thrilling win over West Coast saw Brisbane leapfrog the Victorian club into fourth spot as Luke Beveridge’s men, who had spent 20 weeks inside the top four, dropped down to fifth.

Lions star Lincoln McCarthy’s snapped behind with seconds remaining to put Brisbane ahead on the ladder on percentage wasn’t without controversy, as some fans questioned whether a score review was necessary to determine if the Sherrin actually sailed through for a point, or if it clipped the post/went out on the full.

“Score review?” AFL writer Sam Landsberger asked on Twitter. “Poster … out on full and no score. If you were ever going to go upstairs to the ARC surely it was for the kick that shapes the entire finals series.”

The Lions were all smiles on Saturday night.

Darcy, who played more than 200 games for the Bulldogs in a decorated career, was the butt of jokes in the Channel 7 commentary box as he digested his side’s horror couple of days that mean they will miss out on a second bite at the cherry in the finals.

“That was the first time I’ve seen that replay, tell me there was a score review on Lincoln McCarthy?” Darcy said in a lighthearted wrap-up that saw his colleagues unable to contain their laughter.

Smiling himself, Darcy then referenced Tony Liberatore’s famous shot on goal in the 1997 preliminary final against Adelaide, which was controversially ruled a behind before the Crows mounted a stunning comeback to progress to the grand final and win the premiership.

“I’m having flashbacks to 1997 when Libba kicked a goal and we should have won the grand final that year!” Darcy said as he threw sheets of paper off the desk in mock fury.

“This is a disgrace.”

Seven host Hamish McLachlan made fun of Darcy’s “agony two nights in a row” as the Bulldogs great turned to Matthew Richardson and said: “Tell me there’s a score review for that.

“Why are you laughing so much?”

Tigers legend Richardson replied: “It’s great when it’s not you.”

Darce is filthy there was no score review in the Bulldogs game 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/ZZCjcvBuy5

— 7AFL (@7AFL) August 21, 2021

Bulldogs coach Beveridge admitted his team was “absolutely flat” following the loss to the Power but stressed they still had plenty to play for during the finals.

“We worked hard to get ourselves in a strong position up until just over a month ago,” Beveridge said post-match on Friday.

“We’ve coped with adversity, we’ve coped with personnel changes, we’ve been able to stay positive, and we will, we absolutely will.

“We’re anticipating we’re going to finish fifth, and I spoke to the boys about how we’re all in their corner.

“All we can do is believe that we can stay the course and continue on and win as many games as we can from here on in, and do our best to stay positive and that unified approach to next week is absolutely crucial to how we front up.”

Originally published as ‘This is a disgrace’: Channel 7 star’s heart broken on live TV