Fixture latest: Free-kick controversy overshadows Bulldogs first win of the year

A lopsided free-kick count totally overshadowed the Bulldogs first win of the season after victory over the Swans, so what did the coaches have to say about it?

Sydney coach John Longmire has refused to buy into speculation that heavily lopsided free-kick count against the Swans contributed to his side’s 11 point loss to the Western Bulldogs on Thursday night.

The free kick count was 8-1 in the third quarter at Marvel Stadium and finished at 31-14 for the game.

Longmire was noncommittal when asked if the discrepancy — that saw the Dogs receive more than double the amount of free kicks — was warranted or if he would seek clarification from the umpiring department about the way rules were enforced.

“What can I say?” he said.

But the fall of the umpires’ whistles did prompt former Collingwood star and Brownlow medallist Dane Swan to tweet during the game: “An unbiased opinion (mine) would say that dogs getting the rub of the green with the umps.”

Even injured Swans ruckman Sam Naismith got in on the act, cheekily tweeting: “If I tweet about the umpires is it 50m?”

There was also a sense of deja vu after Sydney fans felt like they were hard done by umpiring decisions during their loss to the Bulldogs in the 2016 AFL Grand Final.

But, in reality, it was the Bulldogs poor accuracy in front of goal on Thursday night — 9.17 (71) to 9.6 (60) — and not the free-kick count that gave Sydney a last-quarter sniff at a come-from-behind victory.

BEST ON GROUND FOR THE DOGS TONIGHT #freekickbulldogs#AFLDogsSwanspic.twitter.com/VrqNUqDAvT

— Karl☘ 🇺🇦 (47-29) #IstandWithUrkaine (@LeedsAmpol) March 31, 2022

While the league will be asked on Friday about the umpiring differential, Match Review Officer Michael Christian will closely scrutinise ruckman Tim English’s front on bump that flattened Swans defender Nick Blakey.

Blakey was left dazed on the ground after the two appeared to clash heads, but he was able to return to the ground and finished out the game strongly and wasn’t showing any ill-effects after the game.

“I think he’s OK,” Swans coach John Longmire said of Blakey. “I just spoke to him on the way through the rooms and he seemed OK.”

Compounding the result for the Swans was No.1 ruckman Tom Hickey suffering a suspected medial ligament injury to his knee in the third quarter and having to be subbed out.

Hickey was battling manfully against best-on-ground English throughout the game, but his absence in the final quarter seemed to tilt the contest in the Bulldogs’ favour as eight-gamer Joel Amartey was left to carry the can at the stoppages.

“He’s just a young player that needs a bit of flying hours,” Longmire said. “He’s just got to realise … he got caught out a few times which is going to happen with some of those younger players.”

The Swans were especially flat in the first half as they were held scoreless in the second quarter and were dominated in the midfield by the Bulldogs who, at one stage, kicked 10 scores in a row (1.9), but wayward goalkicking let Longmire’s men off the hook.

Longmire couldn’t explain the poor start, and wasn’t sure if an emotional let-down from the euphoria of Lance Franklin’s 1000th goal last week played its part, or if back-to-back six-day breaks were the cause.

Nick Blakey and Dane Rampe of the Swans look dejected after a loss

“It looked like we were off the pace, we weren’t up at that hungry edge that we needed to be that we had been for the first two weeks,” he said.

“We’ve got five six-day breaks in the first nine games so we’ve got to get used to them.”

Meanwhile, Longmire poured cold water on suggestions that Franklin was a chance of being rested against the Bulldogs and stressed there were no plans to rest the 35-year-old in the short-term future.

“He was never going to be rested tonight,” Longmire said.

“This year he’s had a much better pre-season … we’d like to play him in blocks of games and we usually work through whatever that looks like at the time.

“If he needs to have a spell, he’ll have a spell, we want him to get through the season.”

After trailing by 26 points early in the third quarter, the Swans got back within five with a minute remaining in the game, but if they were able to steal the win, Longmire wouldn’t have been under any illusions about the performance of his team which got outplayed for most of the night.

“I’m not going to sit here and say that if we had pinched it, it would’ve ben deserved,” he said.

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTY, FLOATING FIXTURE HERE TO STAY

The AFL could play as many as 20 Thursday night matches next season as it looks to capitalise on prime-time TV ratings.

The league could also look to grab a larger slice of the viewing audience this year by using its floating fixture beyond Round 9 to feature big clubs Carlton and Collingwood in blockbuster slots.

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Next year’s fixture is likely to be moulded by league chiefs to schedule Thursday night football in almost every round except those that already feature a midweek clash such as the Queens Birthday Monday or Anzac Day.

But the league must first broker a deal with the players’ union — as part of the collective bargaining agreement — before it is allowed to schedule each team for a maximum of two five-day breaks. Teams have one five-day break this year.

The Blockbuster Blues are back. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

The AFLPA is believed to be open to a range of possibilities, including extra home-and-away games and even a return to State-of-Origin, so would expect to tick off two five-day breaks per team for the right price.

Clubs are also open to two five-day breaks a season — one each side of the bye — because it often gives them an eight or nine-day break afterwards to get quality training into players.

Thursday night football is a ratings behemoth for the AFL but also allows it to play more weekend games in individual timeslots rather than games overlapping.

A more flexible fixture allows the league to flex high-scoring winning teams into Thursday and Friday night footy, with clubs such as Carlton and Collingwood in prime position if they can continue their early season form.

Carlton has only two Thursday night games in the first nine rounds, while the Pies have Easter Thursday and two Friday night games.

Fixture boss Travis Auld has opened up on the AFL’s plans for scheduling. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

The league has made clear it will reward teams playing attractive winning football in premier slots including Thursday and Friday given it maximises ratings and attendances.

“We like to have at least six rounds locked in at any point in time for clubs but also venues and travel partners, but in three or four weeks we will lock in at least a couple more rounds,” Auld said.

Five Thursday night matches were scheduled to start this season’s fixture, as well as a small cluster of Thursday night games to be played around the mid-season byes.

But the league is not placing a long-time priority on double headers on Friday nights — despite two clashes on Friday nights this year.

The Melbourne-Essendon and Adelaide Showdown matches overlap this Friday night, while the Port Adelaide-Bulldogs match clashes with the Fremantle-North Melbourne game on Friday night in round 8.

Josh Daicos and the Pies look set for more prime time games. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

AFL fixture boss Travis Auld said the league understood concerns over Friday night double-headers but wanted clean air for AFLW finals and was keen to minimise Mother’s Day games in the Round 8 fixture.

“The genesis was creating clean air for the AFLW Grand Final and circumstances beyond our control pushed it back to next weekend but it was the right opportunity to keep clean air for the AFLW preliminary finals and it’s not a bad chance to trial two Friday night games,” he told the Herald Sun.

“We accept different opinions but Friday night is about prioritising getting fans back to the footy.”

The AFL has locked in nine rounds of football and had Covid fears eased it might have been able to schedule most of the rest of fixture in timeslots to hand fans certainty.

Instead the league will continue to release the fixture in blocks of three or four weeks given there is such uncertainty about stadium capacities and Covid numbers across Australia.

Originally published as Fixture latest: Free-kick controversy overshadows Bulldogs first win of the year