AFL greats slam double free kick drama; Neale’s season over; Hill makes a statement

Premiership captain Tony Shaw has called for the umpire at the centre of Friday night’s Cam Rayner free-kick debacle to be sidelined for the remainder of the finals series for a decision the AFL has conceded should not have been paid.

Another AFL great, Matthew Lloyd, said Rayner had “sucked the umpire in” during the controversial moment at the MCG, in which the Brisbane forward kicked two goals from two free kicks just before half-time.

Umpire Brent Wallace awarded Rayner the first penalty in the Brisbane goal square after he was nudged in the back by opponent Mark O’Connor and hit the deck, a moment that sent the Geelong crowd apoplectic.

It happened while Cats forward Tyson Stengle was lining up for a shot at goal at the opposite end of the ground with a little more than two minutes left in the half.

The league conceded on Saturday that the level of force O’Connor used to elbow Rayner in the back was below the threshold needed to award a penalty.

“The field umpire who gave the first free kick against O’Connor should not umpire in this series again,” Collingwood great Shaw said.

After Rayner slotted home the kick, Wallace then awarded Rayner a second free kick and certain goal when the Lions forward was shoved to the ground by Geelong’s Zach Guthrie. The AFL on Saturday backed the decision to award that free kick against Guthrie.

“The Guthrie free kick was technically probably there but also soft,” Shaw posted on X. “More dives in this game than Greg Louganis.”

Lloyd said the first free kick paid against O’Connor “was not there at all”.

“O’Connor just gave him a little push in the back, he goes down, and sucked the umpire in,” Lloyd said during the 3AW commentary.

While former West Coast premiership coach Adam Simpson said Rayner “flopped” to win the free kick, match review officer Michael Christian chose not to fine the star Lion for staging when he reviewed Friday night’s match.

“It’s not normally in finals when … you never want to show any weakness, I suppose, so when you flop like that, it’s odd,” Simpson said on SEN.

“It wasn’t a great couple of minutes for the umpires, but also I was a bit surprised that Rayner flopped like he did.”

Geelong Brownlow medallist Jimmy Bartel said the field umpire should have put the whistle away after the initial O’Connor shove on Rayner.

“Two goals from decisions where the umpire should have just gone, ‘get up’. Let them know, ‘I’m watching, but get up, cut the rot’,” Bartel said.

“I get the second one being paid to Rayner for Guthrie coming in and being silly. That was just dumb.

“[But] Rayner was always going to suck Guthrie in with that one. As soon as he felt contact, he was going to go down again. But it was a poor moment from the umpires.”

Minutes before the double free kick, Wallace had words with O’Connor about his close-checking on Rayner, which had continually frustrated the star Lion.

Earlier in the second term, Brisbane forward Kai Lohmann was paid a free kick and goaled in similar fashion. He was shoved from the front by defender Tom Stewart and fell backwards.

Geelong midfielder Tom Atkins did not see the Rayner incident, but said the Cats had to regroup after a “pretty costly two minutes”.

“We had to re-centre ourselves and get focused on the next contest,” Atkins told 3AW on Saturday.

“I think we’re able to do that after half-time. I feel like the way Mark O’Connor especially handled himself after the free kick was really symbolic of how we as a team want to be.

“He had every right to go back at Rayner after Rayner was getting in his face. So, yeah, that’s sort of the way we want to be. We want to be cold and aggressive.”

Atkins was fined $1875 by Christian for making careless contact with an umpire.
- Danny Russell

Double blow for Lions

Brisbane’s fading finals hopes were dealt a bitter blow on Saturday, with key forward Eric Hipwood and dual Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale both ruled out for the season.

The injury-ravaged Lions said Hipwood would have surgery in the coming week after being diagnosed with a partial tear of his anterior cruciate ligament.

The issue was discovered while Hipwood was seeking treatment for a separate calf injury that ruled him out of Friday night’s loss to Geelong.

“Having Eric miss the finals series through injury is really devastating for him and his family and for us as a club,” Lions football manager Danny Daly said.

Neale hobbled off the MCG late in Friday night’s qualifying final against Geelong and looked despondent as he sat on the interchange bench.

“Looks like he’s done [his] calf. So, that’s not a good thing,” coach Chris Fagan said after the game.

“He’s a pretty tough sort of guy, he can usually play through those, but he couldn’t [tonight], so I’m not expecting great news there.

“I don’t know the severity because you need to get a scan to find that out … I’d suspect it’s something significant.”

Late on Saturday afternoon, the Lions released a statement on Neale, saying: “Scans on Saturday afternoon confirmed a tear in Neale’s right calf, which will see the midfielder sidelined for at least four to six weeks.“
- Danny Russell

Bobby Hill makes a serious statement on comeback trail

Collingwood star Bobby Hill has ensured he remains in the frame for a preliminary final call-up after booting four goals in a practice match against Geelong on Saturday.

Hill was dominant up forward and lively when sent into the midfield in a match which consisted of three, 30-minute periods at GMHBA Stadium.

It was his first game against any opposition since round 21 against Brisbane because of personal reasons.

The 2023 Norm Smith medallist missed the Magpies’ main training session last Tuesday, and was not considered for what proved to be a winning qualifying final over the Crows in Adelaide.

However, he returned to the club on Wednesday and was picked to play in the scratch match for players who did not play in either team’s qualifying final.

McRae said after the win over the Crows that Hill remained in contention for the preliminary final, but there was no pressure on the dynamic forward.

“We’ll wait and see. There’s no expectation on that,” McRae said.

“I have said this week after week, one step he takes is a big one, and another one, another one, another one - we will just weigh that up. We have still got hope for Bobby.”

Hill wasn’t the only Magpie to impress. Daniel McStay was busy up forward and in the ruck, booting a goal. He was dropped for the Crows’ clash, replaced by Mason Cox, who provided the tall marking target coach Craig McRae wanted.

Roan Steele, the substitute on Thursday night injected into the contest in the fourth quarter, also took part in the scratch match. The mid-season draftee impressed on a wing.

Veteran Tom Mitchell also found plenty of the ball, but faces a major fight to be recalled for the preliminary final.

Star defender Jeremy Howe, 35, also missed the qualifying final because of a groin injury, and will need to prove his fitness if he is to return in a fortnight.

“He’ll be a chance ... I’m not going to declare that, but it will be watch this space,” McRae said.
- Jon Pierik

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