Former North Melbourne defender David King has put together a conspiracy theory surrounding the free kick paid against Dane Rampe in the dying moments in Friday night’s loss to Collingwood.
Chris Mayne was lining up for goal to ice the game for the Pies, but he missed to the right. On replay, it was clear that Rampe, who was on the mark, ran well over the set spot, leading to a 50 metre penalty and a certain goal.
However, King believes Rampe did it deliberately, gambling that the umpire wouldn’t pay it.
“So play it out with me here, I don’t think it’s a bad investment,” King told SEN’s Crunch Time.
“I think he’s done it deliberately and I think it happens a lot. To gamble that the umpire’s not going to call it.
“I don’t reckon it’s a bad investment. The Brisbane Lions used to clap on the mark and make out like they touched the ball. There’s always little things.
“I would be interested to know, and he can’t concede that this week, he’s got to admit he got it wrong and move on, let’s have a look retrospectively.”
Fellow veteran defender Bob Murphy has one asterisk on King’s theory.
“My only counter to that was the deep trench that he put in on the mark with his boot,” Murphy said.
King believes that was an integral part of the trick.
“That’s all part of the sell, Bob. You’ve got to look like you know where you’re going. It was a massive trench, the curator had to get involved after the goal was kicked,” King said.
Watch the moment below.
Dane Rampe's late game 50m penalty proves costly. pic.twitter.com/zI94TzNA4B
— AFL.com.au (@AFLcomau) May 24, 2019