Craig McRae has admitted he did not know why Magpie Lachie Sullivan was penalised late in Friday night’s draw in a controversial free kick that had Collingwood’s supporter base up in arms.
With 6:18 left on the clock in the final quarter after umpire Matthew Nicholls called for a ball-up, Sullivan – playing just his fourth AFL game – handed the footy to teammate Nick Daicos instead of Nicholls as he got to his feet.
Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy was benefitted a shot at goal from 20 metres out as a result and made no mistake, with that decision directly influencing the Dockers overcoming a 25-point deficit early in the final term.
"He didn't hand the ball back to me, he handed it to a team mate. He's not allowed to do that."#AFLFreoPies pic.twitter.com/vGywugz8qk
— 7AFL (@7AFL) May 24, 2024
The rules of the game do state that a player must hand the ball directly back to the umpire, with a free kick to be paid if a player hands the ball to another player, as Sullivan did.
But Collingwood coach McRae, speaking to reporters post-game, said he was unaware of the rule.
“I'm looking forward to what the AFL tell us about that, because I wasn't aware that's a free kick,” McRae stated.
“But maybe clearly it is, because they don't pay things that aren't there. So yeah, looking forward to seeing what they say.
“At that moment, I was confused because I was told that he (Daicos) touched the umpire … but again, I was unaware of what actually happened until afterwards.
“It'll be what it will be. It doesn’t help us, does it?”
"That is where common sense absolutely needs to come into it. That changed the game."#ArmchairExperts pic.twitter.com/A0eTRe6mdN
— 7AFL (@7AFL) May 24, 2024
The Magpies finished the game with two injuries and were flat on their feet late, giving Justin Longmuir’s men a chance to mount an improbable comeback.
Fremantle kicked the last four goals of the game and had a chance to win the contest in the final minute, but wingman Jeremy Sharp instead kicked a point to level up the score at 75 apiece.
"I did think, I was like, 'Cam (McCarthy) would kick this.'"
— 7AFL (@7AFL) May 24, 2024
- Alex Pearce on his late goal ❤️#AFLFreoPies pic.twitter.com/xBacxFz2oF
Nevertheless, McRae was as proud as could be with the effort, having crossed the nullarbor with one of his youngest sides this year.
“There's a lot to take in, but right now I've just got this enormous pride in our effort,” McRae explained.
“Collingwood supporters would be extremely proud of the effort from our players, and we've got some young players playing their first game and six under 10 games. They just didn't look out of sorts.”
Ruckman Mason Cox was concussed and was also taken from the field with a knee injury, while Brody Mihocek didn’t play out the game.
The forward returned on Friday night from a hamstring injury but took no part in the late stages due to what the club described as hamstring awareness.
It was the Magpies’ second draw of the year after Anzac Day, and the third total in 2024.
The two points moves Fremantle into the eight, although that position is vulnerable to results across the weekend.
“We could have found it too hard, but the players found something, which I'm really proud about,” Dockers coach Longmuir told reporters.
“We could have snatched it at the end, but the way the game was getting played in that second half we probably stole two points.”