AFL Siren Controversy - Fixture and Venue

Fixture and Venue

The match was played between St Kilda and Fremantle at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania. Both teams went into the match with two wins and two losses and many media commentators had commented on the importance of the match to both teams.

The two teams had developed an intense rivalry in recent seasons, with a number of controversial games between the two teams ending in very close margins. The previous match between the clubs, at Subiaco Oval, had been highly controversial with Fremantle coming from behind to win by five points after Justin Longmuir took a mark with seconds left in the match and then kicked a goal after the siren. Numerous contentious free kicks in the match had angered Saints fans and the anger was intensified by the subsequent "Whispers in the Sky" controversy. The match before that, held at Aurora Stadium, was won by St Kilda by one behind, scored by Aaron Hamill in the final minute following a contentious holding the ball decision.

Aurora Stadium was not a regular venue for AFL matches, having previously hosted only 16 regular season AFL matches. Although officially a home game for St Kilda, the venue is over 400 kilometres from the club's home city of Melbourne and St Kilda had previously played only six matches there for three wins and three losses. Fremantle had played there five times previously, losing each time, including a 22-point defeat to Hawthorn just four weeks earlier.

The crowd numbered 15,282 (the maximum capacity and record attendance for the venue being around 20,000).

In previous matches the low sound level of York Park's siren had been the topic of some discussion in the media, with some commentators calling for it to be replaced.