AFL Siren Controversy - Similar Incidents

Similar Incidents

• Round 1, 1900 saw the only precedent of a VFL/AFL match result being overturned on a similar appeal. St Kilda and Melbourne were level (10.8.68 to 9.14.68) at the end of play, but St Kilda successfully claimed that Melbourne scored one of their behinds after the three-quarter time bell, and the score was amended such that St Kilda won by one point. This was St Kilda's first ever VFL win after 48 losses from 1897–1899; it would not be until its seventy-seventh match (Round 12, 1901 versus Carlton) that St Kilda would celebrate a win on the day.
• The 1980 Night Grand Final between North Melbourne and Collingwood at Waverley Park, ended in similar circumstances: the siren sounded, but the umpires were unable to hear it. In the ensuing play, North Melbourne's Kerry Good marked and goaled after the siren to win the game for North Melbourne by three points. Collingwood did not appeal, and the result stands as official.
• A 1982 VFA match between Frankston and Geelong West ended in similar circumstances. The controlling umpire failed to hear the siren, allowing Geelong West's Simon Taylor to kick the winning goal after time expired, while the non-controlling umpire heard the siren and signalled the end of play; the two umpires conferred and awarded the goal. Frankston appealed the result, but the appeal was rejected. As in the St Kilda vs Fremantle match, the league did find that the timekeeper should have sounded the siren for longer.
• A 2006 NTFL match a mere two weeks after Sirengate between Latrobe and Penguin ended in controversy, with a Penguin player kicking a goal directly on the final siren. The umpires conferred and rejected the goal, with Latrobe winning by five points. Penguin protested but it was dismissed due to lack of evidence. The key difference was that the AFL incident was caused by a major timekeeping error, while this incident was caused by a dispute over the umpires' assessment of whether the ball was kicked immediately before or after the siren.
• On 26 August 2007, the Southern Tasmanian Junior FL Under 14 grand final ended in uproar. The siren at North Hobart sounded with Sorell three points ahead of Lauderdale, but the umpires failed to hear it and the timekeepers failed to keep the siren going. At this moment a Lauderdale player was having a shot on the siren but missed it all and was marked by another Lauderdale player ten metres out on a difficult angle. While the Sorell coach and staff ran onto the ground celebrating, the umpire paid the mark and Sorell protested to the umpire. Meanwhile Lauderdale scored a goal and won the game and were presented with the premiership. Sorell protested, and the STJFL declared the match a draw, awarding the premiership to both teams.