Frustrated Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade will contact the AFL’s umpiring department this week after the Suns were hurt by questionable decisions in their 13-point loss to North Melbourne.
Despite losing Matt Rosa to a concussion in the second quarter, Eade’s men were well in the game in the final term at Etihad Stadium.
They trailed by a goal when Brandon Matera was penalised for a throw – despite appearing to execute a quick handball – by an umpire who didn’t have a clear line of sight
With the game evenly balanced Ben Brown kicked a crucial goal from the free kick and umpires boss Hayden Kennedy can expect a ‘please explain’ from Eade.
“I’ll phone Hayden again about those decisions and I know what he’ll say – he’ll apologise,” Eade said.
“That one of Matera, I can’t see how the umpire can pay that when the ball went as far as it did and it (supposedly) didn’t hit his fist. That was a crucial time … they got a goal from that.
“I’ve got no doubt the umpire guessed and he guessed wrong.”
Gold Coast co-captain Tom Lynch kicked three goals, but Eade felt the forward was unfairly handled by North defender Scott Thompson at times.
Nathan Hrovat kicked a goal in the first quarter after Suns defender Jack Leslie was penalised.
Hrovat clattered into the point post after what appeared to be a textbook bump by Leslie.
“I’ve got no idea,” Eade replied when asked why the free kick was paid.
“Was it the fact that he ran into the post? He probably paid (the free) against the post … was it a Suns point post?
“If you have a look at it, it was in the side.
“Then Tom was in the World Wrestling Federation there for a while and didn’t get a few (paid) but those things happen.”
The Suns slipped to a 2-4 record with the result, despite a stunning performance from former skipper Gary Ablett.
The two-time Brownlow medallist put in a 45-disposal and 18-clearance performance, with 27 of those touches contested.
Ablett’s class stood out in the scrappy encounter but Eade felt his side still had enough contributors to win the game had they been able to better execute the basics at crucial times.
“We just shot ourselves in the foot,” he said.
“I was really proud of their effort, proud of their courage, I thought some players were unbelievable in what they had to do against big odds.”
Leonard
Guest
"Referees" - WTF? Next, we will be told about the "regular" season, the "play[-]offs" and "alternate strips"^! What's that? Oh, we already are. ^ looks, sounds and reads like some sort of activity in the porn industry! (Besides, if they were truly 'alternate'*, they'd change every second game, wouldn't they?) * too many of today's journos seem ignorant of, or uncaring about, the very valuable, useful and valid distinction between 'alternate' and 'alternative' - s'pose it's beyond the wit of the academics in today's university J-schools. (And if that reads as 'grumpy', it is! I've just read an article wishing Denis Cometti was back, and his boofhead replacement (whose childish antics ruined Foxtel's 'League Teams') was punted out of the ground and out of hearing range.)
Stephen
Guest
I guess if you take a one eyed look at a game you will see all the breaks that went against you, but none that went your way or that you benefitted from. To drag up one or two incidents is poor form because if you watched the game from the opposition's perspective you would find similar hard luck stories.
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
Referee. This not soccer. Umpires
bagc
Guest
Playing the man and not the ball, Julian. The Suns are not looking to the umpires to help us win games as much as looking to the umpires to not help the opposition to win games. Just an even go would be good.
Julian Noel
Guest
Oh, dear. we are scraping the bottom of the barrel when we look to the umpires to help us win games... Hey Rodney, look to yourself before you look to others for a solution. Methinks you might be past the coaching use by date... you did buggar all at the Doggies, and even less at the Pies.