A frustrated Damien Hardwick has denied blaming a controversial decision not to award a 50m penalty after sounding the siren for Richmond’s six-point loss to Sydney at the SCG.
The Tigers were trailing by one goal when the siren sounded and Dion Prestia was given a free kick 65 meters away from the goal, splitting the second after playing the flute.
Swann midfielder Chad Warner collected the bouncing ball as soon as the siren sounded and booted it into the crowd, which could have given Prestia a 50-meter penalty as he still had to take his free kick.
The umpires decided Warner did not listen to the whistle and Prestier’s last-gasp kick fell far short of the goal that could equal the score which ended at 16.10 (106) to 15.10 (100).
“There are people on the field who make these decisions,” said Tigers coach Hardwick.
“We were probably just like everyone else, we weren’t quite sure how it would unfold.
“It simply came to our notice then. It’s easy to watch the last game, but we should have iced the game. “
Another look at that insane finish – should Prestia have been given a 50m penalty?
Match report: https://t.co/WCGK7gPDe1 pic.twitter.com/OnmhVyjXvY
– Fox Footy (FOXFOOTY) May 27, 2022
The Tigers kicked seven unanswered goals on either side of quarter-time to take a 33-point lead in the second half, before the Swans got their way back after half-time.
“For 75 percent of that I thought we were pretty good, we had a 25 percent gap, especially in the third quarter,” Hardwick said.
“There are some things we think we could have done a little better but everyone will always look at the last drama and key-offs. But the thing is that when you are above 30 points, you probably shouldn’t lose.
“(Calum) Mills probably made some money for them and we probably didn’t use the ball in the situation we wanted.
“Last quarter, we fixed it and we had a chance, we kicked 3.6 in their sixes and have the game.”
Sydney coach John Longmayer was also full of praise for co-captain Callum Mills, who played as a loose defender for most of the second half, when the Tigers scored 22 of 50 entries and 11 goals at half-time.
Mills finished with 20 disposals as his restraint around the competition and clean kicking as he rebounded from the backline helped turn the match into Swann’s favor.
“Milsi has done well in character. They were scoring a little easier with seven consecutive kicks. We had to pull a lever and make some changes, “said Longmeyer.
“The Millsy character did really well. That means we have to make changes in midfield but we have been able to do that. “