When first-gamer Jesse White ran onto the field with a minute and a half on the clock thinking he was replacing Lewis Roberts-Thomson (who’d already been replaced), the Swans were temporarily one man up.
For the best part of 40 seconds White roamed deep in the Swans’ back line, while the player he was meant to replace, Darren Jolly made the interception and handball that set up Brett Kirk’s match-tying point.
Sure, Darren Jolly left the field as soon as the Swans’ interchange staff were aware of the mistake, but it was very much a case of ‘what could have been?’ when the final siren sounded and the teams were locked on 64 points a piece.
White didn’t go close to even touching the ball; Jolly’s influence on the result couldn’t be ignored.
In the days to come, the media went into overdrive with most pundits split on whether the four points should have been awarded to North Melbourne.
“I’m not convinced it would not have affected the result of the game either way and we are happy to leave it in the hands of the AFL,” Chief Executive Officer Eugene Arocca said on the Monday following.
Then coach Dean Laidley was quick to brush the issue.
“He (Jolly) was quick off the ground and had no influence. It happened so quick… from our football club’s perspective, we don’t have any blue with it… I’m sure it was a mistake and had no bearing on the game.”
Kirk’s kick with 66 seconds remaining had already been a hot topic of discussion with speculation the ball had crossed the goal line before being touched by Kangaroos’ defender Michael Firrito. But that moment was quickly overshadowed by the more pressing issue; was Sydney’s mistake serious enough to bring about a penalty.
The AFL made its ruling two days after the controversy: ‘The 19th player was first-gamer Jesse White and he “did not go near where the play was taking place and involve himself in the content for the ball”.
It was also noted that ‘North Melbourne “had the ability but chose not to call for a count pursuant to the Laws of the Game”.
Sydney escaped with a $50,000 fine for its error, $25,000 of which was suspended, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy North chairman James Brayshaw who said a fine was irrelevant.
“I am still waiting for answers. The AFL has to come out and explain to the North Melbourne Football Club why we don’t get the four points out of that game after they had 19 blokes on the field.”
A written submission by the club on Tuesday didn’t bring about the answers the Kangaroos were expecting.
“We didn’t write what we wrote because we though the Swans would get a fine; we wrote what we wrote because we thought the evidence was overwhelming there were 19 plays on the field for 35 second sin the dying stages of a drawn game.
“That fine, really, is between Sydney and the AFL. We want to know the answers to our questions.”
Laidley later lashed out at criticism of his club for failing to call for a head count.
“Can you imagine what this week would have been like for our club if I had called for a head count?, he asked The Age when quizzed on the incident.
“It’s been bad enough as it is. Had I asked Simmo (Adam Simpson) to call for a count I would have been run out of town.”
He recalled explaining to Brayshaw after the game that he “didn’t want to be remembered as the Trevor Chappell of football”.
While both sides would have to settle for two points, the seriousness of the interchange issue didn’t go away. Not long after its decision to fine the Swans, the AFL stamped its authority to ensure further breaches of interchange rules would not be tolerated.
In the years to come, interchange rules have become so stringent that a single foot on the wrong side of the line can result in a free kick and 50m penalty - a punishment that many say can be too harsh, dependent on where the ball lies.
It’s fair to say though, that just about any move is more fitting than the farcical aftermath of that infamous clash just under four years ago.
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| Premature celebrations |
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| Lindsay Thomas and Leigh Harding |
