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Hawthorn will ask the AFL to explain why Nick Watson’s goal was denied at half-time, with Hawks coach Sam Mitchell fuming over the call.
Mitchell said the decision to call play on because Watson went slightly wider, and made his shot more difficult, didn’t display common sense.
“We will certainly be going to the AFL to ask about it,” Mitchell said.
“It makes sense to me that that is the rule on the other side of the ground for the right footers, but there is no reason that a player would go wider to give themselves an advantage and that is what the rule is there for.
“The vision doesn’t look like he went off the line by much, and that is the umpires’ call but the fact that you can go off the line towards the boundary and it is called play on makes no common sense to me.
“I would hope we get an answer from the AFL, and I’m sure they will [provide one]. When something doesn’t make sense, they fix it pretty quickly.”
The Saints will wait and see what scans show when it comes to Sam Flanders and his Achilles injury, but Ross Lyon sounds convinced he will be out for some time.
“It’s an Achilles injury, it looks serious, but I can’t speak for the doctor, or the MRI that is yet to occur,” Lyon said.
“The club will update at the right time.”
Flanders’ teammates were shown carrying him down the race post-game.
Saints coach Ross Lyon knows what went wrong for his side in tonight’s first half, and he believes his side showed some fight in the second half.
“There was lots of elements,” Lyon said.
“The ability to get to them and pressure them. We were -40 [in] contested ball, or something and their front-half game was pretty good and they scored. It was disappointing.
“The pressure dives into the ability to set the field up properly and run good patterns to keep them accountable. The fumbles feed into the pressure.
Debate continues about the Nick Watson set-shot goal after the half-time siren that was scrubbed off due to the Hawks star supposedly deviating wide of his line.
Watson told Kayo Sports he didn’t get an explanation from the umpire at the time, so just focused on getting a goal in the third term.
But Kayo Sports commentators Jason Dunstall and David King both fumed over the decision post-game.
“We need to hear something as we are all baffled. We are all baffled,” Dunstall said on Kayo Sports.
Hawks forward Nick Watson admits he enjoyed the human drama as a benched Jack Gunston helplessly watched Blake “Dimma” Hardwick as he kicked four goals in the last term.
Gunston had five before being sat down for the last stanza to prevent injury.
“I’m good mates with ‘Dimma’ – he’s a pistol when he comes up forward,” Watson told Kayo Sports.
“I loved it tonight. I kept looking at ‘Gunners’ every time ‘Dimma’ kicked a goal, and he was filthy. I think he felt a bit out of pocket.
“‘Dimma’ is elite. He can play wherever.”
As this match is the annual Blue Ribbon Cup game, which pays tribute to Victoria Police members who are killed in the line of duty, there was a best-on-ground player named for each team.
Jack Sinclair (St Kilda) and James Sicily (Hawthorn) were voted the Miller-Silk Memorial Medal winners by senior people at each club.
The medals are named after Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller, who were killed in the line of duty in Moorabbin on August 16, 1998.
Hawks star Will Day played his first game in 300 days after foot and shoulder injuries kept him out since last season.
Day spoke to Kayo Sports post game.
On his return:
“I was pretty gassed, to be honest. You can’t prepare for what it is like out here on game day. I’m just grateful to be back and, no matter how the game went.”
On his injuries:
“It was pretty tough. I had a pretty good run coming back from the foot, and then to do the shoulder in a tackle I’ve done 1000 times before was heartbreaking, but I learned a lot about myself and coming back, I’ve got a new mindset which is to have a lot of fun.”
“I learnt some perspective. In the past, I’ve probably let injuries dictate how the rest of my life was going. So taking a step back and looking at everything, then getting to work – now I want to capitalise on that work.”
The Hawks dominated the first half against a poor St Kilda before resting players and cruising to a win at Marvel Stadium tonight.
Jack Gunston kicked five classy goals and was rested for the whole last term, while the Hawks had winners on every line as they kicked eight goals to none in the first half as the Saints went goalless in a half for the first time since 1987.
Blake Hardwick kicked four goals in the last term after being moved forward to deputise for Gunston. Hardwick kicked his fourth after the siren.
Things got worse for the Saints when they lost Sam Flanders to an Achilles injury. No one was around him when he went down, and it looked like a serious one. Hopefully we’re wrong.
