Award Fremantle 4 points for St Kilda game Apr 30, 2006

Today we saw a debacle of the highest order at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania in an AFL game between the Fremantle Football Club and the St Kilda Football Club.

At the completion of the game, the siren was blown with Fremantle leading by 1 point. Due to the siren being very low in volume, the umpire controlling the game claimed he didn't hear it, depsite the Fremantle players raising their arms in triumph upon hearing it, the St Kilda players dropping their heads in defeat, and another field umpire appearing to run in to rectify the error.

Play continued and in the ensuing confusion a St Kilda player scored a point before the game was officially brought to a close, with a draw being the result. Clearly the Fremantle Football Club were robbed of the win and were the true winners of the game.

We demand that the point scored by St Kilda be removed from the records and that the Fremantle Football Club be awarded the game and the 4 premiership points. In the ineterst of fairness and for the sake of preserving the integrity of the game and the AFL competition, this move is essential and must be irrevocable.

The following questions must also be answered for the public and supporters of AFL in Australia:

(i) How long was the final siren sounded for?
(ii) Did the Timekeeper sound the siren a second time?
(iii) When did the field umpire signal the completion of playing time?
(iv) If the field umpire did not hear the 2nd sounding why was the game stopped?

The integrity of this great game must be preserved and the correct club must be rewarded for its win in Tasmania.