ANSWER MAN

Recently, I was thrilled to watch Port Adelaide’s Dan Houston take a mark 50 metres out late in the match against Essendon, which was two points in front. The final siren sounded and he calmly booted the winning goal. Three years earlier, another Port player Robbie Gray scored a difficult winning score under similar circumstances against Carlton. Roughly, how many team scores registered after the final siren have influenced the result of a match?

ROGER WILLIAMSON, SEMAPHORE, SA

CH: There are now 71 known cases. Before 1950, when sirens permanently replaced old-fashioned bells to signify the end of play, two matches have ended in highly controversial circumstances when play continued because the officiating umpire failed to hear the final bell above the roar of the crowd. The rule at the time stated that a match would end when the umpire first heard the bell. In round 17, 1928 at the Junction Oval, Melbourne led the St Kilda by five points when the bell began tolling. In the next few seconds, the ball entered the Saints’ forward line and Bert Smedley received a handball and booted the winning goal. In round 14, 1933 at the Lake Oval, scores were level late in the Collingwood-South Melbourne contest. The timekeepers began ringing the bell but play continued until Swans forward Terry Brain marked and scored the winning goal. Both the 2002 and 2017 seasons produced five separate cases of set scoring shots taken after the final siren influencing a match outcome. The three matches in 2009 occurred in consecutive rounds (17, 18 and 19).

CAN YOU ASSIST?

u Matthew Primus was a very good ruckman-forward during a 157-game career for both Fitzroy and Port Adelaide between 1996 and 2005. He was also non-playing coach of the Power for nearly three seasons. His maternal grandfather was Geelong legend Reg Hickey, who played 245 games from 1926-40 and coached the Cats from 1949-59. If you know of other examples of relatively recent AFL players who have ancestors with a different surname who also played in the equivalent competition, please contact col.hutchinson@afl.com.au.

ROUND 19, 2022

Heart In Mouth Notable Cases Of Sides Winning After The Siren

u Richmond and Fremantle played out the first draw of the season with the Tigers blowing a couple of late chances to win the game. The highlight of the round was Jamie Elliott’s match-winner after the siren to give Collingwood a famous four-point victory over Essendon, its ninth win in a row. The Western Bulldogs, with young key forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan booting a career-high five goals, fought back from a 27-point deficit to down Melbourne by 10 points. After trailing Geelong by 34 points at half-time, a Charlie Dixon-inspired Port Adelaide slammed on eight goals in the third quarter and took a seven-point lead into the final term. But the Cats, led by Tom Atkins, steadied to record their ninth consecutive win. The Brisbane Lions were too good for Gold Coast in the QClash, while Adam Saad (Carlton) and Toby Greene (GWS) took Mark of the Year contenders in the Blues’ 36-point win over the Giants at Marvel Stadium. Jack Gunston paid tribute to his late father, former AFL executive Ray, by kicking five goals in Hawthorn’s easy win over North Melbourne at Blundstone Arena.