Hawthorn have been slammed after a series of controversial free kicks during their loss to Gold Coast in Darwin, with star forwards Nick Watson and Jack Ginnivan in particular in the firing line.
Long known for their knack of drawing high contact frees near goal, the pair were up to their usual tricks to frustrate Suns players as well as AFL fans.
In one incident late in the final quarter, Ginnivan, who famously initiated a rule change from the league to deny players high frees if they lowered their body to initiate the contact, appeared to do just that to be caught high by Nick Holman, duly kicking a goal to reduce the Suns’ lead to two points.
In the final minute, Watson, who with three goals was among the Hawks’ best, appeared to also lead into a tackle head-first in an attempt to win a free kick, though this one wasn’t paid.
Speaking on SEN, former greats David King and Kane Cornes weren’t impressed with the Hawks’ tactic, with the club having won nearly double the high contact free kicks inside 50 this season than any other team.
“I think it’s an issue for them,” Cornes said.
“I said this during the call – I think Nick Watson’s first contest that he went to, before he had even gathered the ball, he was looking to lower his centre of gravity and win a free kick.
“His first thought is not ‘I’m going to gather this ball and distribute it or try and have a shot myself’, it’s ‘how can I win a free kick?’
“The Ginnivan free kick that he won and kicked a goal from is not a free kick … he’s lowered his centre of gravity, and the umpire has been sucked into that.
“In a critical stage late, once again, Nick Watson is trying to win a free kick. That is their first thought.”
King gave the Hawks credit for their ability to draw frees being ‘an asset that they’re maximising – challenging the tackler to get it right’, but added that it ‘just annoys the opposition fans’ and ‘challenges umpires to get it correct’.
He believes incidents where players attempt to draw high contact free kicks and fail should be themselves penalised for holding the ball.
“The thing that annoys me is when they don’t draw the high, it has to be a free kick the other way,” he said.
“That’s your prior opportunity – they’ve tried to draw the free kick, they’ve failed, they’ve been tackled. Pay the free kick! Too often they don’t.”
“As soon as you duck into the tackle, it has to be your prior,” Cornes agreed.
“I’d go as far as to say it should be a free kick against for ducking into the tackle, because of how dangerous it is.
“It’s starting to affect some of their [Hawks’] contests – then it becomes a problem.”
Ginnivan and Watson weren’t the only Hawks to spark controversy on Thursday night, with star midfielder Jai Newcombe at the centre of a heated clash with Holman.
After Newcombe was taken high inside 50 by Touk Miller, Holman complained loudly to the umpire and the Hawk that he was ‘flopping’, prompting Newcombe to cheekily respond by opening and closing his hand in a ‘yapping’ gesture.
After kicking the goal, a heated melee erupted which took several minutes to disperse.
