Images published by The West Australian appear to show Zac Bailey’s hand making contact with Caleb Serong’s face moments before the Brisbane star kicked a crucial late goal in Saturday’s AFL grand final win over Fremantle. No free kick was paid, and the AFL has not made any public statement on the incident.
What the images show
The West Australian reported that a photograph taken by AFL Photos’ Daniel Pockett shows Bailey’s left hand making contact with the right side of Serong’s face, with the Fremantle midfielder’s head cocking back as a result of the fend-off.
According to the paper, Serong immediately thrust his arms out and shrugged his shoulders “in a motion that appeared to indicate he thought he should have earned a free for a high fend-off”, even before Bailey’s kick went through.
The West also reported that vision filmed from the MCG’s south-eastern pocket and posted to Instagram by former Lions player Mitch Robinson shows a front-on view of the contact. Yahoo News Australia reported that the Channel 7 broadcast did not capture the incident fully.
A goal in the middle of a famous comeback
The goal came during Brisbane’s stunning late surge. Pat Voss had put the Dockers 17 points up with just over four minutes remaining, sparking the club’s ‘Wharfie Time’ celebration at the MCG.
Charlie Cameron replied for the Lions, before Bailey won a contested ball with Serong close by and snapped a goal that cut the margin to five points with about three-and-a-half minutes left, The West reported. Logan Morris then kicked two goals as the Lions won 14.12 (96) to 12.17 (89) to complete a third straight premiership.
Bailey: ‘It was a bit of a fluke’
Speaking to AAP after the game, Bailey did not refer to a fend but described the goal as fortunate.
“It was a bit of a fluke,” Bailey told AAP. “I bumped Caleb Serong and the ball sort of just sat in my lap.
“He’s a pretty tough guy and hits hard so I was surprised it sat there and I just threw it on the boot and it went through. Sometimes you need a bit luck.”
Umpiring debate
Both The West and Yahoo News Australia reported that the X account ‘Has The Umpire Made A Bad Decision’, which they described as being run by an accredited AFL umpire, said a free kick should have been paid.
“Definitely a FK there (though incredibly hard for an umpire to spot that live),” the account posted, as quoted by The West.
Yahoo News Australia also noted that others have pointed to Fremantle’s own missed chances, including Josh Treacy’s miss from point-blank range in the final quarter.
What the coaches have said
Neither coach has publicly addressed the Bailey incident in any comments TSB has seen, and there has been no public comment from Serong or Fremantle on it.
After the game, Lions coach Chris Fagan said Brisbane had been lucky on the day. “They would’ve been deserved winners. We were fortuitous,” Fagan said, as reported by The West. “I don’t think we did in the previous two we won, but we definitely had a little bit of luck today, and we were good enough to take it.”
Dockers coach Justin Longmuir, who told reporters his side “didn’t handle well” the last four minutes, spoke generally about the moments that went against Fremantle. “You lose a Grand Final like that, there’s going to be a million different situations in that game where you go ‘oh that could have gone our way, the ball could have bounced our way and it bounced theirs’,” he said, as reported by Fox Sports.
Serong was named among Fremantle’s best by AFL.com.au, and The West reported his 13 clearances were the most by any player in a grand final since Collingwood’s Josh Fraser in 2003.
Our grand final preview had tipped Brisbane’s big-game experience to be a factor, and it was the reigning premiers who found a way in the final minutes.
