AFL siren controversy

2006 Australian sporting controversy

The AFL siren controversy, informally known as Sirengate, was the controversial conclusion and result of an Australian rules football match played on 30 April 2006 during round 5 of the Australian Football League's 2006 season. The match was played between the St Kilda and Fremantle Football Clubs at Aurora Stadium (then the sponsor name of York Park) in Launceston, Tasmania. When the final siren sounded, Fremantle was leading by one point; however, the umpires did not hear the siren, and play continued for around 10 seconds, during which time St Kilda scored a point to tie the match. Four days later, the AFL Commission determined that the match should have been ended when the first siren sounded and St Kilda was stripped of its last behind, resulting in the victory and the full four premiership points being awarded to Fremantle. It was only the second time in VFL/AFL history that the score and result of a game was changed on protest, with the first occurring 106 years earlier.

The match was played between St Kilda and Fremantle at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania. Both teams went into the match with two wins and two losses, and many media commentators had commented on the importance of the match to both teams. The two teams had developed an intense rivalry in recent seasons, with a number of controversial games between the two teams ending in very close margins. The previous match between the clubs, at Subiaco Oval, had been highly controversial, with Fremantle coming from behind to win by five points after Justin Longmuir took a mark with seconds left in the match and then kicking a goal after the siren. Numerous contentious free kicks in the match had angered Saints fans, and the anger was intensified by the subsequent "Whispers in the Sky" controversy. The match before that, held at Aurora Stadium, was won by St Kilda by one behind, scored by Aaron Hamill in the final minute following a contentious holding the ball decision. Aurora Stadium was not a regular venue for AFL matches; it had been used as an alternative home ground by St Kilda and since 2001, and it had previously hosted only 16 regular season AFL matches. The crowd numbered 15,282, with the maximum capacity and record attendance for the venue being around 20,000.

Fremantle were leading by 27 points midway through the third quarter when St Kilda full forward Fraser Gehrig conceded five consecutive free kicks during a scuffle with a number of Fremantle defenders. Three of the free kicks were converted to consecutive 50 metre penalties, with the result that Fremantle full back Michael Johnson was allowed to walk the length of the ground to kick a goal from the goal square that gave Fremantle a 33 point lead. St Kilda coach Grant Thomas responded by benching the angry Gehrig. Shortly afterwards, he benched tall forward Nick Riewoldt, replacing the forward line with smaller targets in Stephen Milne and Brett Voss. St Kilda then kicked seven of the next nine goals to come back into the game. With 37 seconds of playing time remaining in the game, St Kilda's Leigh Montagna scored the seventh of those goals to bring the Saints within one point of Fremantle; the score was Fremantle 14.10 (94) leading St Kilda 13.15 (93).

From the centre bounce which followed Montagna's goal, St Kilda moved the ball into its forward line, where a pack formed about 45 metres from goal, and a ball up was called by the umpire with eight seconds remaining. From that ball up, Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda) knocked the ball across the field, and another pack formed as the official timekeeper's clock reached 0:00 and the timekeeper sounded the siren. The umpire controlling play, Mathew Nicholls, signalled another ball up to restart play; he was oblivious to the noise of the siren, which was barely audible over the raucous crowd. A number of Fremantle players, particularly Scott Thornton, appeared to have either heard the siren or reacted to other players hearing the siren, and the Fremantle players began to celebrate what they thought was a one point victory. Nicholls, however, did not hear the siren and refused to listen to the claims of Fremantle players, particularly Byron Schammer, that the siren had sounded. He also did not confer with the other two umpires, and restarted play. The Fremantle players, who had converged around the ball up celebrating and remonstrating with Nicholls, were unprepared when the ball spilled out of the contest and was cleared to St Kilda's Steven Baker. Baker, in the clear, kicked from about 35 metres out to attempt to win the game, just before being bumped by a desperate Daniel Gilmore (Fremantle). While this kick was in motion the timekeeper sounded the siren again and, this time, it was heard by one of the other field umpires, Hayden Kennedy. The laws of Australian football allow for a kick to score if it is in the air when the umpire hears the siren; and Baker's shot for goal missed and scored a behind, worth one point, thus tying the scores at 94 apiece. The goal umpire signalled this behind. At this point, confusion reigned. The three field umpires and goal umpire conferred to discuss the result. Unaware that the siren had sounded previously, Nicholls ruled that Baker's shot had been within game time, and also that Gilmore's late bump was illegal. If no score had been registered, this would have resulted in a downfield free kick; however, as there had been a behind scored, Baker was given the option of letting the behind stand (ensuring a draw would result) or cancelling the point and having a set shot for goal from the same place (a chance at victory, with a small risk of defeat if he failed to score with his kick). The latter option would be a kick after the siren with the chance to win the game. A number of Fremantle players, particularly Des Headland, overheard Nicholls stating that the point would not stand and again began to celebrate in the belief that they had been awarded the match, not realising that Baker had received a free kick. At this time, Fremantle coach Chris Connolly and CEO Cameron Schwab had stormed onto the ground. St Kilda captain Lenny Hayes yelled at Connolly to leave the ground, and former teammate Heath Black, now playing for Fremantle, stepped in to separate the two. Baker elected to cancel his previous behind, and the goal umpires crossed their flags to officially negate the behind, returning the score to 94–93. Baker then took a set shot at goal from 35 metres out, but his kick was wide to the right, again scoring a behind and thus retying the game. At this point, the two goal umpires from either end met at the centre of the ground to compare their score sheets, as is standard practice after the conclusion of AFL matches. After conferring for about a minute, they signalled that the scores on the scoreboard were correct and that the match was a draw, Fremantle 14.10 (94) drew St Kilda 13.16 (94).

Immediately after the match, Fremantle lodged an official protest, claiming to have won the game by a point. The AFL agreed to conduct a full investigation and did not rule out overturning the result and awarding the match to Fremantle. However, the AFL still released the official round results that listed the result of the match as a draw.

As a result of the official results being issued on Sunday afternoon, most betting agencies paid out on a draw. Some smaller agencies also announced (before the AFL awarded the victory to Fremantle) that they would voluntarily pay out for the Fremantle win as a goodwill gesture. The largest sports bookmaker in Australia, TAB Sportsbet, however, did not alter from the original decision, even after the AFL revised the official result, because their conditions of betting stated that they pay based on the league's official AFL match results sheet as received by fax shortly after each game.

As the goal umpires were signalling that the scores were correct, Nine Network reporter Michael Roberts interviewed Chris Connolly on the ground. Connolly was adamant that the siren had gone and said that the emergency umpire had thought Hayden Kennedy had heard the siren, so the game had finished before the final ball up. He said, "The right thing has got to be done I'm sure the AFL will make the right decision." A few minutes later in the changerooms, Roberts conducted an interview with the St Kilda coach, Grant Thomas, who acknowledged that the Saints had played poorly and were happy to escape with a draw. In his post match conference, Connolly stubbornly described the match as "a great win by the boys" and stated that "the Fremantle Football Club will leave no stone unturned for our 35,000 supporters to get these four points." Over the next few days, the incident received widespread coverage in the Australian sports media, with the Australian Football League website describing the match as "one of the most controversial matches of the modern era". The West Australian and Nine Network's The Footy Show dubbed the incident Sirengate, the gate suffix being a reference to the Watergate scandal. Media analysis of the incident hinged on the interpretation of the relevant rules. Rule 10.4.2 implies that the match does not automatically end when the siren sounds but rather continues until the umpire hears the siren and signals the end of the game. This would lead to the conclusion that the result must stand as a draw. However, Rule 10.4.1 requires the timekeeper to sound the siren continuously until an umpire acknowledges the siren and calls an end to play. This rule was not correctly observed by the timekeeper. This leads to an argument that the match was not brought to an end according to the rules of the game and that the outcome of the game was determined not within the playing arena but rather by external governance matters that are the responsibility of the AFL: the quality of match facilities and the performance of timekeeping duties. This line of argument leads to the view that natural justice required the game to be awarded to Fremantle.

The AFL football operations department commenced an investigation of the conclusion of this match, to be conducted by AFL Investigations Officers Allan Roberts and Bill Kneebone. After interviewing the umpires, timekeepers, AFL match manager and a spectator, as well as reviewing the television replay, they concluded that "It would appear that the timekeeper(s) have not complied with (Law 10.4.1 End of Quarter)." During a four hour hearing on Wednesday, 3 May, the AFL Commission heard submissions from representatives of both teams and the AFL investigating officer. The result of the hearing was that Fremantle was awarded victory and four competition points, with the official final score reading St Kilda: 13.15 (93) vs. Fremantle: 14.10 (94). On 4 May, St Kilda ruled out a legal challenge to the outcome, ending any further uncertainty. The commission stressed that this decision was in response to a unique set of circumstances external to the game rather than overruling an on field umpiring decision; hence, no precedent was set for the overturning of results decided by controversial umpiring decisions, errors by goal umpires, etc. The key factor was that the timekeeper had not fulfilled his duties by failing to sound the siren continuously until the umpires acknowledged the end of the game. This prevented the umpires from being able to end the game at the correct time. An upgrade of the York Park siren was implemented by the grounds manager, former Western Bulldogs player Robert Groenewegen, in May 2006, in anticipation of the Round 12 game at the venue.

A secondary point for discussion was Chris Connolly's angry march onto the ground. According to the rules of the game, the coach is not allowed onto the playing arena during the game. Because Connolly had walked onto the ground before the umpires had officially ended the game (after Steven Baker's secondary kick), he had contravened the rule, which would usually result in a fine and a "please explain" from the AFL but no other penalty. Commentators had pointed out that a fine was not mandatory but applied to a case on its merits and that, in the prevailing confusion of the game, it would be reasonable for the AFL to waive the fine in favour of a simple "please explain". Ultimately, because the commission changed the result of the game, it meant that the game was retrospectively declared over when Connolly entered the arena; as such, Connolly was no longer guilty of any infraction, and therefore the AFL had no grounds to issue any fine.

Although the match was played quite early in the season, the end result proved important when determining the ladder placings at the conclusion of the home and away season. Fremantle finished with a record of 15–7 in third place, and St Kilda finished with a record of 14–8 in sixth place, with and finishing fourth and fifth with a 14–8 record. Had the draw stood (and all other results throughout the season remain unaffected), Fremantle and St Kilda would have been level on 14–7–1; St Kilda's superior percentage would have seen them finish third, with Fremantle fourth, Sydney fifth, and Collingwood sixth. This would have affected all four games in the first week of the finals and given St Kilda a double chance at the expense of Sydney (who would go on to make the Grand Final). Early in the season, there was ongoing speculation that, if the talented Fremantle lineup failed to reach the finals, it might cost Fremantle coach Chris Connolly his job at the club. Before the result was officially overturned, it was thought that the two points potentially lost by the siren mistake could be the difference between making or missing the finals. Ironically, however, it was St Kilda coach Grant Thomas who was dismissed at the end of the season after (though not necessarily because) the club was defeated by Melbourne and eliminated in the first week of the finals, which would certainly not have happened if St Kilda had finished third and claimed a double chance.