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West Coast Eagles coach Andrew McQualter has defended young star Harley Reid after a controversial 50-metre penalty that led to a crucial Richmond goal in the fourth quarter of their nail-biting loss at the MCG.
Reid was deemed to have knocked the ball out of Hugo Ralphsmith’s hands after a mark on the wing, with the umpire taking the play downfield, and the Tiger was able to kick the goal and put his side ahead in a see-sawing contest.
The Eagles coach suggested it was incidental contact between the players that caused the ball to bobble loose, rather than a deliberate delay of game tactic.
“What happened in the 50?” McQualter asked post-game.
“Did he tap it? I’m not sure. I’m not saying it’s a mistake (by the umpires), I’m just not sure it was deliberate.
“It looked to me — I looked at the tape again — it almost just looked like a little bump where the ball fell out of Ralphsmith’s hands.
“I’m not rapt with it, but I’m not sure it was an ill-disciplined act.”
The 20-year-old, who finished with 18 disposals, four clearances, seven inside-50s and six score involvements, was also involved in a possible clash with a spectator.
The midfielder was seen late in the game pointing to a fan, trying to get the umpire’s attention.
“I saw it. I saw it happening live, but I’ve got no idea what happened,” McQualter said.
“It looks like he got himself a bit riled up, so I’m sure we’ll look into it and the AFL will figure out what happened there.”
The game went down to the wire, and with 38 seconds remaining, the Eagles had one last roll of the dice to steal their first win of 2025, when Tom Gross took off towards 50 but instead was run down from behind by Richmond defender Tom Brown, which sealed the result. Instead of being upset, McQualter praised 18-year-old Gross for showing his initiative.
“Clearly, we gave ourselves a chance to win. I’m rapt that ‘Grossy’ came on in a pretty tough situation, to be honest, for a kid who’s playing his fourth game,” he said.
“A game in the balance, he really was able to get involved in the game, and he gave himself and us a chance to win it, so I’m rapt for him for that aspect.
“We’ll wrap our arms around him, understand that it’s footy. Footy is full of moments, and the young fella will learn from that.
“I thought the last quarter, overall, we were just a bit panicky with the ball. We couldn’t get out of our back half at all, Richmond I think had 10 front-half turnovers (and) a lot of intercept marks, we just really struggled to be able to get any control of the game in that last quarter, which was a challenging position to be in.
“We gave ourselves a chance but unfortunately weren’t able to get it done.”
Australian singing star Guy Sebastian has ended up needing hospital treatment after pulling on the boots in a local VAFA competition, after injuring both Achilles in an appearance as part of a radio promotion.
He teamed up with AFL great Brendan Fevola to play for the struggling Masala Dandenong Football Club in the Division 5 Thirds team, who were coming off a 229-point thumping the week prior.
The former Australian Idol winner was only supposed to stay on the field for the first half, with the injury happening late in the game, after also performing a halftime concert.
But the 43-year-old eventually left the ground on crutches with his leg wrapped.
“I spoke to him this morning, he’s not well,” Fevola told Channel 7’s Sunday Footy Feast.
“He goes ‘I’ll play the second half’. Fourth quarter, I saw him fall down and I couldn’t stop laughing because he just fell. I was like ‘mate, singers shouldn’t play footy, footy players shouldn’t sing, keep to your genre’.
“And he looked around and he goes ‘I think something popped’. I said that’s not good, because I’ve done both Achilles.
“He’s ruptured his Achilles. He’s getting surgery on Monday and is in hospital. So he missed his mate’s 40th, but hey, we got good headlines, which is great (laughs).”
Sebastian shared a photo of ice around his lower right leg, suggesting it may be his last footy appearance ever.
“Thought I’d strap on the boots after a LONG hiatus and performed for the locals.
“Great day out for Masala Dandenong getting their first win with @brendanfevola25 kicking a bag!
“Unfortunately, I’ve done a proper number on myself. #realitycheck #sticktosinging #footyglorydaysareover.”
The pair’s participation came as part of a promotion run by Fox FM’s Fifi, Fev and Nick breakfast show, with a crowd of more than 2500 in attendance to see Fevola bag six goals to guide Masal to the 7.13 (55) to 8.5 (53) victory over South Melbourne.
“We hoped to do better than last week — score more than seven points and not to lose by as much as 229 points,” Fevola said, as he quickly hit the road to play his regular game with the East Sunbury Football Club.
But there was controversy in the lead up to the game with several clubs protesting their participation in the amateur league, but an investigation by the competition’s officials gave them the green light, given that they would not be getting any payment for the appearance.
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