There is only one thing better for most AFL supporters than watching Collingwood lose a grand final, and that’s watching them lose a grand final due to a controversial umpiring decision in the dying moments.
Wayne Harmes knocking the ball back from well over the boundary line and into the goalsquare for the sealer in 1979 has put a smile on the faces of fans of other teams – particularly Carlton – for almost 40 years now.
Former Magpies forward Anthony Rocca still swears his shot at goal in the 2002 decider sailed through well inside the posts, despite the umpire saying it touched the woodwork and only registered a behind.
And now we’ve got the Dom Sheed double: did Willie Rioli block Brayden Maynard and did Sheed play on?
MORE: RoCo says umpires were lenient all grand final | 'Robbed' calls 'ridiculous', says Adam Simpson
Yeah, probably.
Is anything going to change?
No, but that isn’t going to stop Collingwood supporter Rod Craven from trying to alter the course of history.
What makes non-Collingwood fans smile more? #AFL
— The Rover (@TheAFLRover) October 2, 2018
Craven has started a petition on change.org attempting to have the result of the grand final reversed, with over 4,000 people adding their signatures by Tuesday morning.
While West Coast won’t be concerned about needing to return the cup they flew home with on the weekend, Sporting News Australia encourages Magpies fans and football followers of all clubs – even the Eagles – to register their support for Mister Craven.
After all, the more we hear the word ‘robbed’, the bigger our grin gets.
DOM SHEED PUT THE EAGLES IN FRONT!#AFLGF pic.twitter.com/uhTTxmV6eT
— AFL (@AFL) September 29, 2018
The full petition is below:
“This petition is being brought to your attention in regard to serious concerns by the football public, especially supporters of the Collingwood Football Club who believe that certain umpiring decisions in the 2018 AFL Grand Final were either wrongly awarded, were missed entirely and eventually were what cost the Collingwood Football Club the premiership.
Three examples of this, which are clearly visible on the Channel 7 footage are as follows:
1) the video replay judgement of the goal given to West Coast in the first qtr clearly showed that the ball was touched as it crossed the line, not by the boot of the WCE player but came off another part of his body and was clearly a behind. The resultant score should then have read 1.3 instead of 2.2.
2) the video replay of a Collingwood behind at the same end in the last qtr clearly showed that no WCE player had deflected the flight of the ball, the the result should have been declared as a Collingwood goal. The resultant score would then be 12.7 instead of 11.8.
3) the illegal blocking shepherd on Brayden Maynard with 2 minutes to play should have been paid as a free kick to Maynard as it was considered an act of interference which allowed the West Coast player to goal. The decision should have then allowed Maynard possession to clear the ball and in so doing the goal to West Coast would not have eventuated, giving them a final score of 11.8 for the game.
There were numerous other decisions which affected the game including the whack to the ribs by Ryan of WCE on Maynard which was missed by the umpire standing 3 metres from the incident. Maynard should have received a free kick with a subsequent report for striking being given to Ryan.
We as Collingwood supporters, as well as most of the general public feel that a grand final should be allowed to be won on merit, and not be awarded as the result of poor umpiring and biases toward clubs and particular players held by the governing body. We DEMAND that the decisions made on Saturday the 29th Sept be overhauled and reviewed in their entirety, and that either the result reversed, or the game declared a no-result and replayed in its entirety at a future date. Failure to act on on this will effect in a vote of no confidence in the AFL administration, the umpiring panel, and the competition in general.