North are whinging about the umps over that last free..... Mark that was denied at death of draw was legitimate - David HaleSam Edmund | July 19, 2009
DAVID Hale says the mark he took with seconds left in the extraordinary draw with Richmond was legitimate.
With the scores level and just 22 seconds remaining in a pulsating match at the MCG, Hale marked strongly in front of Tigers defender Jarrod Silvester on a slight angle inside 50m.
Hale would almost certainly have registered a score that would have capped an amazing Kangaroos comeback, but in what was the last of several controversial decisions against both sides, the umpire ruled he had tugged Silvester's jumper to get front position.
Silvester cleared the ball before the siren sounded to seal the first draw of the year. Hale felt he was unfairly denied the chance to win the Roos the game.
"Was it a mark? Obviously I thought it was a mark," Hale said.
"I haven't seen a replay, but by all reports it was a 50-50 and it didn't go our way."
Interim coach Darren Crocker thought he was about to engineer his first win in charge before the cruel reality set in.
"I just thought from that position it would take a pretty horrible kick to not at least get a score," Crocker said.
"Then obviously I flashed across to the umpire who was pulling his guernsey out for the holding on and that was it, that was where the game was done.
"He (Hale) came to me and asked me if I'd seen it and I hadn't seen it and I still haven't seen it to this point.
But you can't be relying on umpiring decisions to decide games of football."
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25805297-19742,00.html