North Melbourne have been robbed of an inspirational victory by a last-minute interchange drama, handing victory to the Sydney Swans on a silver platter.
The Kangaroos looked set to end their seven-game losing streak – just days after senior coach Alastair Clarkson took indefinite leave – before the controversy played out deep in their defensive 50.
WATCH IN THE VIDEO ABOVE: North Melbourne cough up victory with interchange breach.
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North led by three points with 59 seconds on the clock when a ball-up was withheld by an umpire as he listened to advice in his earpiece.
In a stunning turn of events, he paid a free kick and 50m penalty against the Roos for a rare interchange breach.
It was quickly revealed North Melbourne had made an illegal 76th interchange – one more than the 75 allowed.
The breach gave Sydney a simple kick in front of the posts, with Hayden McLean converting to seal the 14.9 (93) to 14.6 (90) victory.
North had hit the front on the back of five unanswered goals either side of three-quarter time, with last year’s No.3 and No.4 draft picks Harry Sheezel and debutant George Wardlaw playing key roles in the competitive performance.
But a third win for the season wasn’t to be as the injury-hit Swans ended their own four-game losing run.
“Huge. Absolutely huge, in the context of the season we needed to win that,” Lance Franklin told Fox Sports.
Franklin kicked three goals to reach 1057 for his career and move to equal fourth on the all-time goalkicking list alongside Doug Wade.
The Swans superstar was in the middle of the action when the umpire paid the free kick that gave the win to Sydney.
“No (I had no idea) – but lucky us,” he said.
“(The win is) all that matters really. It’s obviously a big price to pay but that’s the rules.”
More to come…