Add Category
Loading
“We’re seeing some exceptional football, the competition’s close, and it must be our priority both for the clubs and to the fans at home to make sure we complete play every game,” said Kane.
“I think if you’re a Melbourne supporter, you would take every one of the five goals they kicked when the play resumed because that could be the difference between top four, it could be the difference between top eight.
“We know that it goes down to the wire with percentage, so that for us was, you know, notwithstanding the venue and play being safe to proceed, which was obviously the first priority, the second is to get those 12 minutes of the game done.”
But Lions coach Fagan, also speaking on SEN, said his feeling after the match was that the 38-minute delay during the final quarter was “way too long”.
“The other thing that happened was, we were told to stay in the rooms, and Melbourne were warming up on the ground for five minutes. That was an unfair advantage,” he said.
Former Lions skipper Dayne Zorko said that the lengthy delay before play resumed had posed a risk to the players.
Players wait on field as power goes out during the round two AFL match between Brisbane Lions and Melbourne Demons at The Gabba,Credit:Getty
“I think when you’ve played so much of the game as it is and then you go inside and cool down for an hour ... I think it puts the players in a really dangerous position,” he said on Triple M.
The Lions had been up by 40 points and looked home and hosed, but Melbourne threw caution to the wind on the resumption and kicked five goals to almost steal the match.
Loading
“It was an unheard of situation, really,” Fagan initially said on Friday night after the match (forgetting the infamous 1996 match when the lights went out at Waverley Park, causing a match between Essendon and St Kilda to be delayed for three days).
“We all didn’t know what the rule was, pretty much, and maybe the rule needs to be looked at slightly. I think an hour’s break when you’re three-and-a-half quarters through a game, maybe the time should be a little bit shorter.”
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin wouldn’t be drawn on that. “Hopefully, it doesn’t happen too often,” he said.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.