50-metre Penalty - Famous 50-metre Penalties

Famous 50-metre Penalties

• The most famous 15-metre penalty occurred in the 1987 preliminary final, in an incident where Melbourne's Jim Stynes ran across the mark against Hawthorn. Gary Buckenara, needing a 55-metre goal after the final siren for Hawthorn to steal the victory, was brought 15 metres closer to goal. Buckenara converted the goal, Hawthorn advanced to the Grand Final, and Melbourne's long premiership drought continued.

• In 2005 an incident where Essendon's Mark Johnson called an opposition player from Sydney a "weak dog" when he wouldn't get up and was playing for a free kick was rewarded with a 50-metre penalty to the Sydney player. It was also believed Johnson engaged in abusive language with the umpire which may have influenced the decision.

• During the infamous St Kilda vs Fremantle "Sirengate" game in round 5, 2006, St Kilda full-forward Fraser Gehrig abused and argued with the umpire, gave up five consecutive free kicks: a free kick in defensive goal square, three consecutive 50-metre penalties (spanning the entire length of the field, yielding a certain goal to Fremantle) and an additional free kick to Fremantle after the goal.

• In Round 1, 2007, umpire Stuart Wenn awarded a short fifty-metre penalty against Collingwood's Heath Shaw after a mark by the Kangaroos' Shannon Grant with three minutes remaining on the game. Wenn positioned Shaw approximately on the kick-off line when he should have been on the goal line. Grant missed the 15-metre set shot, and the Kangaroos lost the game by three points.

• In Round 11, 2009, triple 50 metre penalties occurred when Sydney Swans Barry Hall put his arm around the neck of Hawthorn's Jarryd Roughead, who ended up in his own goal square. Hall was benched beside his coach, and Sydney lost by just 11 points.