Mitchell says MCG wasn’t safe when angry Hawks fans erupted

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has delivered a damning critique of a group of Hawthorn fans, declaring the MCG was briefly unsafe on Saturday night when supporters vented their frustrations at umpires after the stinging nine-point loss to the Brisbane Lions.

Dozens of fans pelted cans and bottles at the umpires when they left the field, while they were also voraciously booed over contentious game-defining decisions late in the epic contest which went the Lions’ way.

Police fined five fans, including one who threw an item, and said five others were assaulted at the ground during the Lions’ tense victory.

Hawks co-captain James Sicily was fined $10,000 and veteran defender Tom Barrass $5000 for umpire abuse after the final siren, although Mitchell on Monday said he had not witnessed this.

“On the ground, there was a lot of debris, I guess you would call it. I hadn’t seen any of that [Sicily and Barrass]. I assume that was happening while we were coming down from the coaches’ box,” Mitchell told SEN.

“So no, I wasn’t across that. You know, I read a story about a young eight-year-old who had nachos thrown at them at the footy. And I think one of the great things, I’m on record about this regularly, saying how good is Aussie rules footy, that you can just take anyone, you can sit anywhere, you can feel safe all the time.

“And, I think we lost that for a moment after the game, and you know, I don’t think that’s ever what anyone wants. So, making sure that we behave appropriately, which goes to our players as well, and going towards umpires after games, I don’t think is appropriate behaviour, either.”

Mitchell said he had asked his players to act with dignity when he gathered the group together on the field after their second preliminary final defeat in as many seasons.

“Just that I was proud of them, and it looked like there was a fair bit happening, so let’s act with humility and thank our fans who all turned out,” Mitchell said when asked what he had told his players.

“So, you would have seen after that we all walked off and gave a clap to some of the people who were still there.

“Obviously, some of the things that we have found out since, there was a very small portion of those fans who didn’t act appropriately, which has sort of soured what was probably one of the greatest games of all time.

“So, disappointing that a few fans decided to throw some things, not act appropriately, a bit disappointing. But talking to the players was really about making sure we held our heads high, two preliminary final losses in a row, this is not the end of our journey, we need to be back, and we need to be better than we are right now, again.”

Match review officer Michael Christian determined the usual fixed fines didn’t meet the seriousness of the offence, so he handed Sicily and Barrass higher penalties.

Mitchell said he had addressed the issue with the two men at the VFL grand final on Sunday, but refused to be drawn into suggestions the pair should have been suspended.

“Box Hill had a great win in their grand final. So we all sat and watched that, and certainly caught up with those boys and chatted through it. So, they’ll work through the fines and all the things that they have to do at their end. But, I think they knew that the emotions got well and truly the better of them at that moment,” Mitchell said.

“I think the umpires have got an enormously difficult job, and I, you know, I go and watch my kids play … I think that the way people treat umpires is very, very important all the way through from junior footy, junior sports all the way into the AFL, and we have to set a very high bar for what we accept in that area. So I won’t get into what the ramifications should be, but I wouldn’t call it a pattern of behaviour.”

The biggest call of a dramatic final 61 seconds of the game came when Hawthorn defender Jarman Impey was caught holding the ball with 40 seconds remaining. Lions star Hugh McCluggage converted the free kick, regaining the lead for the two-time defending premiers, who held on to win. McCluggage was able to pin one arm, Impey taking too long to put foot to ball.

Mitchell said the umpire had made the right call, and turned the spotlight on three Hawks – co-captain Jai Newcombe, wingman Massimo D’Ambrosio and ruckman Lloyd Meek – who he said just stood and watched while Impey was tackled and should have done better to force a ball-up.

“And I look back now at the game, with a little bit of time, and I think about all the errors that we made,” Mitchell said.

“The last one with Jarman Impey, that’s clearly a free kick. And I looked at the three players standing around who, in any other circumstance, would have done something, but they were stunned mullets at the moment that matters most, and they’re the things that we’ll be able to work on in our off season, and making sure that we can continue to improve because those individual moments, if they come down to them, there’s always going to be some luck involved.”