During the first quarter of Carlton's loss to Hawthorn on Saturday, Blues midfielder Adam Cerra gave away a controversial 50m penalty that set up an easy Jack Ginnivan set shot goal.
Cerra rushed forward while on the mark after the field umpire raised his hands and appeared to be in the process of yelling "play on". The umpire deemed Cerra's actions to have been too quick and walked Ginnivan to the top of the goal square for a simple set shot.
It was a bizarre decision that frustrated the Carlton faithful; however, interim coach Josh Fraser kept a calm perspective on the call.
"(The 50m penalty) was a little bit confusing," Fraser said in the post-game press conference.
"I try not to get too bogged down in the weeds with those things. We probably have our own things we want to work on out of that game rather than worry about those moments. There seemed to be some confusion from our end on field.
"This is part of right? The game's not perfect; there will be mistakes. I like to think we are strong enough to move on from that pretty quickly and get back to work.
"(A follow-up with the AFL) won't be driven from my end. I'm more worried about how we were 20 points down mid-to-late in the third, and it opened up the way it did."
It was Fraser's first loss across his eight games in charge of Carlton.
The game, against a top-four Hawks side in torrential rain, was not made easier by the fact that the caretaker coach lost tough midfielder George Hewett in the first quarter with a back problem.
Fraser said he didn't yet know the extent of Hewett's injury, but footage of the 30-year-old hobbling in the change rooms after didn't look promising.
A RAINMAKER FOR THE BIG FELLA'S FIRST 🌧️
Few would have picked debutant ruckman Flynn Riley to kick his first goal on a night like this ... 🤩📺 Watch #AFLBluesHawks on ch.504 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/pWSJ5LNXi5
✍️ BLOG https://t.co/IJ9feQUmMy pic.twitter.com/D6VEmYg0jY— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) July 11, 2026
A silver lining for the Blues' dour night was the debut of mid-season draftee and ruckman Flynn Riley.
The 22-year-old had been playing for Essendon District Football League club Aberfeldie in May this year, before being picked up by Carlton.
He came in for the experienced Marc Pittonet (hamstring), and Fraser liked what he saw in the 209cm ruckman who had six disposals, five tackles, 17 hit outs and a goal with a memorable celebration.
"It was good to see him express himself (after the goal); it was a nice finish," he said with a smile.
"I thought he competed well. He got better as the game went on, and this experience for him will be enormous.
"He is at the start of his journey, so this game will give him feedback rucking against a seasoned ruckman in Lloyd Meek. The speed of the game, albeit the conditions may be tempered that little bit, he will get some feedback there, but he had some nice moments.
"He is a guy that will keep developing and hopefully be a longer-term player for us."
