Hawthorn defender Jarman Impey has backed AFL field umpire Hayden Meyer, saying he made the right call to award Brisbane a free kick in the dying moments of Saturday's preliminary final.
Impey received the ball from Hawks teammate Massimo D'Ambrosio with 43 seconds remaining on the clock, but was immediately tackled by Lion Hugh McCluggage.
Cleverly, the Lions on-baller pinned one of Impey's arm, prompting the umpire to assume the Hawks defender had the capacity to dispose of the football. Despite 'trying' to shrug the tackle - a tactic players use to force a stoppage - Meyer waited and waited before awarding a holding-the-ball free-kick to McCluggage.
The Brisbane midfielder coolly slotted the go-ahead goal, putting the Lions in front with limited time in the final quarter. It ultimately put Chris Fagan's men in their fourth consecutive grand final.
"It's a long game. There was a lot of decisions. I'm sure you're referring to the decision late, and it was the right decision," Impey said.
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"So, naturally when you think there's 30-40 seconds to go, you try to hold it in and go from there. But credit to Hayden (Meyer). I hope that there was no hate message towards him so sending love to him."
Hawks coach Sam Mitchell also admitted the decision, despite how difficult the pill was to swallow, was the right call from Meyer.
