The deliberate rushed behind rule was thrust into the spotlight as Fremantle notched their second straight western derby victory with a 55-point demolition of West Coast at Optus Stadium.
The Dockers overcame a dominant ruck performance from Nic Naitanui and a defensive masterclass from Jeremy McGovern to post the 15.12 (102) to 7.5 (47) on Sunday, keeping West Coast to their lowest ever derby total.
But the biggest talking points out of the match were the two deliberate rushed behind calls.
Dockers defender Luke Ryan was left baffled when he was pinned for stepping over the line while under pressure in the third quarter.
Ryan had time to dispose of the ball, but decided to rush the behind while Eagles players closed in.
He also copped a 50-metre penalty for arguing with the umpire, allowing Jackson Nelson to kick the easiest of goals.
In the final term, Eagles defender Harry Edwards was pinned for rushing a behind while tapping the ball through on hands and knees.
West Coast defender Alex Witherden was on the line and had the chance to pick up the ball, but he let it roll over.
Rory Lobb sprayed the resulting free kick, but the two decisions are sure to fire up plenty of debate.
“It evened itself up quite nicely I thought,” Eagles coach Adam Simpson said with a smile when asked about the two controversial decisions.
Dockers midfielder Darcy Tucker was stretchered off early in the third quarter and subbed out after suffering a mystery head/neck injury while being tackled.
“I’m not even sure if he hit his head,” stand-in Fremantle coach Jaymie Graham said.
“It was scary, we were quite concerned for his health.
“But he’s down in the rooms, he’s quite bubbly, and he said everything is fine. So they’re going to have to investigate a bit further on that one.”
Dockers forward Lachie Schultz won the Glendinning-Allan Medal medal as best afield for his 23-possession, two-goal display that also featured four score assists.
McGovern was a rock in defence for an injury and COVID-ravaged West Coast with 11 marks, including four contested, to go with 21 disposals.
Naitanui (34 hitouts, 15 disposals, seven clearances, one goal) was dominant in the ruck.
Star Dockers midfielder Andrew Brayshaw was restricted to just seven disposals in the first half under the tight watch of Nelson.
But he flourished after the tag was released, finishing with 26 possessions.
The 34-point half-time margin was alarming given West Coast managed just one goal in the first half.
But the Eagles had another two goals to their name within 30 seconds of actual playing time in the third quarter courtesy of some Naitanui heroics.
Naitanui’s big ruck tap and follow-up led to a goal to Jack Petruccelle within 14 seconds of the second half.
And then at the next centre bounce, Naitanui unleashed another dominant tap and eventually got the ball back to kick a goal on the run from 49m.
The margin was just 20 points at that moment, but a dropped mark by Jack Darling in the goal square, after his line of sight was blocked, proved to be costly.
Fremantle booted the next three goals to open up a match-winning 41 point lead, with the Dockers never challenged after that.
