Umpiring legend Ray ‘Razor’ Chamberlain and Melbourne great Garry Lyon have gone head-to-head over the controversial Harry McKay set shot moment from last weekend.
McKay milked the 30-second set shot rule in the final two minutes of the Blues’ narrow win over Essendon, when he marked the ball 60m out from goal in an implausible scoring opportunity.
The key forward was allowed to take the set shot and use his 30 seconds, but the kick fell well short from goal and milked a valuable 40 seconds of game clock.
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AFL footy boss Greg Swann said the league had discussed potential solutions including the prospect of reducing the shot clock for marks outside 50m, noting it’d be “careful not to react to a (single) situation.”
Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Wednesday night, Chamberlain suggested he’d have called play on to McKay if he were umpiring.
“I feel like we need to empower our on-field official to be comfortable to be more assertive,” Chamberlain began.
“In a circumstance such as this, I think what you can say to Harry when you recognise this kick might be beyond him and he might not be genuinely going for goal.
“I think you can move towards him and say to Harry: ‘Take your kick, or I’m going to call you to play on’.”
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However Australian Football Hall of Famer Lyon disagreed, leading to a debate between the two.
Lyon: “Which, with due respect, if I was Harry, I’d say: ‘You get out of my road, I can kick 60 metres and let me take my 30 seconds’.”
Chamberlain: “And I’d go: ‘Move it on, play on’. And then we can talk about it after.”
Lyon: “But that’s wrong, Ray, that’s just blatantly wrong.”
Chamberlain: “You say it’s blatantly wrong. The laws of the game — hang on.”
Lyon: “I haven’t said anything.”
Chamberlain: “You’re about to.
Lyon: “I know, I am.”
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Chamberlain: “The laws of the game are allowed to be managed by the umpire. You’re allowed to get 30 seconds if you are taking a shot for goal. But you don’t let the person down on the back flank take 30 seconds, do you?”
Lyon: “Well, he’s not shooting for goal.”
Chamberlain: “And I don’t think Harry was there either. The umpires are responsible for umpiring the game, Garry. Whether you think they’re doing a good job or not, that’s their job.”
Lyon: “That’s not, that’s a rot! That is a total rot! Harry says: ‘Hey, I’ve got 30 seconds, Razor. Get out of the road, son, and let me take my shot at goal’.”
Chamberlain: “Harry and I wouldn’t find ourselves in a conversation like you and I do. Because we conduct ourselves a bit more orderly.”
Lyon: “I’ve heard you out on the ground. You are out of line.”
Chamberlain: “I’d tell him to take his kick. I was asked what I would do, Gary, and that is what I would’ve done.”
Lyon: “We’ll take it up next week, because that is just still grey. That’s grey everywhere, there.”
Chamberlain: “Yeah, there’s a lot of subjectivity in the laws of the game.”
Lyon: “When you’ve got 30 seconds to take a shot at goal, you’re entitled to take the 30.”
Chamberlain: “And for what it’s worth, I don’t want a change to the 30 seconds, as such.”