{"id":721130,"date":"2026-06-07T14:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T14:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/721130\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T14:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T14:01:11","slug":"take-your-30-and-a-bit-more-carlton-clock-chaos-as-star-uses-sneaky-tactic-in-bombers-thriller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/721130\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Take your 30… and a bit more\u2019: Carlton clock chaos as star uses sneaky tactic in Bombers thriller"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carlton\u2019s Harry McKay conceded he used the set shot rules to his advantage to take time off the clock in his side\u2019s five-point win over Essendon on King\u2019s Birthday Eve<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As the Bombers closed in, McKay marked around 60 metres out on the forward flank with 1:45 left in the game, immediately signalling he was taking a shot on goal despite the implausible distance and angle.<\/p>\n

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He then took an extended run-up, from out of bounds almost on the wing, meaning while he started running in with 1:14 left he kicked the ball with 1:04 left.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly McKay\u2019s shot was nowhere near the posts, instead falling at the hot spot near the top of the goalsquare, leaving Essendon down 11 points and needing to go the length of the ground for a goal in 55 seconds – and then to score from the ensuing centre bounce.<\/p>\n

They had a shot at it after Zach Reid\u2019s first career major, but only had nine seconds at the centre bounce and as they frantically tried to kick it inside 50, the siren sounded.<\/p>\n

While players are permitted to take 30 seconds between a mark and beginning their run-up – McKay used 31 seconds – the total time used, combined with the fact he was kicking from an enormous distance, left many fans frustrated.<\/p>\n

Harry McKay milked the clock late in Carlton’s win over Essendon.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an interesting conundrum for the umpire. The player has the right to declare, and there\u2019s no penalty to it,\u201d commentator Gerard Whateley explained on Fox Footy.<\/p>\n

There are no official guidelines on when a player can be given a 30-second shot clock, but former Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley said on Fox Footy he\u2019d been told by umpires during his time at the Power they would give players the 30-second shot clock if the man on the mark was inside 50.<\/p>\n

Otherwise the umpire would need to be especially convinced the kicker could make the distance.<\/p>\n

But Hinkley said it was \u201capparent to everyone watching Harry was wasting the clock\u201d.<\/p>\n

McKay conceded as much speaking on Fox Footy post-game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always have a theory that late in the game, if you have a shot anywhere, somewhere within the 50, in theory you can go back and take your 30, and a little bit more,\u201d the Blues spearhead said on Fox Footy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was slightly ambitious to think I was gonna kick it from 75 but any time you can take a little bit of time off the clock late – we practice it a lot in training, so I\u2019m glad it kinda worked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if he thought he would\u2019ve been able to \u201cargue the toss\u201d if the umpire disputed him taking the shot, McKay said \u201cprobably not\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you just play on. But I think, from memory, I reckon I was back far enough to kick it long if I didn\u2019t get allowed to have my 30,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut once the umpire said you\u2019re allowed to have your 30, I went back in my routine, so I think it was fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interim Essendon coach Dean Solomon said post-game McKay was “smart\u201d to \u201cmilk the clock\u201d.<\/p>\n

Reports in the pre-season suggested the AFL was considering scrapping the shot clock completely for players taking shots on goal from outside 50, but this was never implemented.<\/p>\n

There was also confusion when the timer on Fox Footy\u2019s broadcast froze during Essendon\u2019s frantic transition to the other end of the ground after McKay\u2019s kick.<\/p>\n

But while the clock froze with 0:44 left and resumed with 0:24 left, a full 20 seconds passed in that period meaning no time was lost.<\/p>\n

Foxfooty.com.au understands there was an error with the clock feed coming to Fox Footy\u2019s broadcast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Carlton\u2019s Harry McKay conceded he used the set shot rules to his advantage to take time off the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":721131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-721130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=721130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/721131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=721130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=721130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=721130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}