The Australian Football League (AFL) has confirmed multiple timekeeping errors occurred during Round Two fixtures, most notably in the St Kilda versus Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Giants match, which St Kilda won by four points. A discrepancy of 29 seconds was lost from the game clock during the second quarter of the St Kilda-Giants game due to a technical glitch. The league has stated the errors originated with its official timekeepers and has announced plans to re-test its timekeeping technology and reinforce backup procedures.
The Australian Football League (AFL) has confirmed multiple timekeeping errors occurred during Round Two fixtures, most notably in the St Kilda versus Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Giants match.
Key Incident: St Kilda vs. GWS Giants
During the Round Two match between St Kilda and the GWS Giants at Engie Stadium, an error occurred late in the second quarter following a goal by St Kilda's Max Hall. The game clock, which had 33 seconds remaining, counted down to 29 seconds before abruptly resetting to zero. The siren subsequently sounded, concluding the quarter prematurely.
The AFL confirmed that 29 seconds were erroneously removed from the game time. A subsequent review determined that these missing seconds should have been re-added to the game. Broadcasters, including Fox Footy and Seven, receive a feed of the official clock and are not involved in its operation.
Further inconsistencies were reported in the third quarter of the same match, where the clock reportedly jumped from 9:41 to 12:46 before correcting itself. The Giants scored the final three goals of the game, with St Kilda ultimately securing a four-point victory. The incident prompted discussion regarding the potential impact of the lost time on the final four-point margin.
Broader Systemic Issues
The timekeeping issue in the St Kilda-Giants match was not an isolated incident.
In the same round, a separate time clock malfunction affected the final quarter of the Western Bulldogs’ six-point victory over the Adelaide Crows. This issue impacted telecasts and coaches' boxes, leading to uncertainty for both teams regarding the remaining game time.
AFL's Response and Future Actions
The AFL informed both St Kilda and the GWS Giants on Monday about the confirmed error. An official statement from the league indicated that timekeepers were not aware of the technical issue at the moment it occurred. It was also noted that while a manual backup process exists for timekeeping, it was not utilized during these instances.
In response to these incidents, the AFL has announced that it will undertake a re-testing of its timekeeping technology.
Additionally, the league plans to reinforce manual backup procedures with all timekeepers ahead of upcoming fixtures to prevent similar occurrences.