Everyone has an opinion on whether
Fremantle should be granted the win over St Kilda in the tense closing moments
of the match being played at AFL House today.

In their regular round of interviews,
coaches have all had their say. Leigh Matthews, with typical brevity, reckons
Freo should get the points, saying “justice” should be done. Geelong coach Mark
Thompson, who would rather Freo had the points than another finals
contender in St Kilda, also thinks the Dockers should get the points.

Terry Wallace sort-of-kind-of half agrees,
sort of. The moral victory, he says, should go to Fremantle, but he doesn’t see
how the AFL could reverse the result: “I find it difficult to change the rules
after the event and make a decision after the event …” he said yesterday.
“They’re the rules that were in place at the time and I think that’s where it
sort of sits. I think that’s morally wrong, but … that would be the decision I
would make.”

In this morning’s Age, Tim Lane says
the draw must stand:
“The fact is that the outcome of this game was determined on Sunday and that
should have been it … The outcome of this game must be determined according to
the game’s laws, not the commission’s whim.”

ABC commentator Gerard Whately also says Fremantle should be given the
win because is the right thing to do, but former St Kilda great Darrel “The
Doc” Baldoc said St Kilda handing the points back is a load of “bullsh*t”.

There’s also an idea floating around that
if natural justice is to be served, Fremantle should get the points, an idea
unofficially supported by an Age report this morning suggesting that AFL Commission chairman
Ron Evans believes “the game had a mechanism in place to push for a Dockers’
victory.”

Given the wildly disparate range of
opinions out there, Crikey would like to add just one tiny fact to the case. Rock is statistically more successful than
paper or scissors, a fact the commissioner with the casting vote should keep
in mind.