Western Bulldogs star Cody Weightman has been accused of staging to win free kicks during his side’s 13-point loss to Geelong on Friday night.
The Cats defeated Luke Beveridge’s troops 12.11 (83) to 10.10 (70) at Marvel Stadium as Weightman’s alleged antics caught the ire of footy commentators.
In the second quarter, the 21-year-old appeared to accentuate contact from Zach Guthrie when he was nudged in the back while preparing to challenge for a mark inside forward 50. The umpire paid the mark to the Cats defender and allowed play to continue.
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Speaking with Brisbane legend Jonathan Brown during Fox Footy’s halftime analysis of the game, Melbourne champion Garry Lyon suggested Weightman may have won a free kick for hands in the back but his over-the-top reaction cost him.
“There was a free kick paid and we’re both just sitting here watching the game and we both looked at each other at the same time, Browny, and said, ‘Hey, there’s a lesson for young Cody Weightman and others that might be trying to accentuate the odd free kick from time to time’,” Lyon said.
Brown replied: “Yeah, the football gods will get you. More specifically the umpires will get you.
“The umpires are warned pre-game or they’re coached about what players have a tendency and in Cody Weightman’s case, he has a tendency to take a dive or accentuate contact.
“Umpires are aware of that. So what happens? When he may have got a free kick there, the umpire puts his whistle away.”
Lyon added: “In the end it’s not a free kick, it’s another case of where it’s over-accentuated and all it does, it reinforces what umpires are told — watch out for this young bloke because he does this.
“He’s making life difficult for himself.”
Herald Sun AFL journalist Jon Ralph was another who clipped Weightman.
“Weightman is too talented a player to rely on this stuff. It will only give him a reputation and mean when he is legitimately man-handled his misses out on free kicks,” Ralph tweeted.
Geelong legend Cameron Ling told the ABC: “I swear Cody Weightman is suffering from the boy who cried wolf. He’s exaggerating them, but the free kicks are there and not being paid.”
Meanwhile, another Jeremy Cameron masterclass helped Geelong stave off the brave Bulldogs in an action-packed contest which saw Dogs star Bailey Smith reported for an alleged headbutt.
Cameron finished the game with six goals to re-take the Coleman Medal lead and guide the Cats to a hard-fought 13-point win after they almost saw their early 40-point lead totally whittled away when the Dogs got within five points in the final term.
But after playing an instrumental role in putting Geelong in a commanding position early in the game with three first-quarter goals, Cameron stood tall at the end as well, booting another three majors in the final term when the Bulldogs threatened to complete a remarkable comeback win.
Compounding things for the Dogs is Smith facing a suspension after headbutting Zach Tuohy during a three-quarter time scuffle and splitting the Geelong veteran’s forehead open.
After the Cats opened up a seemingly matchwinning lead early in the second quarter, the game was turned on its head when star Geelong defender Tom Stewart was subbed out due to concussion early in the second quarter.
Stewart looked set for another monster game with nine touches and six marks already to his credit at quarter-time, as he teamed up with young apprentice Sam De Koning to make the Dogs pay for their careless forward entries.
But when Stewart was subbed out, it seemed to give the Bulldogs a spark as they got back on top in the middle of the ground and did the majority of the attacking.
The Dogs looked more threatening when going forward as they capitalised on Stewart’s absence to trim the margin to 11 points at three-quarter time after kicking five goals in a row.
The Cats ground to a complete halt as the Bulldogs dominated play for much of the middle two periods, enjoying sizeable leads in inside 50s (33-19) and disposals (230-155).
But despite keeping Geelong goalless for 80 minutes, the Dogs were still inefficient going forward and didn’t make the most of their huge territory advantage. They got within five points in the final term, but the Cats superior attacking efficiency held them in good stead as Cameron stood in the way of a famous Bulldogs win.
With Ronny Lerner, NCA NewsWire
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