The AFL officially rule on the controversial last-second decision of the referees in the thriller between the North Melbourne Kangaroos and the Fremantle Dockers

The AFL has ticked off the controversial decision not to award Fremantle a free-kick in the final seconds of their one-point thriller over North Melbourne on Saturday night.

With two seconds left, Kangaroos recruit Daniel Howe, playing the role of goaltender, stopped the ball from trickling through the Dockers’ goals and kicked towards the boundary line as time ran out.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Cameron Ling speaks out on the controversial call.

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Dockers players called for an intentional free-kick going wide that would have given the hosts a shot on goal after the siren was within goal, and while just a single point behind, any strike would have been enough to avoid a heart. break loss.

They almost certainly would have been penalized for their insufficient intention to keep the ball in play were it not for the siren which the referees thought sounded before the ball crossed the line.

In a video released to the media on Sunday morning, the AFL said it was satisfied the referees’ instantaneous call was correct, as was the result of the game.

Fremantle manager Justin Longmuir said he believed the umpires probably got it right after his players begged for a shot after the final siren fell on deaf ears in a heartbreaking AFL one-point loss to North Melbourne in Perth .

“I’m not 100% sure about the rules. You know what, I trust the referee got it right,” Longmuir said.

“My gut feeling is that if we had had a shot on goal and we had drawn or won it, we would have stolen it.

“I admire the guys’ fight at the end and their attitude of never giving up, but we still have a bit of work to do.

“In this last incident, I have faith that the referee got it right.”

Kangaroo trainer Alastair Clarkson felt the same way.

“As far as I know, the siren went off while the ball was still in play,” Clarkson said.

“That’s just my raw observation of it. So when the ball is in play and the siren sounds, then… the game is dead.

“The lap of the gods was only with us for the last stretch and I think our football club deserved it this one time.”

The result gave North Melbourne a perfect 2-0 start under new manager Clarkson and capped a week of further controversy surrounding Tarryn Thomas, who was indefinitely sacked after further allegations of inappropriate behavior towards women emerged.

Kangaroos forward Nick Larkey has scored four goals after scoring six last week, while former Docker Griffin Logue was a rock in defense against esteemed Dockers recruits Luke Jackson and Matt Taberner.

Rising Kangaroos star Harry Sheezel continued his hot start to his AFL career with 30 departures while Davies-Uniacke amassed 11 clearances from his 30 holdings.

Caleb Serong posted a team-high 31 disposals for the Dockers, but Jackson was scoreless after 10 disposals, clinching just one mark despite many chances.

Fremantle suffered a major blow before the game when two-time Brownlow medalist Nat Fyfe scraped himself late with a plantar fascia injury.

Handling errors, dropped notes and some odd refereeing decisions hurt Fremantle early on as North Melbourne scored the game’s first four goals – including two for Larkey.

Momentum turned to Fremantle in the third quarter as substitute Michael Walters ignited the crowd with a fingertip and a subsequent goal.

The final quarter turned into an upside-down affair as North Melbourne pulled away before Fremantle’s late comeback fell just short.

– With AAP