Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir feels the umpires probably got it right after his players' pleas for a shot after the final siren fell on deaf ears in a heartbreaking one-point AFL loss to North Melbourne in Perth.
The Kangaroos looked home after Luke Davies-Uniacke kicked a 50m goal on the run to give the visitors a 20-point lead with under seven minutes remaining in Saturday's match.
But two quick goals to Jaeger O'Meara and a major to defender Brennan Cox following a goal-line scrap reduced the margin to one point with less than two minutes to go, sending the 40,487-strong crowd into a frenzy.
The ball lived in Fremantle's forward 50m for almost the remainder of the match, and Dockers players pleaded for a free kick for a deliberate out-of-bounds after a clearing kick went out about 49m from goal.
The siren sounded a split second before the ball went over the boundary line, but there was some confusion as to whether the game ended at that moment, or whether a free kick should have been paid given the kick came before the siren.
The umpires consulted with each other and correctly decided the ball was dead at the moment of the siren, meaning the Kangaroos held on for the 11.7 (73) to 10.12 (72) win.
"I'm not 100 per cent sure on the rules. You know what, I trust the umpire got it right," Longmuir said.
"My gut feel is we would have stolen it if we had got a shot on goal and we had have drawn or won it.
"I admire the boys' fight at the end and never-give-up attitude, but we've got a bit of work to do.
"On that last incident, I trust the umpire got it right."
Kangaroos coach Alastair Clarkson was of a similar view.
"My understanding is that the siren went when the ball was still in play," Clarkson said.
"That's just my naked observation of it. And so, if the ball is in play and the siren goes, then ... the game is dead.
"The lap of the gods was with us just for that last bit and I think our footy club deserves it just this once."
The result gave North Melbourne a perfect 2-0 start under new coach Clarkson, and capped off a week that involved more controversy around Tarryn Thomas, who has been stood down indefinitely after more allegations emerged of inappropriate behaviour towards women.
Kangaroos forward Nick Larkey booted four goals following on from his six-goal haul from last week, while former Docker Griffin Logue was a rock in defence against prized Dockers recruit Luke Jackson and Matt Taberner.
Emerging Kangaroos star Harry Sheezel continued his hot start to his AFL career with 30 disposals, while Davies-Uniacke racked up 11 clearances from his 30 possessions.
Caleb Serong tallied a team-high 31 disposals for the Dockers, but Jackson was scoreless from 10 disposals and took just one mark despite having lots of opportunities.
Fremantle suffered a big blow before the match when two-time Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe was a late scratching with a plantar fascia injury.
Handling errors, dropped marks, and some curious umpire decisions hurt Fremantle early as North Melbourne booted the first four goals of the match - including two to Larkey.
The momentum swung Fremantle's way during the third quarter, with substitute Michael Walters igniting the crowd with a diving fingertip mark followed by a snapped goal.
The last quarter became a topsy-turvy affair, with North Melbourne pulling away before Fremantle's late comeback fell just short.
