Latest news with #LeekAleer
News.com.au
05-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Fears the bump is officially dead after worst free kick ever seen
The bump may be well and truly lost to the game of footy and its final resting place came on Friday night at Optus Stadium. As the West Coast Eagles and GWS Giants battled it out, fans watching on were left seething in the latter stages of the second quarter. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Eagles forward Tyler Brockman wheeled around inside 50 before dishing a handball out in front of Jack Hutchinson. The ball bounced out in the open with Giants defender Leek Aleer rushing in to stop Hutchinson from snaring the loose ball. Aleer tucked his right arm in and bumped Hutchinson with a near perfect hip and shoulder that sent the Eagles forward to the turf. Umpire Alex Whetton however didn't see it that way and blew his whistle, awarding Hutchinson a free kick that resulted in the Eagles third goal of the contest. Watch the questionable free kick in the video player above Fans however couldn't believe the whistle had been blown and a free kick awarded for what was a perfectly executed bump. One wrote on X: 'How is that a free against Leek Aleer how soft is that.' A second added: 'Wow that was a perfect bump by Leek Aleer yet a biggest sympathy free I've ever seen to Jack Hutchinson.' A third posted: 'The worst decision of all time? The bump might actually be dead.' Kane Cornes joined in on the chorus of backlash as he called on the AFL to issue a statement and declare the incorrect decision had been made. 'Leek Aleer executes the most perfect bump you've ever seen and the umpire pays a free kick for too high which costs the Giants a goal,' Cornes said on SEN. 'Now I'm hoping it was just a bad decision, but I have my suspicions that this is the path that we're going to go down where any bump is now illegal. 'We've seen the AFL come out and release statements over poor umpiring decisions before, I want a statement on this one. This should send shudders through the game that we've all loved and the physicality that we've all loved about our game were a perfectly executed bump, when the ball is there. He times it beautifully, the Giants would have run away with the footy instead it's a free kick. 'I want a statement and I want to know if that was just a poor decision or if this is now the way that the game is going. 'I'm worried that we've gone way too far.' While the Eagles took advantage of the dubious free kick, it was the Giants who proved too strong as they secured a 59-point win. GWS were on from the opening bounce, slotting their first goal inside 20 seconds before running out 16.15 (111) to 8.4 (52) victors. The Giants were never challenged in the one-sided contest that was marred by spotfires between GWS players and prized Eagles No.1 pick Harley Reid. While the win has come at a cost with defender Jack Buckley (ankle) subbed off, the Giants now join the logjam of sides on 10 wins as they slot into the top eight for the time being. The Eagles on the other hand remain glued to the bottom of the ladder with only one win through 16 matches.
Herald Sun
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Herald Sun
AFL trade news: Leek Aleer, Wade Derksen on Vic clubs' radars
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Victorian clubs continue to aggressively hunt Greater Western Sydney defenders Leek Aleer and Wayde Derksen with the pair unable to crack a senior game so far in 2025. St Kilda remains the strong frontrunner for Aleer, who has been offered a two-year contract but is happy to park negotiations for the time being given his fruitless search for senior games. Derkson's incredible seven intercept mark game last week against Sydney last week showed he remains in dominant VFL form as the Demons' interest remains strong. The 2022 mid-season draftee can play forward and back as a 194cm swingman and took 13 marks against Geelong's VFL side on Sunday. A former rugby player who took the field for Peel Thunder, Essendon's VFL side and Nightcliff in the Northern Territory, he requested a trade to a Victorian club last year. He has three young children including twins and has family reasons to get to Melbourne and this year is out of contract after the Giants ruled out a trade last year. He averages 22 possessions, 7.4 marks and 3.4 intercept marks in six VFL games this year but is yet to make an AFL debut. The Saints are only one of Aleer's suitors but have long been at the front of the queue given offers of up to six years and $900,000 a season. He has not been desperate to leave the Giants but with Sam Taylor, Connor Idun, Jack Buckley and Harry Himmelberg ahead of him in the pecking order it is hard to see how he becomes a Giants regular. He has averaged 2.4 intercept marks a game and has huge upside as a key position defender and interceptor. St Kilda full back Cal Wilkie is 29 years of age but hasn't missed a game since his debut so bringing Aleer into that defence at 23 year of age would be a perfect succession plan. Xavier O'Halloran has found his way back into the senior team as a regular after early games as a sub after the Dogs offered him a multi-year deal last season. He will hope to continue his recent strong form but clubs will continue to monitor his progress as a hard-nosed mid-forward.
