‘I felt threatened’: Umpire Hayden Meyer breaks silence on Hawthorn stars’ post-match confrontation
The AFL umpire at the centre of last week’s dramatic finish has spoken about the threatening actions of Hawthorn players James Sicily and Tom Barrass.
The umpire behind the crucial free kick in last week’s preliminary final “felt threatened and intimidated” by the post-match advances of James Sicily and Tom Barrass.
Hayden Meyer rewarded Hugh McCluggage for his tackle on Jarman Impey, allowing Brisbane to kick ahead of Hawthorn in the final minute last Saturday night.
The decision prompted Barrass and Sicily to engage in a heated discussion with Meyer after the final siren.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Meyer said he left the MCG surprised and threatened by their approach.
“I was a bit taken aback, to be honest, because in my mind I thought I was 100 per cent sure it was a correct free kick,” he said.
“I just wasn’t expecting two players to come up to me like they did on the day … it did surprise me a little bit, but I felt like I handled it pretty well in the situation post-game.
“I felt threatened in the situation. The abuse that came my way, I felt threatened.
“I expressed exactly that, the language and the way those two players – James and Tom – came at me, I felt threatened and intimidated in that situation.
“I spoke to (head of officiating) Steve McBurney the day after and gave my view on the situation and how I felt and what occurred.
“He then transferred that to Swanny (AFL general manager Greg Swann) and the MRO to eventually come up with the decision around the fines.”
They were fined a collective $15,000 for the approach.
Barrass reached out to apologise, but as of Wednesday afternoon, Meyer had not heard from Hawthorn captain Sicily.
“I haven’t heard from James, no, I have heard from Tom, yes,” Meyer said.
“Tom contacted Steve McBurney to ask to speak to me and apologise. We teed up a time yesterday for us to have a conversation over the phone.
“He was very apologetic, very sincere in his apology. I accepted his apology and I thanked him for taking the time out of his day to give me a call.”
McBurney earlier said Meyer’s execution under pressure contributed to him being selected for the 2026 grand final.
Meyer maintained confidence in the decision after reviewing the tape during the week.
“At the time I was certain it was a free kick, after the game I was certain it was a free kick and now I’m still certain it was a free kick,” he said.
“Once you’re out there, you get into the zone and just processing decision by decision. It wasn’t any different in that case.
“I was fortunate on the day that I was in a really good position. I could see that Impey had one arm free. From there he has to make a genuine attempt to dispose of the ball in a reasonable time.
“I gave him that reasonable time and he didn’t, so I paid holding the ball. As I said, I was fortunate that I had a really good view of it. I was certain that was the decision.
“I backed my judgment and paid it.”
