THE FIRST successful head count in VFL/AFL history took place at the weekend, with Frankston penalised for having 19 men on the ground in its clash against North Ballarat on Sunday.
Under rule 5.5 of the AFL laws of the game, Frankston had its score wiped three minutes into the third quarter when acting Roosters captain Myles Sewell asked the umpire for a head count and an extra player was discovered.
The Dolphins, who were 5.3 (38) at the time, played on unaware their score had been wiped and lost a thriller by three points before scores were adjusted post-match to hand the Roosters a 41-point win.
AFL Victoria state league manager John Hook said there had been no fallout from Frankston, which acknowledged its mistake.
He said the likely cause of the 19th man was a Frankston player starting on the ground in the second half when he was meant to be on the interchange bench.
"My understanding is there was human error and people haven't looked at the board and who's on the bench," Hook said.
"It's unfortunate, but Frankston have no issue with it because they know they were at fault.
"Thankfully North Ballarat still won the game, so it's really a matter of percentage.
"Once it's been established that they have 19 men on the ground, that's what we have to do."
Sewell said the Roosters didn't know their opponent's score had been wiped and they were thrilled to win what had been a tight match before the score adjustment.
The midfielder had been alerted by his team's bench that the Dolphins might have 19 players on the ground before requesting a head count.
Former West Coast captain Guy McKenna called the last AFL head count against St Kilda in round 22, 1999.
Before Sunday there had been three head counts called in VFL/AFL history, with all unsuccessful.
In round six, 2008, the Sydney Swans were found to have had 19 men on the ground for about one minute against North Melbourne because of a botched interchange.
The controversial drawn match prompted a new rule allowing stewards to alert the umpires if an interchange infringement has occurred.
Nathan Schmook is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter @AFL_Nathan
