“I feel sorry for everyone at home who’s waited … and they get a draw first up,” Magpies skipper Scott Pendlebury said after his side and the Tigers combined for the lowest-scoring match since 1999 as they drew with 36 points apiece.
“No doubt there’d be a few broken TVs.
“It is just great to be back, to walk away with a draw is frustrating but we’ll take two points and move on to next week.”
SEN commentator Dwayne Russell said the draw was “as bizarre a resumption of play that anyone could imagine” while Richmond spearhead Jack Riewoldt called it “an interesting game of footy to play in”.
The AFL’s decision to shorten quarters for the 2020 season has been roundly criticised following the low-scoring game.
Many experts and fans were left feeling robbed after the final siren with quarters shortened by four minutes each.
Former Hawthorn premiership star Jordan Lewis was one of the critics, as he explained how the shortened quarter didn’t allow teams to capitalise on setting game-plans they might have set in the earlier parts of quarters.
“You probably haven’t got enough time to assess how the quarter is flowing and make a change,” he said.
Collingwood and Richmond great Brian Taylor also criticised the shorter quarters on commentary, while other retired greats also chimed in on social media.
“I’ve got to say, I know it’s for the circumstances this year, but I don’t like the shortened quarters,” Taylor said on commentary for Seven.
“We’ve got to just get through this year and do what we can to adjust the game to make it fit.”
