Ex-Demon recalls the moment Stynes ran across the mark in 1987 prelim

Rodney Grinter has recalled the moment Melbourne teammate Jim Stynes conceded a 15-metre penalty that resulted in Hawthorn kicking a goal after the siren to win the 1987 preliminary final.

In an iconic finals moment, Stynes infringed by running through the mark, resulting in a 15-metre penalty that saw Gary Buckenera kick a dramatic match-winning goal for the Hawks.

“The opportunity to play in a Grand Final taken away from you in the last 5-10 seconds of the game was super disappointing,” Grinter told SEN’s This Is Your Sporting Life with Peter Donegan.

“As soon as the free kick was given the siren sounded, but nobody could hear the siren out on the ground.

“So I’m standing on the ground, the umpires not far from me, and Dippa (Robert DiPierdomenico) runs around the wing because he couldn’t hear the siren, so he’s calling for the ball to get closer to goal off Bucky.

“Jimmy Stynes is in the middle of the ground and sees Dippa all on his own, so the shortest way to Dippa was unfortunately between me and Bucky, which was a 15-metre penalty.

“He would have been kicking from 55 if there was no 15-metre penalty.”

Hawthorn lost the Grand Final to Carlton the following week by 33 points.

Listen to Rodney Grinter’s chat on This Is Your Sporting Life with Peter Donegan in the player below