The umpire controlling play, Matthew Nicholls, signalled another ball-up to restart play; he was oblivious to the noise of the siren, which was barely audible over the raucous crowd. A number of Fremantle players, particularly Scott Thornton, appeared to have either heard the siren or reacted to other players hearing the siren, and the Fremantle players began to celebrate what they thought was a one-point victory. Nicholls, however, did not hear the siren and refused to listen to the claims of Fremantle players, particularly Byron Schammer, that the siren had sounded. He also did not confer with the other two umpires, and restarted play.